Cameron (1994) characterized the business strategy of downsizing as the most pervasive yet most understudied phenomenon in the business world. In the ensuing two decades, downsizing has been studied across various disciplines from sociology to economics, from psychology to strategic management, from finance to human resources. Each of these diverse disciplines offers a unique perspective and point of view. Our book aims to reconcile the different points of view towards downsizing by offering a comprehensive set of chapters that capture the entirety of the process, from beginning to end and with consideration of each of the many facets of the process. We have brought together leading business strategists, business practitioners, human resource experts, and psychologists into a single volume, offering the reader 13 chapters.

Datta, Guthrie, Basuil, and Pandey (2010, p. 282) define downsizing as “a planned set of organizational policies and practices aimed at workforce reduction with the goal of improving firm performance.” In the book’s opening chapter, Hallock, Strain, and Webber survey the job loss literature, thus providing an introduction to the concept of downsizing. Their line of discussion suggests that the employment relationship in the United States has changed over the years. They define the downsizing process even while examining alternatives like work-sharing, to typical mass layoff policies.