Can Engineers Stage a Coup and Take over Their Company?

Yeah, like the shares being transfered under duress. It's not like that can't be undone. The only thing this would achieve is a bunch of prison time and possibly destruction if data.

Not to mention that modern-day IT systems are such a mess that you'd need a crazy amount if time to find and access them all.

I'm confused why the engineers can't just form a union and go on strike, demanding either better conditions, a seat at the table, or actual control like this article suggests. Unionizing and striking are protected activities in the United States and many countries while everything suggested in this article is frankly not.

I'm not a lawyer, but as other commenters mention, this would be both illegal and totally reversible because it would be a decision made due to coercion. In the same way a contract is not legally binding if someone holds a gun to your head and compels you to sign, the decision to give the coup leader control of the company wouldn't be legally binding either.