Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/227367 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13840
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We study the reactions to job destructions on Twitter. We use information on large-scale job-destruction and job-creation events announced in the United Kingdom over the period 2013-2018. We match it with data collected on Twitter regarding the number and sentiments of the tweets posted around the time of the announcement and involving the company name. We show that job-destruction announcements immediately elicit numerous and strongly negative reactions. On the day of the announcement, the number of tweets and first-level replies sharply increases as does the negativity of the sentiments of the posted tweets. These reactions are systematically more important than reactions to job creations. We also show that they trigger significant losses in the market value of the downsizing firms. Our findings suggest that job destructions generate reputational costs for firms to the extent that they induce a strong negative buzz involving the company name.
Subjects: 
job destructions
job creations
adjustment costs
social media
sentiment analysis
cumulative abnormal returns
JEL: 
G14
J63
L82
M21
M51
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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