| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 3253.1 | | ODIXIE::LUBER | I have a Bobby Cox dart board | Tue Jul 19 1994 14:00 | 1 |
| 5,000 down, 20,000 to go (at least for this year).
|
| 3253.2 | | STAR::PARKE | True Engineers Combat Obfuscation | Tue Jul 19 1994 14:32 | 8 |
| Re .1
What seems to be showing up in the news it that the 5000
from this sale are NOT included in the 20000 downsizing projection.
I guess all we can do is wait and see.
|
| 3253.3 | A joke | ASABET::LONDON | | Tue Jul 19 1994 14:34 | 3 |
| That 400 mil. should allow us to survive for at least 1 more quarter.
Just being cynical--
|
| 3253.4 | They are part of.... | NYEM1::CRANE | | Tue Jul 19 1994 15:10 | 3 |
| The 5000 folks are part of the 20000. I asked that question yesterday
at our weekly and thats the answer I received. So now we only need to
lose 15000.
|
| 3253.5 | | NOVA::FISHER | Tay-unned, rey-usted, rey-ady | Tue Jul 19 1994 15:13 | 4 |
| and, of course, the person who answered the question wasn't guessing.
:-)
ed
|
| 3253.6 | Manage for results! 8-) | TEKVAX::KOPEC | I know what happens; I read the book. | Tue Jul 19 1994 15:16 | 6 |
| If, by the end of the FY, we need that 5,000 to make our 20,000 target,
then it is included. If we don't it won't.
Way cynical today..
...tom
|
| 3253.7 | Perspiring minds wanna know... | KDX200::COOPER | Revolution calling! | Tue Jul 19 1994 15:34 | 4 |
| I think the big question for us here in CXO is what happens to us?
Does Quantum want hire us, or are we all out in the street?
|
| 3253.8 | depends | LGP30::FLEISCHER | without vision the people perish (DTN 297-5780, MRO3-3/L16) | Tue Jul 19 1994 15:43 | 17 |
| re Note 3253.7 by KDX200::COOPER:
> I think the big question for us here in CXO is what happens to us?
> Does Quantum want hire us, or are we all out in the street?
I assume your function is in the part being sold?
One of the things BP emphasized in his DVN this morning
(taped in MRO3 today -- shown later elsewhere probably?) is
that Quantum made a better buyer for the business than other
candidates because Quantum had less overlap with its existing
activities and hence should be able to retain more of the
Digital personnel than another buyer would.
I guess that means you *may* still have a job.
Bob
|
| 3253.9 | | KELVIN::PACHECO | RON | Tue Jul 19 1994 16:01 | 3 |
| RE:.8
Any more insight from the DVN taping that you care to share with us?
|
| 3253.10 | | KDX200::COOPER | Revolution calling! | Tue Jul 19 1994 16:02 | 10 |
| So, nothing changes... If DDM (disk drive manuf.) stayed part of DEC,
we 'may still have a job'... :-)
Actually, I work for the CNS-West, and we provide tech support to the
DDM business. CNS-W is based out of CXO3, which *isn't* part of the
deal... But I did set up the IS stuff in Penang, Malaysia (which *is*
part of the deal)... But I don't want to work in Malaysia, so I guess
it's just a good bullet on my resume'. I'm sick of thinking about it.
I just want some freakin' answers, and the only people 'in the know'
haven't said a word......
|
| 3253.11 | Drop in Sales | WHOS01::SOUSA | | Tue Jul 19 1994 16:10 | 3 |
|
Does anyone know how much this group/division contributed to Digital
in terms of sales and margin dollars???
|
| 3253.12 | 65k real number? | EARRTH::WALLACE | I Love you so much, I hate you | Tue Jul 19 1994 16:12 | 30 |
| Question: (& qualifier)
If Reports in the Boston Globe & Herald & Etc. over the past few weeks
are correct (that DECs goal for headcount is 65 K) how is it possible
to sell a Business unit with a 5k Head count and still have 20K left
to cut?
Globe & Herald also have reported that any headcount removed through
sales of B.Units do NOT count towards the 20K.
