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Redundancies continue in 2011/12: the XpertHR survey

Author: Noelle Murphy

Widespread redundancy programmes are back on the agenda for the majority of organisations, our latest survey finds, with no signs of the situation improving in the remainder of 2012.

Key points

  • Redundancies remain on the agenda for many organisations, and there is little sign that job losses are set to stabilise or reduce during 2012.
  • Jobs are most likely to be cut in the public sector - almost nine public-sector respondents in 10 (86.7%) cut jobs in 2011, and the same proportion are planning to do so in 2012.
  • The top three reasons given by respondents for redundancies in 2011 were: restructuring for internal organisational reasons (69.4%); external economic pressure (43.5%); and cost-cutting (37.1%).
  • Respondents are increasingly looking to voluntary redundancy programmes in order to minimise compulsory redundancies. This is most likely to be the case in the public sector, where union membership and recognition is higher and agreements around seeking volunteers are more likely to be in place.