Letters - Cut costs and keep jobs

I REFER to "6,534 lost jobs" and "Tip of the iceberg" (Front page, March16 and 17).
While workforce reductions cannot always be avoided, there are compelling reasons why downsizing-related lay-offs must be seen as a managerial tool of absolute last resort.
During a downturn a firm must carefully consider its options and assess the feasibility and applicability of cost-reduction alternatives, the firms' business position and environment and the austerity measures it had undertaken and the time the firm requires to be able to reduce operational and capital expenditure.
It is disheartening to see many companies do not even consider to minimise, defer or even avoid the adoption of downsizing-related lay-offs.
Modern day HR practitioners and directors adopt a three-stage cost reduction framework, short-term, mid-range and long-range adjustments phase.
Short-term includes a freeze on hiring, mandatory vacations, reduced work week, cut in overtime, salary reduction, temporary shut-down and soliciting cost-reduction ideas.
Medium-range adjustments: extended salary reduction, voluntary sabbaticals, employer lending and exit incentives while extended or long range adjustments includes rehiring bonuses, maintaining communication with lay-offs and internal job fairs.
HR directors need to find innovative ways to reduce mid-term expenditures. Unfortunately many companies resort to the short-term adjustment of lay-off by default.
Malaysian Employers Federation and the Labour Department have a mammoth task to manage the retrenchment and lay-off exercise by employers who want an easy way out to reduce costs.
Sathasivam Sitheravellu
Seremban