Golly gosh....I'm wicked confused. Are we going lower than 65K?
FOLLOWING IS ALL RUMOR and INNUENDO NOT BASED ON ANY INFO I HAVE:
-5k Storage
-8K Consulting
-1k ABO/AMO
-3k Sales
=================
-17K
=================
85K
-17K
=================
68K
-20K
================
48K???????????
|
| 3253.13 | | DECWET::FARLEE | Insufficient Virtual um...er.... | Tue Jul 19 1994 16:22 | 18 |
| ...And we ALL know that the Globe and Herald would NEVER print
ANYTHING which was not positively known to be Gospel Truth, don't we?...
Come on, folks - it really was spelled out in black and white numbers
in last Friday's announcements:
* We're at ~85,000 now.
* Our target is ~65,000.
* We'll be losing ~20,000 employees in the process.
* We'll be selling off parts of Digital deemed non-core.
It's really not that hard, and you really don't need to read dire predictions
into it. (reality is dire enough, if you ask me)
The ONLY thing that contradicts this is one report by the Globe (or was it
the Herald?) that stated that the 20,000 wouldn't include spin-offs.
This may shock you, but I don't believe everything that newspapers print!
Kevin
|
| 3253.14 | Is it $400M + purchase of plants ? | RECV::TAMER | | Tue Jul 19 1994 16:24 | 13 |
|
re the Quantum purchase:
From reading the realese, it appears that the $400 M figure does
not include the purchase price of SHR[1-2 ?] and Penang plants, and the
lease of the Colorado Springs and Batam plants.
Does anyone know if that's true ?
|
| 3253.15 | Woof | EARRTH::WALLACE | I Love you so much, I hate you | Tue Jul 19 1994 16:34 | 18 |
| re -2
The point wasn't that the Globe & the Herald print gospel truth, the
point was that there appears to be some confusion as to whether
headcount from business units sold are included in the 20K.
I'd love not to have to depend on the papers for information about
the future of the corporation and ,in turn, my future with it, but
the communication process within these 4 virtual walls has been broken
for a while and I've no other source (besides the hallways).
Thanks for giving me the real scoop on what's going on, I'll buy that
pool now.
;^)
|
| 3253.16 | From a LIVEWIRE message | BIGQ::LAFORTE | | Tue Jul 19 1994 16:48 | 10 |
|
From what I understood in LIVEWIRE ...14,000 people will be coming
from SALES and if you count the 5,000 from the Quantum deal that would
leave around 1,000 people left. I say around because the 5,000 people
include some temporary which wouldn't count. From what I can put
together.....
|
| 3253.17 | | SUBSYS::NEUMYER | If Bubba can dance, I can too | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:09 | 7 |
|
I hope the 5000 people affected by this deal are ready to find new
work. I would be very suprised if Quantum could absorb that many
people.
ed
|
| 3253.18 | Spelled out | DECWET::LYON | Bob Lyon, DECwest Engineering | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:14 | 15 |
| RE: .14
> From reading the realese, it appears that the $400 M figure does
> not include the purchase price of SHR[1-2 ?] and Penang plants, and the
> lease of the Colorado Springs and Batam plants.
The release *specifically* addresses this:
" Quantum also has agreed to purchase Digital facilities in
Shrewsbury, Mass., and Penang, Malaysia, while leasing facilities in
Colorado Springs, Colo., and Batam, Indonesia."
What's the confusion?
Bob
|
| 3253.19 | | NYEM1::CRANE | | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:15 | 2 |
| Do we really have 14,000 sales reps? or does this include their support
as in CSC`s and CTS folks?
|
| 3253.20 | Service Organizations | SPICE::LUPIEN | | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:23 | 10 |
| Don't forget the folks that support the buildings that Quantum will
buy, and the folks that support the computer rooms and equipment and
network lines, documentation, purchasing, accounts payable, etc. It
is my understanding that these folks are not included in the headcount
that will be bought by Quantum. To date, management has not told the
worker-bees of some of these organizations what will happen to them.
