• Generally, employers are free to lay off or terminate employees as necessary due to business conditions if it is not done in a discriminatory manner.

Downsizing involves cutting back on staff to become more viable and/or operate a business more effectively. In general, employers are free to lay off or terminate employees as necessary due to business conditions, but the terminations may not be done in discriminatory manner. When a union is involved, employers must follow the company’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) when contemplating or initiating a layoff so that no terms are violated.

Unions generally try to protect members’ jobs, while making wage and benefit concessions if necessary to keep them employed. Of course, the union may expect them to be rewarded for making sacrifices for the good of the company.

A union might negotiate recall rights in a CBA. In this case, the company will need to consider this when determining who to rehire after a layoff.