Final answer:
Attrition is the right answer, describing the situation where positions are left unfilled after employees leave. Downsizing, on the other hand, involves actively laying off employees to reduce the workforce and is not a passive process like attrition.
Step-by-step explanation:
The situation where employees are terminated or empty positions are left unfilled once someone leaves an organization is described as attrition. Attrition occurs when an organization decides not to fill the vacancy left by a departing employee, either due to financial constraints or strategic restructuring. Unlike downsizing, which is a more active approach involving laying off employees to reduce the workforce, attrition is a passive approach where vacancies are left open. It can be a part of a company's cost-saving measures or a natural result of workforce management.
Downsizing is quite different from attrition. It is a deliberate reduction of a company's workforce through layoffs, often to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Downsizing can involve not only letting go of employees but also the implementation of strategies like outsourcing or streamlining operations. Companies may need the expertise of industrial-organizational psychologists to manage the downsizing process and mitigate the impact on remaining employees.