It will often be easier to identify opportunities to downsize and eliminate jobs than to find creative value-adding activities for excess capacity. Thus, management may be more likely to eliminate excess capacity than to redirect it to new tasks. This can have serious negative effects on both employee morale and the long-run survival of the firm. When employees are let go, their knowledge and customer relationships go with them. Some consultants argue that such soft knowledge is a company’s most valuable asset and, therefore, that downsizing is likely to have negative long-run consequences. If management uses ABC systems to justify downsizing, there is likely to be a backlash against and distrust of such systems by many managers.