Some are cross functional to different digital organizations,
some dedicated only to groups being bought by Quantum. Each
organization and service will have to be looked at individually.
|
| 3253.21 | Unclear | ODIXIE::HUNT | | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:24 | 21 |
| The stated reason for getting to 65k was to arrive at a revenue per
employee goal. Digital has sold off a business which includes 500
people, but also some amount of revenue. So, if the goal is still to
arrive at the magic number per employee, we will have to get to
something less that 65k to arrive at the rev/employ. This maybe the
reasoning of why the paper states that sold off employees won't be a
part of the 20,000.
On the other hand, the following is from livewire:
>> Digital confirmed previous reports that it is eliminating
>> approximately 20,000 positions. However, the process will be completed
>> within 12 months, as opposed to the 24 months stated in previous
>> reports. Based on the organizational changes and competitive
>> benchmarking, the company's workforce will total about 65,000 at the
>> end of the period. In addition, the company will reduce its utilized
This paragraph seems to indicate that there will be a TOTAL of 20,000
positions eliminated.
Bing
|
| 3253.22 | Today's globe | EOS::ARMSTRONG | | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:27 | 23 |
| The Herald stated that DEC would layoff 20K during FY95 plus
spinoff another 15K and that DEC would reach a population of 50K
by year end.
Today's Globe quotes Pesatori as saying that 14K of the 20K
layoff's will come from the new Computer Systems Division, which
now has a population of 35K and consists of the PC unit, the
'other computer' unit, and the 'large account' unit. He says
that the PC unit 'will not be touched'.
He says the 'other computer unit' practiced 'matrix management',
requiring too many people to coordinate everything and DEC will
be organized into 5 business units each controling its own sales,
marketing and engineering.
The cuts in the division will be in 'infastructure', the support staffs
that he associates with matrix managment. they will include some
engineers and also manufacturing, logistics, sales support,
administrative and human resources people. Sales will only support
the largest 1000 or our 7000 customers and he downplayed the notion
that there would be deep cuts in the direct sales force. Engineering
reductions would be 'fairly contained'.
bob
|
| 3253.23 | Do the numbers add up? | MIMS::SANDERS_J | | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:30 | 10 |
| Today's WSJ article "Digital Equipment to Slash 14,000 Jobs in Core
Computer Lines by Restructuring" says the new Computer Systems Division
will eliminate 14,000 of its 35,000 jobs in sales, marketing,
manufacturing and engineering. The cutbacks represent the lion's share
of the 20,000 jobs Digital plans to eliminate by next July 1 as it cuts
employment to 65,000 people.
So 14,000 plus 5,000 only leaves 1,000 to go. That assumes that
Digital was at 85,000 at the end of FY94 and that you really believe
the 65,000 number.
|
| 3253.24 | | HANNAH::TASSINARI | Bob | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:31 | 10 |
|
"Of the 20,000 job cuts announced last week as part of a broad restructuring,
14,000 will come from the new Computer Systems Division, said Enrico
Pesatori, vice-president and general manager of the division."
Taken from an article in the Boston Globe pg 37 of the BusinessExtra
section entitled "Key Digital unit will bear brunt of looming layoffs"
without permission.
|
| 3253.25 | Certainly not selling AXPs... | KDX200::COOPER | Revolution calling! | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:36 | 6 |
| I don't know any exact figures, but DDM builds 25K+ drives per week
here - mostly RZ26 and RZ28 drives. DDM is told that they are one
of the only revenue generating groups in DEC... And DEC is selling
it?!?
Where is DEC going to make money if they sell DDM??
|
| 3253.26 | | YIELD::HARRIS | | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:43 | 8 |
| re: Note 3253.25 by KDX200::COOPER
> DDM is told that they are one
> of the only revenue generating groups in DEC... And DEC is selling
> it?!?
By chance do you mean profit and not revenue?
|
| 3253.27 | Bean-counter-speak? | KDX200::COOPER | Revolution calling! | Tue Jul 19 1994 17:47 | 4 |
| I'm a computer weenie - I don't know the difference.
