O objetivo dessa dissertação é compreender como se dá a relação do trabalhador com atual contexto de acumulação capitalista em situações extremas como a de demissão iminente. Trata-se de um estudo de caso que tem como objeto uma multinacional do setor automotivo que encerrou suas atividades no Rio Grande do Sul em 2016. Objetivou-se discutir sobre como as relações de trabalho e a organização do trabalho foram historicamente construídas e aperfeiçoadas, de forma a tornar a exploração cada vez menos visível para os trabalhadores. Isso possibilita a exploração e consequentemente perpetua e maximiza a acumulação do capital. A análise das entrevistas, triangulada com notícias vinculadas na mídia, dados fornecidos pela empresa e boletins do sindicato, amparados na teoria sugerem que nesta era de financeirização e desterritorialização, alguns mecanismos facilitam a legitimação da exploração. São eles: o discurso do trabalho, a cooptação da subjetividade dos trabalhadores e a falácia da empregabilidade. À medida que a precarização do trabalho se propaga de formas cada vez mais complexas, potencializam-se também as contradições do capital e o trabalhador é colocado cada vez mais sob tensão. Percebe-se que a organização se apropria da subjetividade dos trabalhadores por meio de diferentes mecanismos de gestão e controle. Isso fragiliza os laços sociais, o que tem consequências nas formas de organização coletiva e mecanismos de resistência dos trabalhadores. Posteriormente, apresenta-se a questão da empregabilidade como uma falácia, em que cada vez mais o trabalhador vê-se responsável pelo seu próprio destino, bem como também pelo destino da empresa. Consequente a isso, percebe-se um sentimento de auto-culpabilização e responsabilização excessiva. Finaliza-se analisando os processos de resistência ao fechamento da fábrica. Verifica-se que o trabalhador já não tem mais amparo do seu sindicato, que se encontra enfraquecido politicamente. Outras formas de resistência coletiva articulada também não foram percebidas. Porém, algumas formas individualizadas de resistência foram encontradas, tais como o absenteísmo, boicote ao trabalho e até pequenas sabotagens. Conclui-se que as atuais formas de acumulação de capital, que se valem da desterritorialização, da financeirização e de mecanismos de legitimação da exploração, tornam a situação do trabalhador cada vez mais frágil. O caso da NX ilustra como a abstração do capital e as formas de controle cada vez mais sutis intensificam a precarização do trabalho e diminuem as possibilidades de resistência frente ao capital. As portas fecham porque no processo de reprodução capitalista a lógica das organizações é contribuir para o acúmulo de capital. A medida que essa lógica não atender mais à ética do capital - o lucro, a estratégia passa a ser o fechamento e a transferência para locais com menores custos. / The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how the relation of the worker with the current context of capitalist accumulation takes place in extreme situations like the one of imminent mass dismissal. It is a case study that has, as its object, an automotive multinational factory. Such factory closed its doors in Rio Grande do Sul in April 2016. It starts from this object to discuss how labor relations and the organization of work have historically been built and improved in order to make exploitation less visible to workers. Such invisibility enables exploitation and consequently perpetuates and maximizes the accumulation of capital. The analysis of the interviews triangulated with news in the media, data provided by the company and union bulletins, suggest that in this era of financialization and de-territorialization, some mechanisms enable the legitimation of exploitation. These are: the importance of work for the workers, the co-optation of workers’ subjectivity, and the fallacy of employability. As the precarization of work disseminate more and more, the contradictions of the capital are also potentiated and the worker is increasingly placed under tension. It is perceived that the organization appropriates itself from the subjectivity of workers through different management and control mechanisms. This weakens the social ties, which has consequences in the collective forms of organization and in the mechanisms of resistance of the workers. Subsequently, the issue of employability is presented as a fallacy, in which the worker is increasingly responsible for his own destiny, as well as for the fate of the company. As a result, there is a feeling of self-blame and excessive accountability over the worker. It ends by analyzing the processes of resistance before the closure of the factory. It was verified that the worker is no longer supported by his union, which is politically weakened. Other forms of organized resistance were not noticed. However, some individualized forms of resistance have been found, such as absenteeism, boycotting work and even minor sabotages. We conclude that the current forms of accumulation of capital, which use deterritorialization, financialization and mechanisms to legitimize exploitation, make the situation of the worker increasingly fragile. The doors close because in the process of capitalist reproduction the logic of organizations is to contribute to the accumulation of capital. As this logic no longer meets the ethics of capital - the profit, the strategy becomes closing or transfer to places with lower costs.

