The target location (locally or crossborder) and size will heavily affect the approach of the acquirer and the stress on the target. Key employees need to be identified as soon as possible in the DD process and clear communication on the strategic goals could reassure these key employees who will otherwise be among the first to leave. Often the stress is related to their future and potential evolution (e.g. new organization structure, role, salary/package, etc.). The idea is to retain the good and key employees while at the same removing inefficient or disruptive ones, as usually, the fact of not taking difficult decisions at the beginning leads to a disruptive employee long-term cost being much higher than the short-term and more difficult decision of addressing the problem early.
