Restructuring, policy and practice : an international comparison of approaches

Organizational restructuring is a persistent feature of modern political economy, with profound implications for employment. Dealing with the employment effects of organizational restructuring is thus a prevalent issue within contemporary international human resource management (IHRM). Restructuring can involve events such as mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, downsizing and plant closures. Regardless of the form of restructuring, the consequences are often changes in the employment status of individual workers, including layoffs, wage reduction, reduced working hours and termination of employment.

This chapter addresses the multifaceted aspects of restructuring, reviewing the causes, organisational level perspectives, national and supranational institutional contexts and debates around 'restructuring regimes'. The chapter then builds on the analytical framework of restructuring regimes with reference to three coun­tries: Sweden, the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia. Some critical reflections on comparative national approaches follow, including discussion of the implica­tions of the Covid-19 crisis for national policy responses.

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