U.S. employers shed 533,000 jobs in November and, it seems, used about as many euphemisms to describe the layoffs. These days the code words go way beyond "downsizing" and "rightsizing." In a Nov. 11 press release, Nokia Siemens Networks referred to its 9,000 cuts as a "synergy-related headcount adjustment goal." A few weeks earlier, discussing eBay's roughly 1,600 pink slips, the company's CFO talked about "actions to simplify our organization." Then there's "offboard-ing" and "reduction in force," which, in its acronym form, has become a verb in management circles. ("How many will we have to RIF?")rnAccording to professionals who help companies during layoffs, the listrngoes on.
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