The process of reducing the size of a company's workforce, typically through layoffs or elimination of positions, usually to cut costs or improve efficiency. It can also refer to reducing the scale of operations or organizational structure.
Coined in the 1970s in the automotive industry, originally referring to making cars smaller. The corporate meaning emerged in the 1980s during widespread corporate restructuring, euphemistically replacing harsher terms like 'layoffs' or 'firing.'
The term was deliberately chosen to sound less harsh than 'layoffs,' but research shows that companies often don't achieve the expected benefits because they lose institutional knowledge and damage morale among remaining employees. Sometimes 'rightsizing' is just downsizing in disguise.
Downsizing disproportionately impacts women due to occupational segregation and family caregiving burdens. Women are more likely to lose part-time/flexible roles and have fewer economic safety nets.
Use neutrally; when discussing workforce reduction, consider gender-disaggregated data and differential impacts on women.
["workforce reduction","restructuring"]
Women economists and labor researchers have documented how downsizing widens gender wage gaps; credit this scholarship.
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