I too grew up in Schenectady where Jack Welch earned the nickname “Neutron Jack”. The employees were sacked but the buildings still stood.
The city continued to levy property taxes against those buildings, so Jack Welch had them demolished. I remember driving through the Schenectady on my way to work and driving past those city blocks of rubble.
Pride goeth before a fall, says the proverb, but so does smallness. While Jack Welch made money for GE, he also gutted its heart. What did it even manufacture by the time he was done? Loans and life insurance quotes.
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How One of the Country’s Most Storied C.E.O.s Destroyed His Legacy