Firms make contingency plans for economic downturn

Four out of five UK firms have contingency plans in place for managing their staff in an economic downturn, according to research.

Consultancy Watson Wyatt’s survey of 1,389 organisations across 37 countries found that 79 per cent of UK companies had contingency plans in place by the end of summer 2008. This compares with 80 per cent on average across Europe and 67 per cent in the US.