Ops #6 - Can this plant be saved? part I.

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I was given responsible for a plant in the mid west that was performing very poorly in virtually every category. The Division GM had asked me to take responsibility for the plant and he, the VP of Sales, The Customer Service Manager, and myself flew from California to inform the Plant Manager and assess what it would take to get the plant back on track. The VP of Sales was there because customers were screaming for something to be done at the plant and she would have to sell any turn-around efforts to them. The plant had been performing badly for over a year and no one could actually remember when the plant performed well. I spent a few days reviewing the plants records and talking to all of the managers. At a wrap up meeting at the end of the third day the Sales VP asked me how long it would take to get the late orders shipped and improve the product quality. I told her that we could be back to the schedule within 5 weeks. After a year of customer complaints I expected her to jump for joy that she could report to customers that we would be back on track that quickly. I actually had my doubts that it could be pulled off that quickly. Her reaction was to literally sit down and put her head on the table and start crying. She said “I can’t take this for another five weeks”.

What I found was a terrible relationship between the management of the plant and the unionized workforce. The relations were so contentious that the plant, of only about 150 employees, was generating several grievances per week. This led to a meeting between the Plant Manager and the Shop Steward every day to discuss plant activities. I was told these daily meetings often lasted for two hours. It was clear that poor leadership was the fundamental problem and I had no choice but to remove the Plant Manager and named myself as Acting Plant Manager while starting a search for a replacement. When the corporate headquarters learned of the extent of the problems at the plant, they informed me that they intended to close the plant. I asked for a chance to turn it around and they basically told me that I could try if I wanted, but they were going to proceed with preparations to close the plant.

A meeting was called for the entire plant to inform them of the change in leadership. I presented to the employees the plant performance scores and how they compared to the company’s other fifteen plants. They were at the bottom of almost every category. I explained some of the things that needed to change and how important it was that the plant improve. In keeping with the environment of animosity between the workers and management, one of the old timers stood up after I was done speaking and said something to the effect of “We’re glad the other guy is gone, but we’ve heard it all before and he’s the sixth plant manager we’ve run off and you’ll be the seventh”. Having some experience with a rough crowd, I had one of my best ever retorts. I calmly responded that I couldn’t guarantee that all the efforts to improve that I had laid out would work, but what I could guarantee was that if they didn’t, there would not be an eighth plant manager. I could tell by the reaction in the room that no one thought I was bluffing.

Yes this really happened.  Check back in the next few days to find out what happened.  How would you handle this situation?