由於社會經濟以及國際情勢的變遷，甚至無預警的採取關廠或歇業之情況屢見不鮮，導致勞工之生存權、工作權遭受到嚴重危害；同時現行的勞動法制保護不足，遂有「大量解僱勞工保護法」之制定。 本篇論文係以「大量解僱勞工保護法」為研究之對象。其論述之焦點集中於大量解僱勞工保護法之法律爭議問題，乃針對現行大量解僱勞工保護法法本身之規範內容，係以大量解僱之定義、解僱計畫書及通知義務、協商之時程及方式、提供就業輔導與再僱用優先權利、預警通報義務、以及限制出境之處分為研究之重點。除此之外，本文更藉由他山之石可以攻錯為之論述，比較研究我國與美國、德國、以及日本有關大量解僱保護法制，以供我國參考借鏡。 最後，法律的建構與運用，總是要求能夠越精確、越具體，而盡量避免空洞、歧異與含混為目標，否則喪失穩定性，各種因理解差異的衝突自然增加。本研究發現：其一，我國大量解僱勞工保護法之內容，其定義規範、法條的嚴謹性實在過於簡陋，協商程序過於簡單，且權利義務不明，致使大量解僱勞工保護法之執行與現況產生落差，導致象徵性意味大於實質效用。其二，本研究發現大量解僱事件中之勞工確實相較於一般解僱事件之勞工，受到更多程序及實體性規範之保障。本文認為實應一體地規範於一般性之個別解僱範圍中，以玆給予更周延之勞工保護。 / Because of the transformation of social economy status and international situation, and unnoticed closed-down and shutdown of businesses come up in everyday life, labors’ rights to live and work are endangered harshly. In addition, relevant provisions in labor laws are insufficient to protect such workers. For this reason, the ‘Protective Act for Mass Redundancy of Employees’ was promulgated. This dissertation focuses mainly on the debates of the ‘Protective Act for Mass Redundancy of Employees’. Among the controversies, we especially concentrate on the definition of ‘Mass Redundancy’, layoff project report and notice obligation, processes and means of negotiation between labor and capital, provisions of employment service and preferential right of re-employment, consulting systems, and disciplinary restrictions of exit permission. Besides, we attempt to acquire some useful experiences from comparative studies in related institutions in US, Germany, Japan and Taiwan. Eventually, it deserves to be mentioned, the conflicts of misunderstanding and instability may result from the inaccuracy and incoherence of the regulations, and the emptiness and divergence of its goals. Accordingly, we found that, for one thing, its regulations, definitions and precision are far too crude. Furthermore, the consulting procedures are simple and obligations are equivocal, and may lead to a gap between imagination and reality. In this way, the Act will be nothing but a slogan. For another thing, indeed, we found the labors that suffer from mass redundancy receive much more attention than those who are laid off in normal cases. We should point out, however, all should the government do is to focus on not only those who suffer from mass redundancy, but also reach workers in normal cases. Only in this way, labors would be well protected and regulations could be completed.

