Is there precedent anyone can point to where these sorts of wild dramatic moves under new leadership led to turning a large company around into success?
Jørgen Vig Knudstorp was tapped to take control of LEGO when its business was on the verge of failing (in such a way that the founding family themselves did not know they were so close to the edge).
Entire departments and ventures were cut.
Guy Roz does a very interesting interview on Wisdom from the Top about it.
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/04/1043122974/lego-jorgen-vig-kn...
David Heinemeier Hansson
November 5, 2022
Apple fired 4,100 when Steve Jobs returned in 1997
https://world.hey.com/dhh/apple-fired-4-100-when-steve-jobs-returned-in-1997-57ed6bc6And, importantly, while Jobs had strong opinions, he was often willing to let them be challenged, and to be convinced to change his mind.
You can see some similarity to Boeing after having MD's management taking over, accounting-wise it's working, engineering-wise it's fallen deep into a pit of issues.
It doesn't even look like there will be any advertisers left by the time the dust settles.
It was up to Musk to assure Twitter's biggest revenue sources that he would lead with a steady hand. He hasn't done anything except publicly revel in firing people, then ignore the issue of trolls using his $8/mo. feature to impersonate corporate brands.
Digital ad campaigns have budgets, and they can be shifted around platforms without much hassle. The money will be shifted to platforms that actually listen to what advertisers are asking for, which is basic brand safety.