Before cutting roles, businesses should first ask whether the work itself can be redesigned for better productivity. Photo by Canva
Retrenchment is often seen as the fastest way to reduce business costs.
But before cutting roles, companies should ask a harder question:
Is the role truly no longer needed, or is the work simply no longer designed well?
In many organisations, the problem is not always “too many people”. The problem is that employees are trapped in outdated workflows, duplicated responsibilities, manual reporting, unclear job scopes and low-value administrative work.
When that happens, retrenchment may reduce cost in the short term, but it does not fix the root issue.
The same bottlenecks remain.
The same manual work continues.
The same managers keep firefighting.
The same productivity gaps return.
This is why job redesign should come before retrenchment decisions.
Retrenchment May Cut Cost. Job Redesign Fixes the Work.
Companies usually consider retrenchment when margins are under pressure, demand becomes uncertain, or technology changes how work is done.
In some cases, retrenchment may be unavoidable.
But in many cases, businesses should first review whether roles can be redesigned, combined, upgraded or supported by technology before removing them completely.
A role may look redundant because the work is repetitive.
But with job redesign, that same worker may be able to move into higher-value tasks such as customer coordination, quality control, data tracking, process improvement, team supervision, compliance support or digital operations.
The question is not only:
“Which roles should we cut?”
The better question is:
“Which roles can be redesigned to create more value?”
Why This Matters Now
Singapore’s labour market remains resilient, but companies are clearly becoming more cautious.
MOM’s latest Labour Market Report for 1Q 2026 showed that retrenchments rose slightly from 3,690 in 4Q 2025 to 3,830 in 1Q 2026. Retrenchment incidence remained low at 1.6 per 1,000 employees, but the increase was concentrated in outward-oriented sectors such as Manufacturing, Financial Services and Professional Services.
At the same time, AI adoption is changing workforce planning. MOM found that only 6.2% of firms reported reduced headcount after adopting AI, while 18.9% reported redesigning job functions.
This is an important signal for employers.
AI is not only replacing tasks. It is forcing companies to rethink how jobs should be structured.
That means companies that jump straight to retrenchment may miss a bigger opportunity: redesigning work so employees can become more productive, more digital-ready and more valuable to the business.
Signs Your Company Should Consider Job Redesign Before Retrenchment
Before making manpower cuts, companies should look for these signs:
Employees are busy, but business output is not improving.
Managers spend too much time chasing updates, approvals and reports.
Several employees are doing overlapping tasks across departments.
Your company has adopted digital tools, but work is still done manually.
A few experienced employees hold too much operational knowledge.
New hires take too long to become productive.
Your team is under pressure, but you are not sure which roles are truly essential.
You want to adopt AI, but do not know which tasks should be automated or redesigned first.
These are not just HR issues.
They are workforce design issues.
If companies retrench without addressing them, they may reduce headcount but keep the inefficiency.
What Job Redesign Can Do Instead
Job redesign helps companies review work before making major manpower decisions.
It looks at:
What tasks employees are spending time on.
Which tasks are repetitive, manual or low-value.
Where work is duplicated across teams.
Which roles can be upgraded or expanded.
Which processes can be simplified or automated.
What skills employees need for redesigned roles.
How technology can support the workforce without overwhelming them.
This helps companies make better decisions.
Instead of cutting roles based only on cost, employers can identify which roles should be retained, redesigned, reskilled, redeployed or supported with technology.
That is a more sustainable way to manage manpower pressure.
Job Redesign Is Not About Keeping Every Role the Same
Job redesign does not mean avoiding difficult workforce decisions.
It means making those decisions with better information.
Some roles may still need to change. Some responsibilities may need to be removed. Some employees may need reskilling. Some tasks may be automated. Some teams may need to be restructured.
But the goal is not simply to reduce manpower.
The goal is to build a workforce that is leaner, clearer, more productive and more future-ready.
For employers, this can lead to stronger productivity, better role clarity, improved employee retention and more effective AI adoption.
For employees, it can create more meaningful work and clearer pathways to stay relevant.
Funding Support Is Available Through Job Redesign+
Companies do not have to approach this alone.
The SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+), also known as WDG(JR+), supports workforce transformation through job redesign, workforce consultancy, capability building and workforce technology solutions.
Eligible companies may receive funding support of up to 70% for SMEs and 50% for non-SMEs, capped at $150,000 per enterprise.
For businesses that are under cost pressure, this makes job redesign a practical option to explore before making permanent manpower cuts.
How Elitez Can Help
At Elitez, we help companies review workforce challenges before they become manpower crises.
Our job redesign support helps employers understand whether the issue is truly excess manpower, or whether the business needs clearer roles, better workflows, new skills and smarter use of technology.
We support companies in areas such as:
- Workforce diagnostics.
- Job role review.
- Task and workflow mapping.
- Skills gap analysis.
- Productivity improvement planning.
- AI and technology readiness assessment.
- Job redesign implementation roadmap.
- Support for Job Redesign+ project planning.
Our approach is simple: we help companies make informed workforce decisions before taking drastic action.
Because sometimes, the answer is not to cut the role.
It is to redesign the work.
Is Your Business Ready for Job Redesign?
If your company is exploring AI, automation, workforce transformation, or productivity improvement, now may be the right time to review your job roles and workflows.
Ask yourself:
- Which tasks are taking too much time?
- Which teams are overloaded with repetitive work?
- Which workflows still depend heavily on manual coordination?
- Which job scopes need to evolve because of AI?
- Which employees need new skills to work effectively with technology?
Elitez Job Redesign+ supports companies in reviewing workforce needs, redesigning job roles, and identifying practical ways to improve productivity through workforce transformation.
Eligible businesses may also be able to tap on WDG(JR+) funding support of up to 70%, capped at S$150,000 per enterprise, to make workforce transformation more accessible.
Start with the Elitez JR+ Self-Diagnostic Tool to assess your company’s workforce readiness and identify areas for improvement.