O objetivo dessa dissertação é compreender como se dá a relação do trabalhador com atual contexto de acumulação capitalista em situações extremas como a de demissão iminente. Trata-se de um estudo de caso que tem como objeto uma multinacional do setor automotivo que encerrou suas atividades no Rio Grande do Sul em 2016. Objetivou-se discutir sobre como as relações de trabalho e a organização do trabalho foram historicamente construídas e aperfeiçoadas, de forma a tornar a exploração cada vez menos visível para os trabalhadores. Isso possibilita a exploração e consequentemente perpetua e maximiza a acumulação do capital. A análise das entrevistas, triangulada com notícias vinculadas na mídia, dados fornecidos pela empresa e boletins do sindicato, amparados na teoria sugerem que nesta era de financeirização e desterritorialização, alguns mecanismos facilitam a legitimação da exploração. São eles: o discurso do trabalho, a cooptação da subjetividade dos trabalhadores e a falácia da empregabilidade. À medida que a precarização do trabalho se propaga de formas cada vez mais complexas, potencializam-se também as contradições do capital e o trabalhador é colocado cada vez mais sob tensão. Percebe-se que a organização se apropria da subjetividade dos trabalhadores por meio de diferentes mecanismos de gestão e controle. Isso fragiliza os laços sociais, o que tem consequências nas formas de organização coletiva e mecanismos de resistência dos trabalhadores. Posteriormente, apresenta-se a questão da empregabilidade como uma falácia, em que cada vez mais o trabalhador vê-se responsável pelo seu próprio destino, bem como também pelo destino da empresa. Consequente a isso, percebe-se um sentimento de auto-culpabilização e responsabilização excessiva. Finaliza-se analisando os processos de resistência ao fechamento da fábrica. Verifica-se que o trabalhador já não tem mais amparo do seu sindicato, que se encontra enfraquecido politicamente. Outras formas de resistência coletiva articulada também não foram percebidas. Porém, algumas formas individualizadas de resistência foram encontradas, tais como o absenteísmo, boicote ao trabalho e até pequenas sabotagens. Conclui-se que as atuais formas de acumulação de capital, que se valem da desterritorialização, da financeirização e de mecanismos de legitimação da exploração, tornam a situação do trabalhador cada vez mais frágil. O caso da NX ilustra como a abstração do capital e as formas de controle cada vez mais sutis intensificam a precarização do trabalho e diminuem as possibilidades de resistência frente ao capital. As portas fecham porque no processo de reprodução capitalista a lógica das organizações é contribuir para o acúmulo de capital. A medida que essa lógica não atender mais à ética do capital - o lucro, a estratégia passa a ser o fechamento e a transferência para locais com menores custos. / The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how the relation of the worker with the current context of capitalist accumulation takes place in extreme situations like the one of imminent mass dismissal. It is a case study that has, as its object, an automotive multinational factory. Such factory closed its doors in Rio Grande do Sul in April 2016. It starts from this object to discuss how labor relations and the organization of work have historically been built and improved in order to make exploitation less visible to workers. Such invisibility enables exploitation and consequently perpetuates and maximizes the accumulation of capital. The analysis of the interviews triangulated with news in the media, data provided by the company and union bulletins, suggest that in this era of financialization and de-territorialization, some mechanisms enable the legitimation of exploitation. These are: the importance of work for the workers, the co-optation of workers’ subjectivity, and the fallacy of employability. As the precarization of work disseminate more and more, the contradictions of the capital are also potentiated and the worker is increasingly placed under tension. It is perceived that the organization appropriates itself from the subjectivity of workers through different management and control mechanisms. This weakens the social ties, which has consequences in the collective forms of organization and in the mechanisms of resistance of the workers. Subsequently, the issue of employability is presented as a fallacy, in which the worker is increasingly responsible for his own destiny, as well as for the fate of the company. As a result, there is a feeling of self-blame and excessive accountability over the worker. It ends by analyzing the processes of resistance before the closure of the factory. It was verified that the worker is no longer supported by his union, which is politically weakened. Other forms of organized resistance were not noticed. However, some individualized forms of resistance have been found, such as absenteeism, boycotting work and even minor sabotages. We conclude that the current forms of accumulation of capital, which use deterritorialization, financialization and mechanisms to legitimize exploitation, make the situation of the worker increasingly fragile. The doors close because in the process of capitalist reproduction the logic of organizations is to contribute to the accumulation of capital. As this logic no longer meets the ethics of capital - the profit, the strategy becomes closing or transfer to places with lower costs.

