In Need Of Some Wisdom

Hello! This is my first day on the forums...was wondering if i could get some good opinions...... here is the situation
Your company, which manufactures power tools in several locations in the United States, will be shifting all its manufacturing to new plants in China.
I think the main issue at hand is the employees that are going to lose their jobs because of all the plants moving to China. I keep thinking that there really isn't much you can do as a HR manager of the company. Can you just send your employees to China? It's great to be sympathetic but all these people will lose their jobs, how can you possibly lighten the news but telling someone, hey sorry, tough luck you're out of a job. I don't think you can. As an HR manager what other issues are at stake here? What would a good HR manager do?

This issue can not be handled for an manufacturing company making such plans due to economy reasons as saying "Hey! you are out of job!!!".
Company HR mans.. need to develop a system job change plan depending upon company internal operations and modus operandi.

Relocation of employees-whether within the country or to other countries as in this case, is always a tricky question. it no longer remains an employer-employee relations issue to be decided on the basis of "rights" and economic compulsions! One will have to recognize other important facets of the problems also, especially when your HR is oriented as it should be!

Whethre US of A has any laws dealing with this subject, I wouldn't know, but even then it would deal with just the economic aspects. As an HR person I need answers to the following questions:

1) Whether the decision to shift all plants to China or whereever was for business reasons or for reasons employee costs, non-cooperation etc?

2) Whether the employees were suitably involved in the likelihood of emergenve of such new realityand whether they had adequate time to make alternate arrangements of employment etc?

3) Whether the employer is willing to offer compensation ober and above what the law may stipulate?

In any case the HR approach in such case should be to convince itself of the inevitability of such harsh decision. Then to to adopt as humane an approach as is possible, to deal with the problem by looking at it as a human problem affecting the lives of the many who will suffer this decision. The approach should be to rehabilitate family members as it were that to merely discharge legal obligations.

In the ultimate analysis, the fact remains that the HR has to do the unpleasant along with the pleasant tasks and that it should satisfy itself that the unpleasant is NOT arising out of malice or some hidden agenda of the employer. HR is bound to act only bona-fide and to uphold the ethics of the professions.

Cheers!

samvedan

October 12, 2005