Restructuring for shareholder value and its implications for labour

This paper provides an accounting analysis of the implications for labour of restructuring for shareholder value. It presents argument and evidence from the UK which suggests that activity-specific limits on cost recovery constrain returns on capital. These constraints encourage restructuring which aims to improve returns on capital through the reduction of labour costs. If labour loses directly, longer-term outcomes are more complex, as some workers who retain jobs may gain, and much depends on the macro context. Overall, in the context of present-day capitalism, serial restructuring is likely to be a negative process for labour that generates transitory benefits for capital.