Rif

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. A process in which employees are let go permanently from their positions due to organizational downsizing ; a reduction in the workforce for business or economic reasons
2. The action of permanently dismissing staff as part of cost-cutting measures ; decreasing the number of employees by eliminating jobs for financial efficiency
3. A term describing permanent job termination resulting from restructuring or budget cuts ; decreasing personnel numbers by removing certain positions

Etymology: "RIF" is an acronym for "reduction in force," a bureaucratic phrase meaning the permanent elimination of jobs, usually when an employer cuts staff. The lowercase "rif" is simply the same abbreviation written without capitals, so its history is entirely that of the capitalized form. The phrase "reduction in force" is a plain English compound: "reduction" from Latin "reductio," meaning a bringing back or leading down, and "force," meaning the body of workers available to an organization, a sense that developed from the older meaning of strength or power. Put together, it describes shrinking the workforce, and the abbreviation was formed by taking the initial letters of its three words. Nothing about the term is a coinage from a famous person or event; it is a technical phrase whose meaning comes straight from its parts.