BC : Making cuts

December 15, 2018

Summary

Discussing pros and cons of different solutions to a problem

In this lesson you will take part in a meeting to discuss how a small company can reduce its expenditure. You will identify what expenses companies have and listen to two company directors discussing some ideas for reducing expenditure. You will focus on hypothetical language and some verb noun collocations related to money and the workplace.

ME: It’s been a bad year Charles. It’s not just us, of course, it’s the general economic situation…

C: Yep. But we can’t just wait and hope things improve. We’re just about breaking even now but who knows what’s going to happen next year? We could be making a loss. So we need to look at where we can make a few savings…

ME: I know, so let’s see. Well the first possibility is the hardest – cutting posts.

C: Hmm, redundancies. I know, TOMMY, staff costs are high. The best thing of course would be if somebody actually wanted to go.

ME: Yes, well we could see if there were any expressions of interest in voluntary redundancy.

C: Yes, it’s a pity…we’ve got a really great team, with everyone doing a good job. If someone went then we’d need to share out their workload. And in reality I’m not sure how easy that would be…

ME: Another possibility would be to see if anyone wanted to reduce their hours, you know, go part-time. That could make things a lot easier and result in a significant saving …

C: Yes, that’s not a bad idea at all. Do you think anyone would be interested?

ME: Well maybe. If they could cope financially with the reduction in salary. Some people might like the opportunity to spend more time with their family, or more time on something they enjoy doing..

C: We could make it temporary.. so they’d have the option of returning to full time after a year, say.

ME: Good, yes. So that’s an option. Now what else can we suggest……