DDM makes money. It's costs very little to build a drive, and DEC
sells tons of 'em for big bucks.
|
| 3253.28 | 65K and Dropping. | SWAM2::WANTJE_RA | | Tue Jul 19 1994 18:27 | 17 |
| re: .21
IMHO, your first paragraph is correct. I believe the 'target'
population of Digital is based on revenue/employee. While I disagree
with this apporach to sizing the company, it DOES seem to be the one in
use. (I prefer profit/employee).
Thus, the size of the reduction will change as bits are sold off. When
a unit is sold, revenue is lost, and the revenue/employee will move,
either positive or negative depending on the revenue/employee from the
sold unit.
Digital seems to be selling, or trying to sell, revenue generating unit
which implies that revenue/employee ratio will result in a Digital
population of less than 65,000, at current trends.
rww
|
| 3253.29 | We didn't Stop Selling Disks | NWD002::MORGANAL | | Tue Jul 19 1994 18:42 | 7 |
| Just because we sold DDM doesn't mean we are going to stop selling
disk drives and lose revenue. We will continue to sell disk drives and
continue the revenue stream from those sells. We just won't own that
business or the overhead associated with designing and manufacturing disks.
We might even make more profit from selling disk drives now!
Think about it!!
|
| 3253.31 | | ODIXIE::LUBER | I have a Bobby Cox dart board | Tue Jul 19 1994 19:06 | 3 |
| Sad when we have to rely on newspaper articles, and our interpretation
thereof, to assess what is going on instead of straight, clear
communication from top management.
|
| 3253.32 | from Quantum Sales VP today | ELWOOD::DUNCAN | | Tue Jul 19 1994 22:35 | 47 |
| From a presentation Bill Roache(?), executive VP of sales for Quantum,
made to the Avastor sales/training meeting in Boston today:
Buying disk, tape, and solid state disks.
Conscious decision to include tapes and SSD, because they are new
businesses for Quantum.
Includes SHR1/2, Penang, lease Batam, lease CXO.
Includes Avastor people from CXO. Not clear where all the deviding
lines are on the people that work for Avastor, but not 'employed' by
Avastor.
For 3 years, Quantum will source 80% of Digital's requirements for
disks, tapes, SSD's.
They are integrating, not 'susuming' Digital -
Total objectivity in integration process, who will stay/go
Employment conditions -
Transfer of employment, 1 Oct
All employees will be sent a formal letter of offer of employment
at current terms
If you don't accept, it will be considered voluntary termination
from Digital, no severance
Future impact (not needed) will receive package at least as good as
current Digital package
Service credits come over.
Vacation comes over
Pension vesting comes over
No information on SIngapore module manufacturing.
They WILL consolidate sales at some point (rightsize?)
Most other details are still being worked on, or he didn't know the
answer.
That's all I can remember/decipher from my notes. Hope this helps a
little...
Jeff
|
| 3253.33 | | ARCANA::CONNELLY | foggy, rather groggy | Wed Jul 20 1994 00:11 | 7 |
|
re: .-1
Is Quantum's pension plan the same as Digital's or do they do some kind
of conversion?
- paul
|
| 3253.34 | no details on pensions | ELWOOD::DUNCAN | | Wed Jul 20 1994 01:30 | 18 |
|
Earlier information (rumor) was that Quantum had no pension plan, but I
don't know for sure.
By the way, the information I put in .32 was my interpretation of what
I heard. It may not be accurate since a lot is still very preliminary.
Another comment made at the presentation was that most of the effort
has been on making the deal; less has been done on the details.
Overall, I'm glad that the workers have been thought about. I would
expect that there will be 'consolidations' in most areas. Some will be
happy and some will not. Some 'adjustments' will make sense, others
will not. Not much different than a lot of the other changes at
Digital.
Jeff
|
| 3253.35 | Long way to go yet | TROOA::SOLEY | Fall down, go boom | Wed Jul 20 1994 02:13 | 5 |
| I think one of the reasons many of the questions are not answered is
because the process is far from completed. We've reached an agreement
of sale that sets the wheels in motion, now we have due diligence and
some inventory and auditing to go through before all the t's are
crossed and i's dotted.
|
| 3253.36 | What Cost/Employee | CASE4U::VERVECKEN | | Wed Jul 20 1994 09:00 | 21 |
| Everybody is talking about revenue/employee. A company is not generating only
revenue but has costs. Therefore there should also be a cost/employee figure.
