Young People Strike Back Against 'Quiet Resignation'... Companies Begin 'Quiet Dismissal'

Global Companies Restructure Through Employee Reallocation
Sometimes Encourage Voluntary Resignation by Eliminating Positions

Following the trend of 'Quiet Quitting' that spread among young office workers after COVID-19, recently, companies have been showing a tendency toward 'Quiet Cutting.'

On the 28th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the so-called 'quiet quitting,' which emerged mainly among the younger generation in the U.S. after the onset of the pandemic, is fading, and instead, the era of 'quiet cutting' is arriving.
[Photo by Seodongmin]

On the 28th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that in the U.S., the so-called 'quiet quitting,' which emerged mainly among the younger generation after the pandemic, is fading, and instead, the era of 'quiet cutting' is arriving.

Quiet quitting refers to a work attitude where employees do not actually resign but perform only the minimum tasks assigned to them. It is a term that reflects the younger generation's perspective on work, focusing solely on their defined duties without engaging in additional tasks.

On the other hand, quiet cutting refers to indirect measures that signal layoffs without direct termination, such as employee reassignment and intensified job evaluations. Recent examples include global companies like Adidas, Adobe, Salesforce, and IBM reallocating employees as part of corporate restructuring.

According to U.S. financial research firm AlphaSense, the number of times companies mentioned reassignment or similar terms during earnings conference calls in August this year increased more than threefold compared to the same month last year.

Andy Challenger, Senior Vice President at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a consulting firm that helps laid-off workers find new jobs or start businesses, evaluated the current situation by saying, "Reassignment is spreading like a trend in companies right now."

In particular, Challenger added, "Last month, U.S. companies had 42% fewer layoffs than the previous month, and 9% fewer compared to the same month last year," noting, "This is the first time this year that layoff numbers have decreased compared to last year."

Alongside Quiet Cutting, Quiet Hiring is Spreading as a New Trend

The advantage of quiet layoffs is that they allow for easy acquisition of personnel needed for newly required positions through workforce reallocation, and they reduce costs for jobs that are no longer necessary. Additionally, it saves the company expenses such as severance pay that would be incurred through official layoffs, and it also has the effect of encouraging employees to leave the company on their own later.
[Photo by Pixabay]

The advantage of quiet cutting is that through workforce reassignment, companies can easily secure personnel for newly needed positions and reduce costs for jobs that are no longer necessary. It also saves expenses such as severance pay that companies must bear through official layoffs and encourages employees to leave the company voluntarily over time.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, spent $4.2 billion (approximately 5.5 trillion KRW) on restructuring costs in the fourth quarter of last year alone, including severance pay for laid-off employees. However, because comprehensive restructuring like Meta’s incurs enormous costs, many companies are showing interest in the less expensive employee reassignment method. Strengthening job evaluations, in addition to reassignment, also produces similar effects.

Forbes also evaluated that "quiet cutting is a way for companies to achieve restructuring effects while avoiding mass layoffs."

Along with quiet cutting, quiet hiring is also spreading as a new trend. This involves not hiring full-time employees but instead reallocating roles among existing workers to handle necessary tasks.

Furthermore, there is a growing tendency to hire short-term contract workers instead of full-time employees to perform tasks. Emily Rose McRae, a researcher at Gartner, told CNBC, "This year, quiet hiring will emerge as mainstream in the U.S.," adding, "In some industries, it could be a game changer."

Regarding companies’ quiet cutting strategies, WSJ reported that office workers are now worried whether job reassignment will eventually lead to resignation, and their biggest concern is how to maintain their desired positions without being laid off.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.