Corporate downsizing has been the biggest fallout of the troubled times the world is witnessing. Companies have to make meaningful contributions to make inroads into a wide range of business endeavours in the new global competitive world. This is being done through the instrumentality of downsizing which is a proactive strategy defined as a process which results in layoffs and the streaming of functions as well as the redesigning of systems. It refers to a process where a company or a firm simply reduces its workforce in order to cut the operating costs and improve efficiency and thus economic growth. Downsizing has become a legitimate option for business growth strategies especially after the 1980s. In Nigeria, downsizing is, in fact, the most preferred option of companies to sustain operating costs and comply with the existing scope of the business. Downsizing, if properly conceived and implemented, has a tremendous potential for organizational survival and futurity and boast for economic growth especially for a developing economy like Nigeria. The study adopts a simple literature survey method and concludes that downsizing strategies are highly necessary for organizational competitiveness and efficiency in the new world order. It further stresses inter alia that downsizing be tailored as both a defensive and offensive strategy in the best interest for any organization in the troubled times that the Nigerian economy is witnessing in the recent past.