A system and method that analyzes employee data and assists management with surplus determinations is used for automated resource reduction analysis. Areas within the organization are identified that include surplus resources. These areas are further identified to determine which skill groups have surplus skills. Skill groups can be broken down by level. A determination is made as to what decreases are desired for the identified skill groups and levels. Employees within the identified skill groups and levels are evaluated using common evaluation templates that set forth the expected skills employees should have for a given skill group and level. The evaluated employee records are sorted by the evaluations to determine the spectrum of skills within a particular skill group and level. The desired reduction percentage is then applied to the sorted records to identify surplus employees. These identified surplus employees are then reviewed using organizational surplus guidelines and applicable laws.