Early retirement programs and firm performance

Early retirement programs are increasingly used as a human resources strategic response to changes in the business environment. For the period 1982-92, we found that investors tended to view early retirement programs favorably. These positive market responses further appeared to be influenced by the institutional rationale for a workforce reduction, the timing of a reduction's announcement, firm size, the restriction of an early retirement program to white-collar employees, and the physical size of the public announcements of a program.