ABSTRACT
A CEO, freshly recruited from a highly profitable, family-owned business, faced the stark reality that the high-tech company he now led would not survive unless a major reduction in staff was made. He made the decision that, aside from keeping the very few people whose skills were absolutely critical for the survival of the business, the first to be released would be those who could most easily find a new job. Furthermore, no one over the age of 50 would be let go. Everybody—including the company’s bankers who were keeping extremely close tabs on what was going on—was deeply sceptical about the rationale behind the CEO’s decisions.
