Please suggest a 'catchy phrase' for why dh was sacked/lost job.

[namechanger19]

Dh was made 'redundant'.
He wants to agree reference and agree why they got rid of him. So that they say the same thing as he says, at interviews.

The reasons are money.
Dh has worked for them for less than 2 years. Money is very tight for the company.
He started, they had theft of stock going on. And all sorts of rules/proceedures, etc were missing. He set up all the systems.

He got it all working nicely. He kind of worked himself out of a job.
Then they hired friend of MD, for half dh's money.

So how can you describe this?
Can you suggest a nice 'catchy phrase' that is truthful, but apt, for a manager , why he lost his job?

Please. I know MN is brilliant at these kinds of things.

Made redundant due to company restructuring?

Thank you. But there's been no restructuring. Does that matter?

"Made redundant due to forced budget cuts"?

He was working on a project basis and he has now successfully completed that project. Though he did an excellent job, there is not another role for him in the company as he was brought in specifically to undertake this project.

(If it is queried why he was not contracted, you can say it was for IR35 reasons - where HMRC treat you as an employee, despite being technically a contractor, and can fine you substantially, if they believe you have been trying to avoid tax by claiming you are a contractor)

There was a restructure - he set up systems which work, therefore they don't need an employee with that (more expensive) skill set, they can manage with a numpty friend of the MD less impressively skilled, cheaper employee instead.

Agree with PP re:"restructuring". They did restructure - they had someone working on business process improvements then processes improved so they restructured (got rid of the role). He may want to position it as a team restructure - thus it affecting a smaller part of the business.

Thank you.
I will suggest keeping it simple with 're-structuring'.

Not sure you necessarily need a catchy phrase, or to mention the hiring of md's friend at half the salary. Just need to explain what happened (and what you've described sounds perfectly credible and doesn't require over-explaining). If the company were to say something along the lines of:

Mr namechanger took on the role of x requiring him to increase efficiency by putting a, b, c systems and regulations in place. These objectives were achieved and consequently, his position became redundant.

During his time with the company, Mr nc was always (insert relevant favourable adjectives) and demonstrated his ability to (insert relevant verbs). The company was extremely pleased with Mr nc's contribution and would be happy to recommend him for similar roles.

(This is not a suggestion for a full reference - just an idea for covering the explanation part.)

Future companies seeking references may of course choose to ask their own questions, rather than accept a pre-written document. I assume you're husband's discussions will cover all eventualities.