attrition

Question

LDCE has this:attrition (2) Esp AmE  when people leave a company or course of study and are not replaced: e.g. Staff reductions could be acieved through attrition and early retirement.I wonder what is the British equivalent.Thank you.

TeacherBrian · Accepted Answer

Dear Itasan

In BrE, attrition n. = abrasion, the act or process of wearing out, especially by friction.

We do not use 'attrition' to describe the situation of a diminishing number of employees caused by not replacing staff who have left.

A common business BrE expression comparable to AmE 'attrition' is "natural wastage", defined as loss of employees other than by redundancy.

Here is an example of this usage in an official publication....
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"Staff Reduction Policy:
• In the first instance should natural wastage occur in areas of the University where staff reduction might be needed, every effort will be made to manage those areas so that the wastage should remove the need for any other reduction.
• Subject to ensuring the effective continuation of the University's work, the University will seek across the institution, through management, redeployment and retraining, to use natural wastage to minimise or remove any need for other severance." (Portsmouth University, England)
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attrition

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