O objetivo dessa dissertação é compreender como se dá a relação do trabalhador com atual contexto de acumulação capitalista em situações extremas como a de demissão iminente. Trata-se de um estudo de caso que tem como objeto uma multinacional do setor automotivo que encerrou suas atividades no Rio Grande do Sul em 2016. Objetivou-se discutir sobre como as relações de trabalho e a organização do trabalho foram historicamente construídas e aperfeiçoadas, de forma a tornar a exploração cada vez menos visível para os trabalhadores. Isso possibilita a exploração e consequentemente perpetua e maximiza a acumulação do capital. A análise das entrevistas, triangulada com notícias vinculadas na mídia, dados fornecidos pela empresa e boletins do sindicato, amparados na teoria sugerem que nesta era de financeirização e desterritorialização, alguns mecanismos facilitam a legitimação da exploração. São eles: o discurso do trabalho, a cooptação da subjetividade dos trabalhadores e a falácia da empregabilidade. À medida que a precarização do trabalho se propaga de formas cada vez mais complexas, potencializam-se também as contradições do capital e o trabalhador é colocado cada vez mais sob tensão. Percebe-se que a organização se apropria da subjetividade dos trabalhadores por meio de diferentes mecanismos de gestão e controle. Isso fragiliza os laços sociais, o que tem consequências nas formas de organização coletiva e mecanismos de resistência dos trabalhadores. Posteriormente, apresenta-se a questão da empregabilidade como uma falácia, em que cada vez mais o trabalhador vê-se responsável pelo seu próprio destino, bem como também pelo destino da empresa. Consequente a isso, percebe-se um sentimento de auto-culpabilização e responsabilização excessiva. Finaliza-se analisando os processos de resistência ao fechamento da fábrica. Verifica-se que o trabalhador já não tem mais amparo do seu sindicato, que se encontra enfraquecido politicamente. Outras formas de resistência coletiva articulada também não foram percebidas. Porém, algumas formas individualizadas de resistência foram encontradas, tais como o absenteísmo, boicote ao trabalho e até pequenas sabotagens. Conclui-se que as atuais formas de acumulação de capital, que se valem da desterritorialização, da financeirização e de mecanismos de legitimação da exploração, tornam a situação do trabalhador cada vez mais frágil. O caso da NX ilustra como a abstração do capital e as formas de controle cada vez mais sutis intensificam a precarização do trabalho e diminuem as possibilidades de resistência frente ao capital. As portas fecham porque no processo de reprodução capitalista a lógica das organizações é contribuir para o acúmulo de capital. A medida que essa lógica não atender mais à ética do capital - o lucro, a estratégia passa a ser o fechamento e a transferência para locais com menores custos. / The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how the relation of the worker with the current context of capitalist accumulation takes place in extreme situations like the one of imminent mass dismissal. It is a case study that has, as its object, an automotive multinational factory. Such factory closed its doors in Rio Grande do Sul in April 2016. It starts from this object to discuss how labor relations and the organization of work have historically been built and improved in order to make exploitation less visible to workers. Such invisibility enables exploitation and consequently perpetuates and maximizes the accumulation of capital. The analysis of the interviews triangulated with news in the media, data provided by the company and union bulletins, suggest that in this era of financialization and de-territorialization, some mechanisms enable the legitimation of exploitation. These are: the importance of work for the workers, the co-optation of workers’ subjectivity, and the fallacy of employability. As the precarization of work disseminate more and more, the contradictions of the capital are also potentiated and the worker is increasingly placed under tension. It is perceived that the organization appropriates itself from the subjectivity of workers through different management and control mechanisms. This weakens the social ties, which has consequences in the collective forms of organization and in the mechanisms of resistance of the workers. Subsequently, the issue of employability is presented as a fallacy, in which the worker is increasingly responsible for his own destiny, as well as for the fate of the company. As a result, there is a feeling of self-blame and excessive accountability over the worker. It ends by analyzing the processes of resistance before the closure of the factory. It was verified that the worker is no longer supported by his union, which is politically weakened. Other forms of organized resistance were not noticed. However, some individualized forms of resistance have been found, such as absenteeism, boycotting work and even minor sabotages. We conclude that the current forms of accumulation of capital, which use deterritorialization, financialization and mechanisms to legitimize exploitation, make the situation of the worker increasingly fragile. The doors close because in the process of capitalist reproduction the logic of organizations is to contribute to the accumulation of capital. As this logic no longer meets the ethics of capital - the profit, the strategy becomes closing or transfer to places with lower costs.

