Just another move out of the old management playbook. I believe this came from the chapter, "So You Want to Start a Sham Bankruptcy?". It's kind of like a firefighter starting a fire so they can run in and save the day. Except when Menke puts this man-made fire out, the stock price will jump and he'll have lower labor costs than some of his competitors, and management gets bonuses. God forbid he actually put his MBA to use and earn his $425,000/yr honestly.