[ethbro]

> and the size of your company actually becomes a hindrance rather than an asset.

I'd say less size than diversity. Conglomerate aren't subject to this and still preserve a lot of the benefits of size (although as GE Capital shows... that can go badly too if not risk-managed).

[ghaff]

Although I'd argue that, if anything, a conglomerate is even more likely to just walk away from a business that's in sharp decline rather than taking heroic measures to try to fix things the best they can. Maybe maintain it as a small cash cow business if appropriate, but you probably end up with a lot of the same factories closed and workers laid off.

The company as a whole probably makes it through OK and that's probably a net positive given HQ staffs and so forth will be more likely to keep their jobs and there's less disruption than a bankruptcy but a lot of the same net effect is still the same.