Shedding some Brawn

Despite having won the opening F1 Grand Prix of 2009 with Jenson Button, Brawn GP has announced that it will be making around 270 people redundant (out of a total workforce of approximately 700). Although the withdrawal of Honda has no doubt forced Brawn to instigate such a move (and the redundancies simply take the team back to its 2004 staffing levels), the downturn is clearly forcing those involved in sport to address how their operations are managed. We are thus left to ask, could the current economic downturn therefore actually be an opportunity rather than a threat?