The Case Against Layoffs
Dear Marker Reader,
In my nearly 20 years as a business journalist there are always those interviews that you can never quite shake. The audacious ones, the ones that leave you speechless, and then the ones that surprise you in a more subtly poignant way, like when J.Crew’s creative director Jenna Lyons told me that motivating creatives was like being a therapist: “Some people need tough love. Some people need a lot of love.” It’s a piece of management wisdom I still carry with me today.
Marker’s interview with a much more under the radar business figure will have, I think, a similar effect on you — especially as so many companies grapple with layoffs. Bob Chapman is the CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, a 125-year-old, 12,000 employee, St. Louis-based company that makes equipment for other manufacturers.
READ: What It’s Like to Realize Your Business Might Not Survive This
When the 2008 financial crisis hit, Chapman was faced with an impossible choice: lay off thousands of workers, or go out of business? He managed to figure out a third way — one that I think should make every business leader stop in their tracks right now.
Before we head into the weekend, I’ll leave you with this quote from Chapman, who in the end, didn’t make a single layoff: “I asked myself what a family would do when faced with such a crisis. Every member of the family would sacrifice a little so no one person would have to suffer a lot.”
I urge you to read the piece, and let it remain with you for a very, very long time.
Executive Editor, Marker // Medium
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