Review Essay Financialization, Private Equity, and Employment Relations in the

Private equity (PE) firms are a key actor in the increasing financialization of the economy since the 1980s and have had profound effects on the nature and consequences of work. Private Equity at Work by Eileen Appelbaum and Rosemary Batt provides a timely and comprehensive overview of what PE is, how it makes money, and how it affects the companies and employees it acquires. The book also evaluates PE’s role in the American economy and outlines a variety of strategies that are needed to address its negative con-sequences. The authors conclude that while PE benefits its investors, it often does so at the expense of the acquired companies and their workers as they eliminate and degrade jobs