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Don't Downsize This! Social Reactions to Mass Dismissals on Twitter

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Bassanini
  • Eve Caroli
  • Bruno Chaves Ferreira
  • Antoine Reberioux

Abstract

We study social reactions on Twitter to job destructions. We use information on large‐scale restructuring events announced in the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2018. We match it with data on the number and sentiments of the tweets involving the company name posted around the time of the announcement. We show that job destruction announcements elicit numerous, strongly negative reactions, four times larger than the positive reactions to job creation announcements. We also show that these negative reactions are associated with significant losses in the market value of the downsizing firms, pointing to costs that add to standard dismissal costs.

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  • Andrea Bassanini & Eve Caroli & Bruno Chaves Ferreira & Antoine Reberioux, 2025. "Don't Downsize This! Social Reactions to Mass Dismissals on Twitter," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(4), pages 580-597, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indres:v:64:y:2025:i:4:p:580-597
    DOI: 10.1111/irel.12386
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bassanini, Andrea & Caroli, Eve & Fontaine, François & Rebérioux, Antoine, 2021. "Escaping social pressure: Fixed-term contracts in multi-establishment firms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 697-715.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions

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