Worker redundancy has become a widespread social phenomenon in industrialised countries over the past 50 years. Originally published in 1987, this book, based on extensive original research, examines the nature of redundancy and its effects. It focuses in particular on the process of redundancy itself, on the complex relationship between redundancy situations and the labour market, on the impact of redundancy on the quality of life of those affected and on the relationship between redundancy and issues of race, gender and politics. It draws on material from the United States, Britain and Western Europe.