Job insecurity and successful re-employment: Examples from Germany

Abstract

The outplacement consulting market in Germany had a volume of € 30.68 million in the year 2000, which is 0.25% of the overall volume of € 12.2 billion in the German consulting market. Consulting services were provided to 1,250 clients in individual outplacement measures and to 11,500 in group outplacement measures (BDU, 2000, p.3). This represents a doubling of this branch's turnover volume since 1996, while the turnover volume for the overall consulting sector increased by 50% over the same period. This strong growth, also seen in management consulting, which in recent years has consistently shown rates of growth that outstripped those of the overall economy, indicates the increasingly high importance attached by firms to severing employees. At the same time, these growth rates reflect the globalisation of business. Global competition results in firms having to make adjustment measures which frequently entail layoffs of personnel. In cases of dismissal through no fault of one's own, qualified employees and those higher up in the company hierarchy are today being offered outplacement consulting by their old employer on an increasing basis.