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Abstract
This article examines the key strategic and operational aspects of managing downsizing in Barclaycard, a credit card company, and SKF (UK), a bearings manufacturing company. The article begins by briefly reviewing the literature on downsizing; it then presents the data collection methods used in this study. The main areas explored were the strategic reasons for downsizing, the implementation strategies used, and the reactions of middle managers and nonmanagerial staff. In both organizations, downsizing was accompanied by significant redesign and transformation. The underlying theme in Barclaycard was that downsizing was a proactive measure in order to protect future jobs; despite this, the survivors' reactions were negative. SKF (UK) had experienced many rounds of downsizing over the years, yet the reactions of survivors were positive. This article provides possible explanations for these contrasting findings and concludes by suggesting actions that organizations need to take in order to avoid the survivor syndrome.
Acknowledgments
This article is based on a four-and-a-half-year study carried out at Cranfield School of Management. The author would like to acknowledge Stephen Perkins for his support throughout the process and also more specifically for providing her with an opportunity to present the key findings to a group of senior-level HR practitioners. The author would like to thank Professor David Whetten for his extremely helpful feedback in shaping the overall research. She is grateful to Doris Fay and two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments on previous versions of the article. Portions of this article were presented at the 18th EGOS Colloquium held in Barcelona, July 4 – 6, 2002.