Friendly Takeover: How an Employee Buyout Saved a Steel Town [Paperback]

James B. Lieber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Lieber spent five years studying Wierton Steel's turnaround from another near-Rust Belt casualty to an inspirational success story, talking to people at all levels--ordinary workers, local and national labor leaders--to show what it took to make the company work for employee and management alike.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lieber, a Pittsburgh lawyer and writer, spent five years preparing this straightforward narrative account of Ernest T. Weir's successful Depression-era steel company, the changing postwar technology of plastics and aluminum that severely damaged the firm's competitiveness, and "the ultimate experiment in capitalism"?an employee stock ownership plan facilitated by federal legislation and by tax rulings of the 1980s?that brought the moribund company and the West Virginia community of Weirton back to life. The story is full of industrial and personal drama and accounts of labor management conflict and accommodation. It sheds new light on employee-owner initiatives that arise in response to the need to preserve jobs in ailing firms and offers factual guidance for comparable rescues in industries hard-pressed by economic adversity.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Lieber, a lawyer who grew up in Pittsburgh during the boom days of the steel industry, has written his first book on the story of how one steel company survived the dramatic downfall of its industry. Weirton Steel in Weirton, West Virginia, which provides thousands of jobs, survives today because of an employee buyout. Lieber examines the entire process of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan Weirton used and the personalities that made this "friendly takeover" happen. He follows the bankers, politicians, labor leaders, consultants, company managers, and ordinary workers who made the buyout work. Lieber also delves into changes in the work culture that occurred at Weirton to make it more competitive with foreign steelmakers. A fascinating, readable look at labor-management relations and corporate high finance. Recommended for large business collections.?Joel Jones, Kansas City P.L., Mo.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014010710X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140107104
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,721,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The employees took over the company and kept it alive., June 15, 1998

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moneyblows books (Lee, NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friendly Takeover: How an Employee Buyout Saved a Steel Town (Paperback)

Weirton Steel in West Virginia has now taken its place as one of the most successful employee buyouts in history. Because of the process that began in 1983, the company extended its life by twelve years and, according to the author, "probably will last another dozen." That's a big accomplishment in a business once thought destined for the scrap heap. The dramatic story of Weirton, with plenty of relevance for today, is dramatically and expertly documented by this attorney and experienced journalist who spent five years studying the process.