IntroductionThe current economic recession has a huge influence on businesses. The field of human resource management (HRM) is no exception. Common practices during these times in human resources departments are not hiring new employees, layoffs, not paying for overworked hours, cutting costs including salaries and bonuses, less training and early retirement programs, and so on. What has happened in my country, Japan, since the financial crisis began has been very different from previous recessions, such as the one in the 1990s. For example, TOYOTA began reducing working days from five days a week to three or four days a week in most factories instead of laying off employees. They eventually decided to temporarily close some of them. It was a very shocking event for the Japanese as TOYOTA is a world famous automobile company and a major automobile company. This essay will first discuss downsizing as a common HRM practice during recession from the perspective of cost cutting and alternatives to layoffs. Subsequently, the role of training during the economic crisis will also be illustrated. Finally, we will discuss how the financial crisis affects fairness in human resource management using examples of gender pay gaps, age discrimination and fairness perception transition in the case of Thailand. The essay also argues what reduction and training strategies should be implemented in times of recession. It is also discussed how HR departments can consider fairness in such a difficult time for layoffs and salaries since "fairness" is a key word in current human resource management such as equal pay and equal opportunities. Downsizing: Cost Cutting Cost cutting is the first effort that is considered in every department when an economic downturn hits. Aycan and Kabasakal (2006, pp. 492-493) argue that focusing on reducing human resource costs should… half of article…-23Pudolowski, E.M. (2009). Managing Human Resource Cost in a Declining Economic Environment Benefits Quarterly, Forth Wuarter, 25(4), 37-44Rao, MS (2009). Is cutting development and training in times of recession a good idea? Looking at the IT and ITeS sector in India, DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING IN ORGANIZATIONS, 23(5), 7-9Robertson, S.R. & Dayal, V. (2009). When Less is More: Human Resource Management with Short Staff, Compensation Benefits Review, 41, 21-26 Rowey, C & Bae, J. (2004). Human resource management in South Korea after the Asian financial crisis: Patterns emerging from the labyrinth, Institutional Management and Organization Studies, 34(1), 2-82Tzafrir, S.S. & Eitam-Meilik, M. (2005). The Impact of Downsizing on Employee Trust and Practices in High Tech Companies: A Longitudinal Analysis, Journal of High Technology Management Research, 16, 193-207