economic poopfest

[PaulOakenfold]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVUXFFIoQic

[Foreign]

Research In Motion is still going strong. At a time when AT&T, Sprint, Apple, Microsoft and other big tech companies are laying off thousands, I haven't heard of a single layoff and still over 1,000 open job postings on our website. After 2 years here my team has gone from 2 people to 12, with 4 job recs still open for subscriber and churn analysts.

If you think the net 2,000 Microsoft layoffs were directly related to the economic downturn, think again. In a "down" year they just banked $20,000,000,000

[Kolar]

if that wasn't a set-up, i don't know what one is

It's sort of a joke in IT/Business world up here.

I actually would love to work for Research in Motion but Waterloo is too far to commute.

[Zeebu]

If you think the net 2,000 Microsoft layoffs were directly related to the economic downturn, think again. In a "down" year they just banked $20,000,000,000

what are you talking about?

CAT declared record revenue for the final quarter in 2008 (results came on Jan 26 2009)

then they continued to lay off more people and the grand total is well over 20,000

big profit one year does not translate to the same outlook the next. they see trouble coming so they trim the fat, just like everyone else.



in big business there is one thing to remember, stockholders always win.

[Foreign]

what are you talking about?

CAT declared record revenue for the final quarter in 2008 (results came on Jan 26 2009)

then they continued to lay off more people and the grand total is well over 20,000

big profit one year does not translate to the same outlook the next. they see trouble coming so they trim the fat, just like everyone else.



in big business there is one thing to remember, stockholders always win.

I think the most significant part of MSFT laying off 5,000 people is the 3,000 new openings they're now hiring for. They're increasing the value of their work-force. They have fat they would be better off trimming recession or not. If they were worried they'd be letting go probably 10 times that many people. 2,000 net layoffs is a joke. Let's assume an average salary w/ benefits of $60k, that's $120 million worth of salaries. We'll say those people on average were worth $30k to the company per year, so that's $60 million we can subtract. Add on whatever MSFT was paying in insurance and taxes on those 2,000 employees, and we're still only talking like $100 million with those generous numbers. That's half of a percent. Let's also say the 3,000 they hire are on average 1.5 times as productive as those who left on the same pay scale (or you could assume they are just as valuable at 75% pay). That would bring their not loss to around $50 million (1/4 of a percent). Not news.

[Eric is God]

I think the most significant part of MSFT laying off 5,000 people is the 3,000 new openings they're now hiring for. They're increasing the value of their work-force. They have fat they would be better off trimming recession or not. If they were worried they'd be letting go probably 10 times that many people. 2,000 net layoffs is a joke. Let's assume an average salary w/ benefits of $60k, that's $120 million worth of salaries. We'll say those people on average were worth $30k to the company per year, so that's $60 million we can subtract. Add on whatever MSFT was paying in insurance and taxes on those 2,000 employees, and we're still only talking like $100 million with those generous numbers. That's half of a percent. Let's also say the 3,000 they hire are on average 1.5 times as productive as those who left on the same pay scale (or you could assume they are just as valuable at 75% pay). That would bring their not loss to around $50 million (1/4 of a percent). Not news.

The layoffs are not biggest news, it's what the layoffs signal. Microsoft, and other companies, have experienced declining or negative growth in the last quarter and they realize the economic downturn has just started to impact them. Quarter ending Dec 31 2008 Net Income of $4.17 billion was down $500 million from the prior year, which is a horrible sign. Vista was a disaster, the Zune is all but dead, sales of Windows Mobile devices are on the decline and revenue from their professional services division will be tanking in 2009. The Xbox 360 is probably the only bright spot for them along with Windows 7 if they don't completely screw it up. It's all about signals and Microsoft announcing a massive layoff for the first time EVER is a huge one.