The global economic crisis will decimate HR departments in 2009, according to a study published today.
Two in five major firms will cut HR jobs, according to the Acceleration of Globalisation report by consultancy the Hackett Group.
Hackett’s evidence-based research of 200 global companies in October and November found that 40% were planning HR staff cuts. A further 12% were planning HR recruitment freezes.
In comparison, just 35% were planning job cuts in IT, 23% in finance and 18% in procurement.
The trend of relocating transactional HR in low-cost countries will increase as the economic crisis worsens, according to the study.
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It estimates that the number of globalised back-office jobs at the world’s biggest 1,000 companies will rise by the equivalent of 359,000 full-time employees over the next two years.
About 15% of transactional HR jobs at big firms will be offshored by 2010, according to the study. This is up from about 10% now.
