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away from this meeting you’ll feel I’ve given you just the opposite.”
    There was no discernible change in their worried expressions. People were anxious and rightly so.
    “You all know our bean counter, Hal Phillips. He and I have been working with Nancy on a reorganization plan we think will pull Premier Motors back into the black. We were lucky to have also the advice of my father, George Kaklis, who has successfully steered this company through forty years of ups and downs.” Invoking her father’s role in developing the strategy for their turnaround would help win support among some of the old-timers in the room, people who had come up through the ranks in the car business back when he headed the company. “That said, I want you to know these are my decisions, and mine alone. If you have grievances, bring them to me.”
    The last thing she wanted was sniping about favoritism among her executive staff. She had done her utmost to assure each dealership of its importance to the Premier Motors brand.
    “I don’t have to tell you that the auto industry is suffering right now. The good news is that our German brands have hit bottom already and started making a comeback, unlike our competitors in Detroit. And let’s face it—BMWs will always sell in Southern California. The sad fact, though, is we’re down almost thirty percent in sales of new and used cars, and people are putting off bringing their cars in for parts and service. Quite a few of our salespeople have already left us in search of greener pastures, but they were all on commission so that didn’t save us any outlay. The real problem is that we haven’t kept pace in our office and service departments. We currently have one hundred-eighty full-timers excluding sales staff, and we need to get that down to one-thirty. The math is easy—that’s fifty jobs, and the losses have to be spread across our entire workforce.”
    She paused to catch her breath and realized they were catching theirs too. No doubt all were mentally calculating what such cuts might mean to their respective departments.
    “Those of you who know me understand what a difficult decision it is for me personally to part with people I care about, people I’ve worked with every day for years. That’s why the main objective of this plan is to avoid forced layoffs. Instead we’ll be offering early retirement to all employees fifty-five and older with at least ten years service, and severance packages to everyone else based on salary and length of service. Nancy has all the specifics, and now I’m going to turn the meeting over to her.”
    As Nancy spelled out the details, Anna studied the attentive faces of her executive and managerial staff, not surprised they seemed relieved her initial plan wouldn’t include involuntary terminations. Morale was low enough with the decline in sales. It was an attractive package, but one she hoped no one in the room would accept. It had taken a couple of years after the acquisitions to get all the right top-level people into place. Without them she was sure to find herself working long hours again.
    With the baby coming she had more reasons than ever to want a competent management team. When the recession started she began working more frequently on the weekends, and that cut into her family time. At least Andy enjoyed coming to the dealership with her on Saturdays. She wondered if this new child would share their appreciation for cars.
    Hal cleared his throat and gave her a peculiar look.
    Anna straightened abruptly in her chair and wiped the errant smile from her face, realizing with horror that everyone in the room seemed to be awaiting her word. “Excuse me, could you repeat that?”
    It was Roger Goforth, the service manager at the Palm Springs VW dealership. “I asked what happens if you don’t get fifty volunteers. It’s a tough time to expect people to give up their jobs.”
    “I appreciate that, Roger. That’s why we’ve tried to make