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Employee Layoffs, Shareholder Wealth and Firm Performance: Evidence from the UK

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  • David Hillier
  • Andrew Marshall
  • Patrick McColgan
  • Samwel Werema

Abstract

We examine the financial performance of UK listed companies surrounding the announcement of permanent employee layoffs. We find that poor operating and stock price performance, increased gearing, and threats from external markets for corporate control precede employee layoffs. Layoff announcements elicit a significantly negative stock price reaction, which is driven by announcements that are reactive to poor financial conditions. We also find that layoffs result in significant increases in employee productivity and corporate focus. We conclude that layoffs represent an efficient response to poor financial conditions, but that their occurrence is strongly dependent on pressure from external control markets.

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  • David Hillier & Andrew Marshall & Patrick McColgan & Samwel Werema, 2007. "Employee Layoffs, Shareholder Wealth and Firm Performance: Evidence from the UK," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3‐4), pages 467-494, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jbfnac:v:34:y:2007:i:3-4:p:467-494
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5957.2007.02042.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ken-Hou Lin, 2016. "The Rise of Finance and Firm Employment Dynamics," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 972-988, August.
    3. Ataullah, Ali & Le, Hang & Wang, Zilong & Wood, Geoffrey, 2022. "Corporate diversification and downsizing decisions: International evidence from sharp and sudden performance shocks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    4. Schulz, Ann-Christine & Johann, Sarah, 2018. "Downsizing and the fragility of corporate reputation: An analysis of the impact of contextual factors," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 40-50.
    5. Werner Neus & Andreas Walter, 2009. "Kursgewinne durch Entlassungspläne? Erste Ergebnisse aus Deutschland," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Adam Bordeman & Bharadwaj Kannan & Roberto Pinheiro, 2021. "Rival Growth Prospects and Equity Prices: Evidence from Mass Layoff Announcements," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(8), pages 1969-1997, December.
    7. Keishi Fujiyama & Makoto Kuroki, 2017. "Strategic Management Forecasts and Accounting Choices: A Case of Employee Downsizing in Japan," Discussion Paper Series DP2017-06, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Sep 2017.
    8. Philipp A. Thompson, 2019. "Financialization and Institutional Environments," Working Papers hal-02139457, HAL.
    9. Kao, Chun-Lin & Chen, Ming-Yuan, 2020. "Employee downsizing, financial constraints, and production efficiency of firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 59-73.
    10. Santiago Velásquez & Juho Kanniainen & Saku Mäkinen & Jaakko Valli, 2018. "Layoff announcements and intra-day market reactions," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 203-228, January.
    11. Berninger, Marc & Gärtner, Henrik & Schiereck, Dirk, 2018. "Kapitalmarktreaktionen auf die Ankündigung von Personalabbauplänen – ein Überblick über drei Jahrzehnte empirische Evidenz," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 72(4), pages 289-325.
    12. Malikov, Kamran & Demirbag, Mehmet & Kuvandikov, Azimjon & Manson, Stuart, 2021. "Workforce reductions and post-merger operating performance: The role of corporate governance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 109-120.
    13. Mariano González-Sánchez & Eva M. Ibáñez Jiménez & Ana I. Segovia San Juan, 2021. "Board of Directors’ Remuneration, Employee Costs, and Layoffs: Evidence from Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-10, July.
    14. Maria Fotaki & Apostolos Kourtis & Raphael Markellos, 2023. "Human resources turnover as an asset acquisition and divestiture process: Evidence from the U.K. football industry," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 2696-2711, July.

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