Today's Labor Quote: John A. Byrne

Byrne was the author of the 1999 biography “Chainsaw,” about CEO Al Dunlap, infamous for inflating short-term profits by firing thousands of employees in the name of efficiency and cutting costs. Byrne later said:

“(Dunlap) sucked the very life and soul out of companies and people. He stole dignity, purpose, and sense out of organizations and replaced those ideals with fear and intimidation.”

On this date in 1996, “Chainsaw Al” Dunlap announced he was restructuring the Sunbeam Corp. and laid off 6,000 workers—half the workforce. Sunbeam later nearly collapsed after a series of scandals under Dunlap’s leadership that cost investors billions of dollars.

---