Job transfers and job-bid systems in restructuring Japanese and American firms

When Japanese firms restructured their operations in the 1990s, Japanese employees were not fired and were often transferred together in groups inside firms or to related outside firms. Undergoing similar business restructuring from the late 1980s on, American firms fired low-performing white-collar employees, and excess midoodle-performing white-collar employees were fired if they could not locate other jobs in the firms by using 'job-bid' systems (systems that identifyopenings and allow individuals at their own choosing to 'bid' for those openings). American unionized blue-collar workers were laid off based on seniority rules. Although similar job-bid systems were introduced into Japanese firms in the 1990s, they were used only for certain white-collar jobs. In the United States, job-bid systems commonly were used for both blue- and white-collar employees. Overall, the Japanese employment system was characterized by management control and stable employment in contrast to the active role played by individual choice in an environment of unstable employment in the United States.