Cette thèse porte sur l’exploration des facteurs d’influence et des déterminants qui peuvent décrire et expliquer le comportement d’une entreprise multinationale lors d’un licenciement collectif pour fermeture d’usine mesuré à l’aune de l’idée de responsabilité sociale. Nous prenons pour base les conséquences sociales et économiques néfastes des licenciements collectifs sur les employés et les communautés ainsi que la faiblesse à cet égard du droit du travail québécois. De plus, nous établissons le lien entre la nature de la responsabilité sociale d’un point de vue théorique et la perspective empirique dans le cadre d’un processus de licenciement collectif. Pour arriver à cette fin, au niveau théorique, c’est à travers les critères éthiques de Garrett et Klonoski (1986) soit la juste cause, la minimisation des effets dommageables et la justice procédurale, que notre recherche a démontré qu’il était possible de déterminer de la responsabilité sociale d’une entreprise d’un point de vue empirique dans un contexte de licenciement collectif. Nous avons aussi regardé de près les différentes théories de la responsabilité sociale de l’entreprise pour finalement retenir une théorie instrumentale des parties-prenantes. Au plan méthodologique, nous avons utilisé une étude de cas unique soit celle de la fermeture partielle de l’usine de Rio Tinto Alcan située à Beauharnois au Québec. De plus, il a été possible de catégoriser l’approche adoptée par cette entreprise sous une taxonomie théorique de la responsabilité sociale, c’est donc une approche intégrative à deux niveaux : local et corporatif qui ressort de notre analyse. Au niveau local, nous avons identifié une perspective éthique reliée aux valeurs personnelles des individus devant mettre en place les mécanismes. Au niveau corporatif, c’est davantage une perspective instrumentale qui ressort. En ce sens, la multinationale estime devoir rendre des comptes à la fois à ses actionnaires et aux financiers afin d’établir une légitimité nécessaire ainsi qu’au politique (entre autre municipal et provincial) afin d’avoir accès aux ressources convoitées et nécessaires à son exploitation, de là l’importance de son image corporative. Le type d’entreprise doit être pris en considération, dans le secteur des ressources naturelles, le rôle et l’implication du politique s’avère central car il permet un accès aux ressources, essentiels à la survie de l’entreprise. L’apport de cette recherche se retrouve principalement dans l’étude du concept de responsabilité sociale à travers un phénomène important pour les relations industrielles soit celui des licenciements collectifs. Elle élargie aussi le champ théorique habituelle des relations industrielles en prenant en compte un cadre de la responsabilité sociale qui permet d’étudier des phénomènes sous un nouvel angle qui tient compte des priorités actuelles des multinationales dans un contexte d’ouverture des marchés et de recherche de légitimité. / This thesis deals with the examination of the elements of influence and decision-making that can describe and explain the behaviour of a multinational firm, during a mass layoff brought about by a plant closure, as measured using the concept of social responsibility. We take as a starting point the nefarious social and economic consequences of mass layoffs on employees and communities as well as the shortcomings of Quebec labour legislation in this regard. Moreover, we establish the link between the nature of social responsibility from a theoretical point of view and the empirical perspective within the framework of a mass layoff process. To arrive at this conclusion, at a theoretical level, through the ethical criteria defined by Garrett and Klonoski (1986), that is, just cause, mitigation of damages and procedural justice, our research has demonstrated that it is possible to determine the social responsibility of a firm from an empirical point of view within the context of a mass layoff. We have also closely examined various theories describing a firm’s social responsibility before finally adopting an instrumental theory of stakeholders. At the methodological level, we relied upon a single case study, that of the partial closure of the Rio Tinto Alcan plant located in Beauharnois, Quebec. Moreover, it was possible to categorize the approach adopted by this firm under a theoretical taxonomy of social responsibility, thus producing an integrative approach on two levels, local and corporate, derived from our analysis. At the local level, we identified an ethical perspective related to the personal values of the individuals charged with implementing the necessary mechanisms. At the corporate level, an instrumentalist perspective takes precedence. In this sense, to establish the necessary legitimacy, the multinational firm considers itself accountable to both its shareholders and its financiers as well as to the political level (among them municipal and provincial) in order to have access to the resources it both desires and requires for its operations, from which flows the importance of its corporate image. In the natural resources sector, the type of firm must be taken into account, the role and involvement of the political level being of central importance, given that it allows access to the resources that are essential to the survival of the firm. The contribution of this research lies mainly in the study of the concept of social responsibility through a significant phenomenon in labour relations, that of mass layoffs. This study also expands the usual theoretical domain of labour relations by taking into account a social responsibility framework that allows for the examination of phenomena through a new angle that reflects the current priorities of multinationals within a context of market openness and the search for legitimacy.

