Having decided how to overhaul the entire corporation, senior executives are now deciding which people the have valuable skills that make them worth inviting back into the building. But now the company is trying to overhaul itself from the ground up and for the first time has developed a elaborate plan to re-evaluate almost every job and every worker in the company. The process is almost miltaristic in its attempt at precision. It is all spelled out in a euphemistically worded, 150-page manual for department chiefs and employees alike. Along the way there are lawyers, job counselors, psychological counselors and an army of management consultants.
Critics say the layoffs demonstrate how modern companies treat workers as disposable tools.
Company executives describe a new company that will be vastly less bureaucratic, more dynamic and more flexible. The reality, however, defies the slogans on both sides. Managers will account for 60 percent of all job cuts, and they will get severance benefits worth, on average, less than half those given to the average laid-off union worker. On the resume, workers list their current job title, salary, information about previous jobs and their most important accomplishments and skills. Some employees found their heads spinning.