It's probably better to look at the sad history of UK and French nationalization. No Gulag, only mediocrity with just as awful labor/management relations.
They broke up cabals by nationalizing individuals member of them? Or you're just doing "red govt bad"?
Nationalizing means no one is really interested in making the thing succeed. They are now only interested in not getting fired. No one's the owner. This is how whole Soviet economy worked and it was a very unpleasant sight.
Being part of something that feeds your countrymen and pays a living wage = not interested in success, but being overworked and underpaid = wanting to work? I think you fail to realize the corporate interests and misinformation that goes into censoring any inkling of Marxist ideas. In fact, many of Marx writings were banned and he got kicked out of multiple countries.
They’re talking about ownership and management, not the cogs who couldn’t give a shit either way if it’s public or private as long as they get (under) paid.
We are all happy! We pretend to work. The government pretends to pay us.
The USPS did pretty well this holiday season.
Putting them in receivership then spinning them off could work (possibly nuking the investors and definitely the company leadership but keeping the workers/factories intact).