Cutting Fat Won't Be Enough To Survive This Crisis

It will take years to build the "new global financial architecture" that President Clinton and other officials want, but business leaders can't wait that long. Facing slower growth around the world, volatile markets, and fierce competition from products priced in cheap currencies, many CEOs are restructuring their companies. Their efforts, however, are likely to fall short of what's needed.

Some companies, such as Raytheon and 3M, are announcing big cost-saving layoffs. This may please Wall Street, but pink slips do nothing to improve a company's products and sales, and they can destroy morale and productivity.