The difference of both is profit/employee (before taxes)
Cost and revenue can not be splitted as they belong together. And I think it is
insane of just talking about revenue/employee.
Units sold = less revenue which means the figure revenue/employee is decrease as
a fact that we sell profitable units. Did somebody figured out where we will
stand after profitable units were sold? How much revenue/employe do we still
have then.
About outsourcing: Outsourcing increases cost....
Well I don't were BP wants to go. Does he knows it? It looks like is liquidating
DIGITAL....
I heard it took Texas Instruments five year to get their figures back after BP
left....
Remi
|
| 3253.37 | Another question - on the media side. | SUBURB::POWELLM | Nostalgia isn't what it used to be! | Wed Jul 20 1994 09:21 | 12 |
|
Anyone have any clue as to what happens on the media side of the
Tape business being sold to Quantum?
I'm thinking about things like DLT Cartridges - TK85K-** etc. Will
Quantum take over the manufacture of these sort of things? Will they
sell them (other than to DIGITAL)? Will they still be DLT (DIGITAL
Linear Tape)? One of my focus areas in Pre-Sales Tech. Support is
Accessories and Supplies. All sorts of questions come to mind in this
area. Enquiring minds need to know these (relatively trivial) things.
Malcolm.
|
| 3253.38 | | ELWOOD::LANE | soon: mlane@csi.compuserve.com | Wed Jul 20 1994 11:17 | 6 |
| > I'm thinking about things like DLT Cartridges - TK85K-** etc. Will
> Quantum take over the manufacture of these sort of things? Will they
DEC never did manufacture them. There are several companies involved and
I'm not certain who's actually doing what so I won't name them. I wouldn't
expect any changes in this area.
|
| 3253.39 | Units sold had $750M in annual revenue | RECV::TAMER | | Wed Jul 20 1994 12:28 | 14 |
| Today's WSJ quotes Charles Christ as saying that the storage business
that was sold had $750M in annual revenue with 5,000 full-time and
temporary employees.
The same article states that Quantum had annual sales of $2.1B with
3,300 employees.
So,
Quantum(today) Newly-purchased units
Revenue/employee $2.1B/3,300=$636,363 $750M/5000=$150,000
Quantum may not be able to afford all 5,000 new employees except if they
are able to grow revenue substantially.
|
| 3253.40 | | QUARK::LIONEL | Free advice is worth every cent | Wed Jul 20 1994 13:12 | 4 |
| The D in DLT is for "digital" (the generic adjective) not DIGITAL (the
company).
Steve
|
| 3253.41 | Apparently, we are keeping the profitable portion with us! | TPSYS::BHAT | | Wed Jul 20 1994 13:38 | 8 |
| RE: .36
According to today's Boston Globe (July 20,1994), Charlie Christ said
that we are selling the money losing portion of the storage business to
Quantum, and keeping the profitable portion with us.
/P.B.
|
| 3253.42 | Thank you for that. | SUBURB::POWELLM | Nostalgia isn't what it used to be! | Wed Jul 20 1994 14:21 | 13 |
| <<< Note 3253.40 by QUARK::LIONEL "Free advice is worth every cent" >>>
The D in DLT is for "digital" (the generic adjective) not DIGITAL (the
company).
Steve
Interesting.
Malcolm.
|
| 3253.43 | | PCCAD::RICHARDJ | Living With A Honky Tonk Attitude | Wed Jul 20 1994 14:28 | 9 |
| RE:39
You have to consider that the number of Storage employees includes
manufacturing people which Quantum does not have. Quantum uses vendors
to manufacture their products, so add the vendor part to their annual
sales numbers and our numbers look better.
Jim
|
| 3253.44 | | NOTIME::SACKS | Gerald Sacks ZKO2-3/N30 DTN:381-2085 | Wed Jul 20 1994 14:45 | 5 |
| >The D in DLT is for "digital" (the generic adjective) not DIGITAL (the
>company).
