In today's trend of merging and acquiring smaller or newer companies by the older and more established companies (mergers and acquisitions), lay-offs and downsizing are prevalent. Since employees, once merged by two or more companies, will have an abundant supply of human resource, there is a reduction in efficiency because of the redundancy in work functions. Lay-offs or downsizing are often imposed when human resource supply exceeds the demand in the company. However, workforce realignment is not an easy task: imposition of a lay-off or downsizing inevitably results to a change in (higher) employee turn-over and adversely affects the morale of its (remaining) employees.

While the company's goal of reducing human resource expenditures is remedied by imposing lay-offs...

For those who were affected by the lay-off or downsizing measures of the company, there are feelings of disbelief, resentment, and later anger, for being laid-off despite his/her loyalty and good service to the company. A similar phenomenon happens to those employees who were left behind. A sudden change in the composition and membership of a company or business organization results to disorientation among some employees, as well as feelings of disbelief, fear, and anger for the company by abruptly changing its work environment without giving consideration to the remaining employees, people who become most affected when such even (lay-offs or downsizing) occurs.