One of the consequences of HIV/AIDS is that it durably affects the economic activity of African countries. Study of three manufacturing companies in Abidjan made it possible to observe the immediate consequences of the epidemic on these firms and thus make an estimate in terms of costs. Moreover, the different observable reactions of the firms, in view of offsetting the effects of HIV/AIDS, can also be noted. However, work organization-related malfunctions, such as disruptions in social relations and in routines induced by higher turnover, are hardly perceptible and underestimated by entrepreneurs. On account of their cumulative nature, these consequences could in the long term threaten the perenniality of the more vulnerable firms. These situations imply organizational or even structural changes for the companies. Consideration of these factors, i.e. employers' present responses and the impact of the epidemic on work organization, would in the case of macroeconomic models allow for greater precision in projections of the impact on the industrial sector in Africa. [Ed.]