The Danger of the Reduction of Workforce
When a forced layoff takes place in a unionized environment, the latest employees, in this case the apprentices were laid off; the plant had to lay off its future employees. Even sadder is that only four months after the lay offs the plant had to hire back many of the people they laid off. Many of them worked for a contractor who had contracted them to the plant after they were laid off! Soon this plant will start talking about a new improvement initiative and new management will wonder why it is so difficult to get people committed to improvement initiatives.