This article discusses how the actors in the internationally exposed sectors of four Nordic economies responded to the economic crisis of 2008. Though Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden are commonly viewed as similar countries, there are important variations in the regulation of workers’ rights and the available measures of labour market adjustment such as short-time working and temporary lay-offs. We find that such differences produced significant differences in adjustment patterns, in the cooperation and influence of trade unions during these processes and in institutional adaptation.