The Great Recession of 2007–2009 presented a dramatic opportunity for Barry-Wehmiller to make good on its promise to care for people like family. When new equipment orders declined considerably and layoffs seemed inevitable, Chapman instead initiated a program of shared sacrifice. Following his principle that in a caring family “all the family members would absorb some pain so that no member of the family had to experience a dramatic loss,”59 there were no layoffs. Instead, all employees, no matter their position, took a mandatory unpaid furlough of four weeks at the time of their choosing.
