During the 1980s the news media were filled with reports of soaring unemployment as 'downsizing' and `restructuring' became the new buzzwords. Firms managed their workforce reduction by increasing the attractiveness of their pension plans-especially their early-retirement plans. In this volume, the authors examine the U.S. auto industry and present a full-scale analysis of the work and retirement decisions of its workers. They address organizational context and the logic of financial incentives in employer-provided early retirement plans. The impact of pension provisions, layoffs, plant closures, attitudes about `generational equity', and other factors influencing the workers' evaluation of the optimum time to end their careers in the auto industry are explored.

Internal Labor Markets, Plant Closings, and Retirement.- Some Matters of Context.- The Financial Structure of Early-Retirement Pensions.- Predicting Early Retirement.- Discussing Options in an End-Game.- Solidarity and "Generational Equity".- Aspects of Postretirement Satisfaction.- Inducing Early Retirement: Some Conclusions in Perspective.