Chapter 26: How to Succeed A Post-Downsizing Large-Scale Economic Recovery

In the face of economic crises, the use of the Employment Protection Plan (EPS) is frequent but not very conclusive, both on the social and economic levels. Through the study of an intervention-research conducted within a middle size company, this chapter shows that the external environment alone does not explain the economic difficulties of companies and that a large part of the socio-economic performance is internal. This case study also shows how a proactive strategy, focused on hidden costs-performance, constitutes the “foundation” of a deep and sustainable restructuring, and allows for a large-scale economic recovery.