The Remedy: Bringing Lean Thinking Out of the Factory to Transform the Entire Organization

Chapter 6. Cluing into Chloe

"Given lagging Desperado sales and current economic conditions, we have no choice but to announce these layoffs at New Jersey Motor Manufacturing . . ."

I read the note on my BlackBerry with mounting anger. It would be released in a couple of days. Morgan and May would chop the entire second shift at NJMM—800 people. Weaker demand and our improved productivity gave them the excuse they needed. It would shatter morale and make a liar out of me. I had promised that nobody would lose his or her job because of kaizen.

I called Rachel. Turns out she had been fighting a rearguard action for some time. Rachel was furious with Maude Beecher, our EVP of Human Resources, who had sided with Finance. "You'd think an HR VP would look after people."

With Beecher on his side, Morgan went to Cafferty and asked him to sign off on the layoff. Cafferty had agreed "with regret." Great leadership, John, I thought.

Andy frowned when I told him. We had just finished our daily walk-through at CMM and were heading to the obeya. "The cost saving is false," he said. "Volume will recover, but morale will not."

"It's bizarre," I said. "Why would they sabotage us? The company needs a successful launch. We've just come out of bankruptcy."

"Very strange," Andy agreed.

I took a deep breath. "I won't accept it."

Andy and I got coffee out of the vending machine, went to a whiteboard and did some brainstorming. Half an hour later, we had our plan. It was bold and a little crazy. I called Rachel ...