Having worked in the past for a company that was acquired by a US firm, I would suggest that although the money and promises made are attractive, the outcome is often less so (“US giants plan raid on British consultancy sector”, 11 December, page 9)
In the year after the takeover, I had four managers, three department realignments and two company name changes, all without moving from my desk. Having sat through an hour of the senior vice president promising everything, we were rewarded with closure and I was scheduled for redundancy.
The redundancies left vast holes in the knowledge base and people who had been let go were often re-employed as consultants because nobody else knew what they did.
I’m sure the US and UK can deal with each other successfully, but we are so far apart culturally and in business philosophy that a takeover rarely works.
Steve, via building.co.uk
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