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Layoff (in British and American English), is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or (more commonly) a group of employees (collective layoff)〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Redundancy: your rights )〕 for business reasons, such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs. In the UK, permanent termination due to elimination of a position is usually called redundancy. ''Laidoff workers'' or ''displaced workers'' refers to workers who have lost or left their jobs because their employer has closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Glossary )〕 Originally the term ''layoff'' referred exclusively to a temporary interruption in work, as when factory work cyclically falls off. In late 20th and early 21st century North America, layoff usually means the permanent elimination of a position, requiring the addition of "temporary" to specify the original meaning. Many synonyms such as ''downsizing'' exist, most of which are euphemisms or doublespeak and more abstract descriptions of the process, most of which can also be used for more inclusive processes than that of reducing the number of employees. Downsizing is defined as the "conscious use of permanent personnel reductions in an attempt to improve efficiency and/or effectiveness".〔Budros 1999, p. 70〕 Since the 1980s, downsizing has become increasingly common. Indeed, recent research on downsizing in the U.S.,〔Baumol, W. J., Blinder, A. S. & Wolff, E. N. (2003). Downsizing in America: Reality, Causes and Consequences. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. See also the American Management Association annual surveys since 1990.〕 UK,〔Sahdev et al. 1999; Chorely 2002; Mason 2002; Rogers 2002〕 and Japan〔Mroczkowski, T. and Hanaoka, M. (1997), ‘Effective downsizing strategies in Japan and America: is there a convergence of employment practices?’, Academy of Management Review, Vol.22, No.1, pp. 226–56.〕〔Ahmakjian and Robinson 2001〕 suggests that downsizing is being regarded by management as one of the preferred routes to turning around declining organisations, cutting costs, and improving organisational performance,〔Mellahi, K. and Wilkinson, A. (2004) Downsizing and Innovation Output: A Review of Literature and Research Propositions, BAM Paper 2004, British Academy of Management.〕 most often as a cost-cutting measure. ==Terminology== Euphemisms are often used to "soften the blow" in the process of firing and being fired.〔(Wilkinson 2005, Redman and Wilkinson, 2006)〕 The term "layoff" originally meant a temporary interruption in work (and usually pay). The term became a euphemism for permanent termination of employment and now usually means that, requiring the addition of "temporary" to refer to the original meaning. Many other euphemisms have been coined for "(permanent) layoff", including "downsizing", "excess reduction", "rightsizing", "delayering", "smartsizing", "redeployment", "workforce reduction", "workforce optimization", "simplification", "force shaping", "recussion", and "reduction in force" (also called "RIF", especially in the government employment sector). "Mass layoff" is defined by the United States Department of Labor as 50 or more workers laid off from the same company around the same time. "Attrition" implies that positions will be eliminated as workers quit or retire. "Early retirement" means workers may quit now yet still remain eligible for their retirement benefits later. While "redundancy" is a specific legal term in UK labour law. When an employer is faced with work of a particular type ceasing or diminishing at a particular location, it may be perceived as obfuscation. Firings imply misconduct or failure while layoffs imply economic forces beyond the employer's and employees' control, especially in the face of a recession such as the one that began in the late 2000s. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「layoff」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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