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The case series recounts the decline and near demise of the largest machine tool manufacturer in (then) Yugoslavia, some fifty-five years after its founding. Part (A) covers the increasingly difficult market environment of late 1990 and a new director''s struggle to help his company through the transition to open market competition. This first case describes the operation of twenty semi- autonomous work groups employing over 7,500 people in 16 different factories. Aware that he must act fast to save the company, the new director reviews a list of problems common to many Eastern and Central European companies: lost business in the (then) USSR and other Eastern European countries; bloated employment rosters; unwieldy decision-making processes required by law; lack of capital; and exchange rates that jeopardize export sales. There is a follow-on (B) case (393-050-1).