Impact of Downsizing on Employee Commitment: A Case Study of Surface and Mashwede Refinery

The research sought to assess the impact of downsizing on employee commitment in selected cooking oil manufacturing companies in Zimbabwe. The research was carried out in the form of a case study in which a sample of 98 employees from a population of 108 employees was used. Stratified random sampling procedure was employed in selecting elements from 8 top management, 20 middle managers and 80 general workers. A combination of questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from the sample. Basing on the findings from Mashwede Refinery and Surface Investments the study revealed that downsizing had negatively impacted on employee commitment as evidenced by decrease in productivity, disciplinary hearing increase and decrease in employee morale. The research also found that the task of managing survivors syndrome and employee commitment would not be difficult if the leadership recognized that survivors have special needs, provides the emotional support they deserve to ensure continuous and honest communication. In light of these findings the study recommends that for any change strategy to produce desired results companies should embark on job counselling, climate survey to check morale and provide frequent and transparent communication before, during and even after downsizing in order to retain employee commitment.