Strategic analysis of an organisation's skilled trades workforce

KW is an aluminum manufacturing plant, which is owned and operated by A . The firm competes on a global basis in a commodity market. A has implemented aggressive targets to reduce costs because its competitors have improved their technology and productivity andlor are implementing cost reduction initiatives. The largest cost KW has is labour costs due to high wages and the number of people employed. The local management team must choose a strategic option to (1) force a strike with the union to eventually force them to accept a reduced workforce (2) resist senior management's workforce reduction targets, or (3) perform a gradual shutdown of operations to balance senior management's targets and continue operating. Upon choosing an option, the organisation must develop a strategy to staff its maintenance organisation appropriately for the future because they require a specialised set of skills and are difficult to attain. The goal of this project is to: (1) analyse the rationale for the organisation's workforce reduction targets (2) evaluate and recommend strategic options for the organisation's total workforce, and develop specific strategies related to the organisation's skilled trades' workforce.