“…would be normal for a restructuring, but most restructurings happen when the company is in some sort of trouble.”
^^Biggest misconception in business!!! Companies NEED periodic reorganization even when things are good. A company might look successful to the outside world because it makes a profit, but things not visible to the outside world could tell a different picture. I highly recommend going back to HBR and reading a few fresh articles on that topic.
Whether the Zappos experiment is successful will be seen in due course. So far, from what the article reported, it does not amount to “failure.” The jury is still out.