Shutting down a factory of a major US MNC
The Situation
WIL Group’s Client had experienced declining sales of transformers and wanted to close a large transformer factory in India. To do this, they needed to settle with the over 600 direct and indirect workers.
The Client was faced with a very difficult situation in terms of local politics and the union. The workers had gone on strike to extract compensation equal to 10 years of salary per worker.
The situation was highly ambiguous and dynamic, with multiple players, multiple strategic options, and different payoffs for each move by each of the players.
The Solution
WIL Group deployed a dynamic, charismatic, experienced manager to negotiate with unions and local government, deal with an issue relating to industrial contamination, etc. in order to implement the action plan.
WIL Group’s Manager explored other options, such as selling the factory rather than shutting it down. Two potential buyers had already been identified, and WIL Group’s manager engaged with them.
To maintain maximum bargaining power, WIL Group’s manager adopted two parallel sets of activities: closing down the facility and negotiating with a buyer to keep the facility open.