Downsizing is an organizational activity designed to purposefully reduce the size of the organization by eliminating positions and jobs (Cascio, 1993:96). This business strategy has been used for many years in both the public and private sectors and is expected to continue. Downsizing has been shown to have an affect on the employees the organization retains, often termed survivors, and has been linked to increased turnover and decreased productivity and effectiveness. With the expected continuation of downsizing actions in the Department of Defense (DoD) and the possible affective reactions experienced by survivors, the intent of this research is to identify the effect downsizing has on attrition rates of military personnel to provide insight to leadership in their decision making process when considering downsizing actions across the DoD
