In 1978, before restructuring was a common boardroom term, Jewel sold its Turn-Style discount department store business to the May Department Store Company. Because May could not immediately use many of the Turn-Style stores outside metropolitan Chicago, Jewel closed them. This meant that almost 3,000 full-and part-time employees were no longer needed. We in Jewel’s management were aware of outplacement programs for executives, but we did not know of similar efforts for hourly workers. Concerned about the well-being of those who were leaving as well as about the morale of those remaining, we tried something new: we hired a consultant, an early Jewel retiree who was an experienced human resources executive. His instructions were simple: help every displaced worker who needs help, including part-timers. With a small crew, the consultant did just that.
A version of this article appeared in the November 1987 issue of Harvard Business Review.