So I guess we didn't get enough customers to say that "digital" means
Digital Equipment Corporation...
|
| 3253.45 | How was the stock affected | GRANMA::MBURKE | | Wed Jul 20 1994 18:59 | 3 |
| Does anyone know where Quantum is traded. The sale didn't do anything
for our stock. Wonder if the purchase did anything for Quantum's.
|
| 3253.46 | | QUARK::LIONEL | Free advice is worth every cent | Wed Jul 20 1994 19:02 | 7 |
| The Globe said that Quantum's stock dropped, though their typesetter must
have been having a bad day since if the drop amount was correct it would have
lost about 75% of its value. Similarly, it was reported that DEC stock had
dropped more than its share price; the actual NYSE listings showed that we
dropped an eighth; I didn't check Quantum.
Steve
|
| 3253.47 | Take two grains of salt and call me in the a.m. | SWAM2::GOLDMAN_MA | Blondes have more Brains! | Wed Jul 20 1994 19:15 | 10 |
| re: .41 --
Do we really suppose that Charlie Christ is going to tell reporters
that we sold the profitable stuff and kept the losers?! Of *course*
he told the Globe that we only sold the money-losers. On the other
hand, Storageworks, etc., were hailed as one of our greatest money
makers in the last several "rah-rah" announcements...wish they'd make
up their minds...
M.
|
| 3253.48 | I assume we keep StorageWorks | TPSYS::BHAT | | Wed Jul 20 1994 19:41 | 7 |
| RE:.47
I assume StorageWorks is part of the disk subsystems business which
we keep, and not part of the sale. May be somebody can clarify.
/P.B.
|
| 3253.49 | Deal ain't done 'til Oct. 1 | IMTDEV::BRUNO | Father Gregory | Wed Jul 20 1994 19:42 | 8 |
| >>Of *course* he told the Globe that we only sold the money-losers.
Actually, I'd be surprised that Christ told them that. This is a deal
which is still being worked-out, and he's too shrewd a businessman to queer
the sale at this point by making such an irresponsible comment. Local
management is quite sensitive to the distribution of misleading information.
Greg
|
| 3253.50 | Quantum trades on NASDAQ | BABAGI::YOUNG | | Wed Jul 20 1994 20:16 | 12 |
| * Quantum is traded on NASDAQ ... (NASDAQ's had a couple of days of
system downtime, I've heard)
* StorageWorks (Subsystems Bus Unit) and Video Interactive (Bus Unit)
are NOT part of the Quantum offer, according to briefings from our
Storage management. Only Disks, Tapes, Solid-State Disks, and
Heads.
* Quantum press releases I've seen indicate they expect profitability
from the proposed acquisition within two years, and are very aware
of the financials around each segment of the businesses they are
considering acquiring.
|
| 3253.51 | | LEDDEV::CHAKMAKJIAN | Shadow Nakahar of Erebouni | Wed Jul 20 1994 20:19 | 4 |
| (NASDAQ's had a couple of days of system downtime, I've heard)
Can we interest them in an alpha product?
|
| 3253.52 | | SUBSYS::FORDE | ton si emit tub, elbisrever si cisum | Wed Jul 20 1994 20:58 | 31 |
| Since I work in the Storage Subsystems business unit, I thought I'd add
my two cents to the discussion...
Subsystems and Video Servers business are not part of the Quantum deal.
(Quantum trades on NASDAQ as QNTM, by the way).
Subsystems is indeed profitable (Charlie has gone out of his way on a
couple of occasions to congratulate the Subsystems business for it's
major contributions to the profitiability of the Storage organization).
Disks are responsible for major parts of storage REVENUE, but not
profitability. The disk business (somewhat like the semiconductor
business) is a highly capital intensive business. It requires large
cash investments in equipment and R&D to maintain a leading position
among competitors. It requires HUGE volumes to maintain the cash flow
to sustain the needed investments.
My understanding (which may or may not be correct) is that the disk
business has been a break-even business at best. While there has been
lots of revenue, the profits haven't been there, nor has the return on
investment, nor return on assets.
