Answer: Subcontracting production
Explanation:
It is cheaper for ABC Company to subcontract the jobs than to hire and fire workers as needed. Even though the cost is similar when it comes to hiring permanent workers and training them vs subcontracting them, when the company needs to produce less goods, the cost of firing the permanent employees is simply too much.
For instance, 1,000 units out of the 4,000 units in the second quarter cannot be covered by the 30 workers they have. They will need to hire 10 additional workers and training them would cost $30,000. That is the same cost they would incur if they subcontracted (30 * 1,000 units = $30,000).
What happens in quarter 4 however, when they have to let go of 10 employees because production dropped by 1,000 units? They will have to pay $50,000. If they were subcontracting, they would not have to pay a dime. It is therefore better to subcontract.
