What Bob really needed was a professional challenge. Among the local media, Bob was well known and regarded, so it was not surprising when he got a call from one of the local television stations asking him to write and broadcast three editorials a week. Next, the Arkansas Times asked him to write a weekly political column. The result of the continuing round of corporate purges is a labor force of more than 20 million Americans between ages 50 and 65 who face the distinct possibility of working fewer hours, being laid off or pushed into some form of early retirement, and most likely never finding as good a job as the one they just lost. Some of the factors contributing to job elimination included organizational restructuring, re-engineering of business processes, business downturn, outsourcing and merger and acquisition.
Middle managers continue to be a favorite target for cuts.
Downsizing victims can no longer expect to receive extensive outplacement services as an automatic corporate right, says Eric Greenberg, AMA's director of management studies. Early-retirement buyout packages are proving to be more popular than their corporate designers imagined, often stripping a company of too many high achievers. Those who remain with the company gamble on doing equally well on a subsequent round of buyouts. Too often, they discover their strategy does not pay off. The employment picture for the 50-plus set used to be a bleak one.