A joint business‐community approach to improve problem solving by workers displaced in a plant shutdown

Abstract Persons left suddenly unemployed can be bewildered by a complex array of unpredictable problems. The problems, moreover, may differ significantly from person to person. Traditional outplacement programs ‐ aimed at assisting individual employees in finding new jobs ‐ are helpful but may be inadequate in situations involving largescale layoffs, plant relocations, and plant closings. Strategic planning for largescale workforce reduction receives considerably less attention than does planning for organizational growth. Nevertheless, business organizations have the capacity‐ and possibly the responsibility ‐ to cooperate with community agencies in order to help terminated employees help themselves solve problems associated wtih job loss. A model is presented that describes the impact of sudden unemployment and suggests points at which organizations can intervene to improve the problem‐solving competence of displaced employees. A prototype program, based on the model, created a Community Services Council to coordinate needed resources and a counseling service staffed by nonprofessionals to help employees and former employees define their problems, identify appropriate helping agencies, and take corrective actions. The program is only one of many strategies human resource managers may use to deal effectively and responsibly with workforce reductions.