There is definitely a problem with MBAs who come in to companies and obsess about one or two statistics or numbers and reorder the business to maximize/minimize some metric but it destroys the business in the process. Another example is the Sears CEO Eddie Lampert.
It's a shame because Morton Salt sounds like it was irreparably harmed which is a huge cost for a lot of people (jobs and profits lost) but the CEO at worst just loses their job after a couple years if they hadn't moved on already.
You can't take a top performer with decades of success in a company and replace him with a 22 year old, even an exceptional one, and not have problems.
There's a reason that company's layoffs usually affect those with the least time there, because its the least harmful strategy. Surprised that fact isn't part of the MBA curriculum.
It's a shame because Morton Salt sounds like it was irreparably harmed which is a huge cost for a lot of people (jobs and profits lost) but the CEO at worst just loses their job after a couple years if they hadn't moved on already.