Nothing makes employees feel less secure than a pending acquisition or merger.
And nothing makes bosses less secure than thinking their best workers are going to flee before the deal closes. After all, when employees get nervous, headhunters start circling. These plans include such plums as additional stock options and bonuses, doled out in increments, to entice valuable employees to stay. Often, retention plans are in place before a sale is announced, and they can play a critical role in whether a deal even happens. Take Trans World Airlines' sale of its assets to American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp., Fort Worth, Texas.