retrench
verb
uk/ˌriːˈtrentʃ/ us [ I ] MANAGEMENT, FINANCE
if governments, companies, etc. retrench, they start spending less money, or reducing costs:
Some large corporate R&D departments have retrenched.
It's time to retrench and refocus on our key brands.
The company retrenched and cut staff in the face of the impending downturn.
[ T ] HR, WORKPLACE Australian English
to remove a worker from their job as a way of reducing costs:
With the level of unemployment already so high, the thought of approximately 10,000 workers being retrenched is difficult to bear.
See also
lay sb off