Cette thèse porte sur l’exploration des facteurs d’influence et des déterminants qui peuvent décrire et expliquer le comportement d’une entreprise multinationale lors d’un licenciement collectif pour fermeture d’usine mesuré à l’aune de l’idée de responsabilité sociale. Nous prenons pour base les conséquences sociales et économiques néfastes des licenciements collectifs sur les employés et les communautés ainsi que la faiblesse à cet égard du droit du travail québécois. De plus, nous établissons le lien entre la nature de la responsabilité sociale d’un point de vue théorique et la perspective empirique dans le cadre d’un processus de licenciement collectif. Pour arriver à cette fin, au niveau théorique, c’est à travers les critères éthiques de Garrett et Klonoski (1986) soit la juste cause, la minimisation des effets dommageables et la justice procédurale, que notre recherche a démontré qu’il était possible de déterminer de la responsabilité sociale d’une entreprise d’un point de vue empirique dans un contexte de licenciement collectif. Nous avons aussi regardé de près les différentes théories de la responsabilité sociale de l’entreprise pour finalement retenir une théorie instrumentale des parties-prenantes. Au plan méthodologique, nous avons utilisé une étude de cas unique soit celle de la fermeture partielle de l’usine de Rio Tinto Alcan située à Beauharnois au Québec. De plus, il a été possible de catégoriser l’approche adoptée par cette entreprise sous une taxonomie théorique de la responsabilité sociale, c’est donc une approche intégrative à deux niveaux : local et corporatif qui ressort de notre analyse. Au niveau local, nous avons identifié une perspective éthique reliée aux valeurs personnelles des individus devant mettre en place les mécanismes. Au niveau corporatif, c’est davantage une perspective instrumentale qui ressort. En ce sens, la multinationale estime devoir rendre des comptes à la fois à ses actionnaires et aux financiers afin d’établir une légitimité nécessaire ainsi qu’au politique (entre autre municipal et provincial) afin d’avoir accès aux ressources convoitées et nécessaires à son exploitation, de là l’importance de son image corporative. Le type d’entreprise doit être pris en considération, dans le secteur des ressources naturelles, le rôle et l’implication du politique s’avère central car il permet un accès aux ressources, essentiels à la survie de l’entreprise. L’apport de cette recherche se retrouve principalement dans l’étude du concept de responsabilité sociale à travers un phénomène important pour les relations industrielles soit celui des licenciements collectifs. Elle élargie aussi le champ théorique habituelle des relations industrielles en prenant en compte un cadre de la responsabilité sociale qui permet d’étudier des phénomènes sous un nouvel angle qui tient compte des priorités actuelles des multinationales dans un contexte d’ouverture des marchés et de recherche de légitimité. / This thesis deals with the examination of the elements of influence and decision-making that can describe and explain the behaviour of a multinational firm, during a mass layoff brought about by a plant closure, as measured using the concept of social responsibility. We take as a starting point the nefarious social and economic consequences of mass layoffs on employees and communities as well as the shortcomings of Quebec labour legislation in this regard. Moreover, we establish the link between the nature of social responsibility from a theoretical point of view and the empirical perspective within the framework of a mass layoff process. To arrive at this conclusion, at a theoretical level, through the ethical criteria defined by Garrett and Klonoski (1986), that is, just cause, mitigation of damages and procedural justice, our research has demonstrated that it is possible to determine the social responsibility of a firm from an empirical point of view within the context of a mass layoff. We have also closely examined various theories describing a firm’s social responsibility before finally adopting an instrumental theory of stakeholders. At the methodological level, we relied upon a single case study, that of the partial closure of the Rio Tinto Alcan plant located in Beauharnois, Quebec. Moreover, it was possible to categorize the approach adopted by this firm under a theoretical taxonomy of social responsibility, thus producing an integrative approach on two levels, local and corporate, derived from our analysis. At the local level, we identified an ethical perspective related to the personal values of the individuals charged with implementing the necessary mechanisms. At the corporate level, an instrumentalist perspective takes precedence. In this sense, to establish the necessary legitimacy, the multinational firm considers itself accountable to both its shareholders and its financiers as well as to the political level (among them municipal and provincial) in order to have access to the resources it both desires and requires for its operations, from which flows the importance of its corporate image. In the natural resources sector, the type of firm must be taken into account, the role and involvement of the political level being of central importance, given that it allows access to the resources that are essential to the survival of the firm. The contribution of this research lies mainly in the study of the concept of social responsibility through a significant phenomenon in labour relations, that of mass layoffs. This study also expands the usual theoretical domain of labour relations by taking into account a social responsibility framework that allows for the examination of phenomena through a new angle that reflects the current priorities of multinationals within a context of market openness and the search for legitimacy.