Meet the CEO whose century-old company never laid off employees through the Great Depression, the recession, or Covid

Torani, a beverage and syrup company founded in 1925, has never laid off an employee since the Great Depression, despite facing economic downturns such as the recession of 2008, globalization, automation, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Melanie Dulbecco, the CEO of Torani, has been running the company for 35 years and is now facing the challenge of incorporating AI into her business.

However, she wants to maintain her company's century-old tradition of never laying off employees, even in the face of AI-driven automation. Dulbecco believes that the key to achieving this goal is to prioritize the value that her 500 employees bring to the company. She ensures that technology is incorporated only after considering how it will add more value for her team, rather than simply as a cost-cutting measure.

Torani's unique benefits package, including wealth-sharing plans and employee stock ownership, also helps foster a strong sense of trust and loyalty among the workforce. The company's career development program, dubbed "career mixology," allows employees to move around and take on new roles within the company, enhancing their skills and value as team members.