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Enemy of Labour? Analysing the Employment Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions

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  • Lehto, Eero
  • Böckerman, Petri

Abstract

This paper analyses the employment effects of mergers and acquisitions by using matched establishment-level data from Finland over the period of 1989-2003. The data covers all sectors. We compare the employment effects of cross-border M&As with the effects arising from two different types of domestic M&As and internal restructurings. The results reveal that cross-border M&As lead to downsizing in manufacturing employment. The effects of cross-border M&As on employment in non-manufacturing are much weaker. Changes in ownership associated with domestic M&As and internal restructurings also typically cause employment losses, but these is interesting sectoral variation.

Suggested Citation

  • Lehto, Eero & Böckerman, Petri, 2006. "Enemy of Labour? Analysing the Employment Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions," MPRA Paper 1812, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:1812
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mergers and acquisitions; M&As; takeovers; employment; workforce;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

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