retrench vs scale back

retrench

verb
  • To cut down or reduce. 

  • To furnish with a retrenchment (a defensive work within a fortification). 

  • To dig or redig a trench where one already exists. 

  • To terminate the employment of a worker to reduce the size of a workforce; to make redundant. 

  • To abridge; to curtail. 

  • To live less expensively; to economize. 

  • To confine; to limit; to restrict. 

  • To take up a new defensive position. 

scale back

verb
  • To make a reduction in the amount, extent, etc. of something. 

How often have the words retrench and scale back occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )