As I travel from organization to organization, I find it interesting that there are a number of ways to describe the involuntary termination of employees. Here are some recent examples. Let me know if you have some others.
Term Meaning
| Manpower Balancing | The organization finds it easier to disguise a layoff in terms that dictate a scientific “balancing” equation. |
| Right Sizing | Another pseudo-scientific term that seems to mean that there is a correct size and (unstated) that the organization previously operated from the “wrong” size. |
| Reduction in Force (RIF) | A pretty honest term that has roots in the government and is usually found in government type organizations. |
| Layoff | A term that has become a generic term for involuntary people reductions where employees are not subject to recall. It is a somewhat confusing term to those who have worked with unions where a layoff originally was done by seniority and people were subject to being recalled. |
| Furlough | Another term that migrated from the military. It has become a generic word for an unpaid leave of absence with the implication – often unfulfilled – that the person will return |
| Downsizing | An overarching term that initially stood for a strategy of reducing and sometimes spinning off organizational units. It has now evolved into a verb as in, “I have been downsized.” |
| Firing | In its initial usage it meant that an individual was involuntary discharged because of either performance or a cultural clash. In some organizations it has been expanded to cover non-performance issues for groups of employees. |
| Terminating | Similar to firing. There is an interesting psychological meaning that the person is no longer alive. |
| Shooting | One organization uses the term to describe layoffs as in “I needed to shoot ten people to make my budget,” or she shot half her staff last year. |
| Re-engineering | A perversion of the original meaning of the term. Examples of usage: “We have a 10% re-engineering goal in our department.” “The survivors are worried that the re-engineering hasn’t stopped and they may be next. |
