Mass layoffs and local impacts: what we know and what can be done

WHAT’S THE ISSUE?

Mass lay-offs at factories and offices often capture headlines because of the implications for individual workers, their families and the local community more generally. Dismissed workers face income loss and unemployment spells, potential culminating in further social issues and poor health. Mass lay-offs may also have longer-term detrimental effects on local communities in terms of employment, well-being and vitality. Policy makers face a balance between promoting economic dynamism with protecting workers from long-term unemployment and mitigating spill overs to local economies more generally. In this webinar, new OECD research will be presented on the local impacts of mass lay-offs, followed by examples of practical approaches to mitigating the impacts.    Read 

Moderator: Karen Maguire, Head of Division, LEED Programme, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities

• Setting the context
  • Wessel Vermeulen, Economist, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities 
  • Victor Tan Chen, Associate Professor of Sociology, Virginia  Commonwealth University, United States

• What can be done in response
  • Johannes Kopf, Head of the Austrian Public Employment Service, Austria
  • Murielle Antille, Senior Vice President, Government and Industry Affairs,  Lee Hecht Harrison (Adecco Group)
  • Julián Martínez Bejarano, Technical Advisor, Just Transition Institute,  Ministry of the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), Spain
  • Taylor Stuckert, Executive Director, Clinton County Regional Planning Commission, Ohio, United States
  • Erja Nikula, Senior Specialist, Department of Regions and Growth Services, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Finland

• Questions and comments 

This webinar is part of a series of events to mark the 40th anniversary of the OECD Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Programme, including reflecting on the lessons learned from the past 40 years of the local development, and the direction that needs be taken for the future. LEED was created in 1982, when OECD governments were struggling to provide solutions to the jobs crisis of the day and saw a need for an international forum to share innovative approaches to local job creation, social inclusion and economic development. Since then, it has continued to bring together policy makers and practitioners from around the world to identify, evaluate and disseminate promising approaches to local development.