Now I'll take RC's side because it happens in real life.
my girlfriend's dad was regional director for a company of concrete and cement (if those are the right words
)
the company had 2 divisions, concrete and cement. Then one day a swiss company bought the mexican company and guess what, they decided to merge the 2 divisions. So my gf's dad was laid off because the company would have 2 regional directors.
"smooth" take overs are when they lay off ppl slowly and without big news about 2000 employees fired
and all mergers are brutal. Why have 2 equal departments and functions with employees. All companies are guided by financial things...