Compulsory redundancies were made by three-quarters of all employers in the UK last year, new research has revealed.
According to statistics published by the pay specialist IRS, 73% of organisations cut their workforce numbers in 2008 as the credit crunch tightened its hold on finances.
The survey also portrays a gloomy outlook for this year, with 80% of employers expected to make further job cutbacks before the end of 2009.
A researcher at IRS, Noelle Murphy, commented: "Managing the redundancy process effectively is crucial for organisations, not least because of the raft of legislation in this area."
"Things are changing with unprecedented speed in the economy, and organisations need to respond just as quickly."
She added that 2009 would see wholesale job cuts, but it was "encouraging" to see that organisations were looking to minimise redundancy numbers.
Last month, women's minister Harriet Harman told the Sunday Times that she was worried female employees were being targeted for dismissal.
Three-quarters of employers made redundancies
