The present article analyses why and how Ericsson Telecom assumeda greater responsibility than was legally required when it dismissedmore than 23,000 employees in Sweden at the beginning of the21st century. The analysis starts from neoinstitutional theoryand is based on case studies of the company’s closuresin Norrköping and Linköping. The article focuses,in particular, on the interaction between Ericsson, the tradeunions, the County Administrative Board, the County Labour Board,the Public Employment Service, the Swedish Employment SecurityCouncil, the government and the respective municipalities. Itis shown that the greater responsibility taken by Ericsson wasbased on its desire to maintain legitimacy by taking into considerationprevailing societal expectations regarding the company’sbehaviour.