Thai Managers Find Keeping the Best, Firing the Rest Can Be Tricky.

Byline: Cholada Ingsrisawang

Jul. 26--It's an experience that senior executives generally agree represents one of the most difficult decisions in the workplace. But whether due to worsening cashflows, factory relocations or new technology investments, firing staff is a duty that inevitably confronts managers at least once in their careers.

Indeed, staff reductions -- downsizing, rightsizing, streamlining, or whatever the company calls it -- can be one of the most effective measures taken to revamp a business.

While costs vary by industry, staff expenses can account from 10-25 percent for manufacturing firms to up to half of operating expenses for service firms.

But implementing a mass downsizing programme is an art in itself, if management is to avoid potentially costly courtroom battles or the negative public image of employee protests and union actions.

In principle, downsizing has two main objectives: cull low performing staff to reduce costs and raise efficiency and productivity for remaining employees.

Human resource specialists agree that early retirement programmes, one of the most common methods of downsizing, have to be carefully structured to avoid the departure of a company's best performers and "informal" leaders.