The Employment Adjustment Subsidy finances a proportion of wage payments if the firm has to scale down its business operations for cyclical or industrial restructuring reasons and, without dismissals, adopts measures such as temporary leave with pay, in-house education or training, or temporary transfer of employees to other firms. Short-time work not only prevents unemployment but also facilitates a rapid expansion of economic activities when demand increases again. It helps to avoid redundancies which may lead to loss of firm-specific human capital, and a later need for recruitment which is costly and time-consuming (OECD, 2009g). The rationale for short-time work schemes is strongest for companies whose financial difficulties are linked to the business cycle rather than to structural factors. However, the restructuring process is often accelerated during recessions, and some dead-weight losses are inevitable. In order to improve the instrument and its impact on the future job situation of the workers, some other OECD countries, e.g. Austria, Belgium, France and Germany,167 promote the training of workers in the short-time-work subsidy scheme (OECD, 2009g).