Digital and the Subsystems business unit should still maintain about
the same level of revenues after the sale of the disk business to
Quantum. We will likely spend some additional amount for our drives
(since we will be paying an external company, rather than ourselves).
I will be interested to see how this change effects the overall
profitability of the Subsystems business and things like revenue per
employee.
/steve
|
| 3253.53 | | YIELD::HARRIS | | Wed Jul 20 1994 22:04 | 10 |
| RE: Note 3253.52 by SUBSYS::FORDE
> Digital and the Subsystems business unit should still maintain about
> the same level of revenues after the sale of the disk business to
> Quantum.
What kind of revenue was brought in by OEM sales? This would be were we
would see a decrease in revenue.
-Bruce
|
| 3253.54 | | TOOK::MORRISON | Bob M. LKG1-3/A11 226-7570 | Wed Jul 20 1994 22:39 | 16 |
| > <<< Note 3253.32 by ELWOOD::DUNCAN >>>
> Employment conditions -
> Service credits come over.
> Vacation comes over
> Pension vesting comes over
This doesn't affect me, but I'm watching it carefully because I expect many
similar deals to take place in the next two years. There is a precedent for
this in the sale of the PWB plant and business in Greenville, SC a few years
ago, but there was very little discussion about that in here and I never found
out what it was like for the employees who changed companies.
I'm relieved to hear that the people involved will keep their years-of-
service, vacation time, and pensions. One biggie that hasn't been answered yet
is what kind of health insurance Quantum has. Another is whether anyone will
be told to move to Calif., where Quantum is headquartered.
|
| 3253.55 | Quantum sale doesn't count towards job cuts | SCHOOL::NEWTON | Thomas Newton | Wed Jul 20 1994 22:49 | 13 |
| From today's Middlesex News:
"Digital ... reduces its work force by 1,600 people without having to pay
severance benefits ...
[Digital spokeswoman Gloria] Bates confirmed that the 1,600 employees
are not included in the 20,000 cuts that chief executive Robert Palmer
has pledged to make in the next 12 months. That means Digital will
reduce its work force even lower than the 65,000 figure previously
mentioned ...
There are approximately 5,000 regular and temporary Digital employees in
the businesses being purchased by Quantum."
|
| 3253.56 | under the Quantum topic | GLDOA::SHOOK | Dotting the i's and...oops | Wed Jul 20 1994 23:17 | 9 |
|
re:-1
A fellow named Jack Kellogg (described as the spokesman for our
Colorado operations) is quoted by the Denver Post as saying that
the employees going to Quantum _would_ be counted against the
20,000. The news article is posted in the ::Colorado conference.
bill
|
| 3253.57 | 1,600 regulars out of 5,000 ? | ENQUE::TAMER | | Wed Jul 20 1994 23:22 | 8 |
| re .55
Does that mean the breakdown of regular vs. temporary employees of the
5,000 employees going to Quantum is:
1,600 regular and 3,400 temporary employees ?
|
| 3253.58 | | GVPROD::MSTEINER | | Thu Jul 21 1994 07:25 | 11 |
| Re .53:
>> What kind of revenue was brought in by OEM sales? This would be
>> were we would see a decrease in revenue.
The July edition of Digital today (geneva edition) has an article on
AVASTOR. It says "The growth area for AVASTOR is with new customers.
Digital itself, which accounted for almost all Storage sales in 1991,
now represents about 50 percent of revenues."
Michel.
|
| 3253.59 | | SEDPCW::TRAV14::Nick | Is it Henry-the mild mannered janitor? | Thu Jul 21 1994 10:30 | 5 |
| Re:52
Thanks for a clear picture Steve
Nick
|
| 3253.60 | | NYEM1::CRANE | | Thu Jul 21 1994 11:00 | 3 |
| A couple back.
3500 permanant employees and 1500 temps (they will stay as temps) will
go to Quantam [sic]. This means that we are now down to 15,000...
|
| 3253.61 | 14,000 from CSD | GLDOA::CUTLER | Car Topin' On The Cumberland | Thu Jul 21 1994 11:48 | 11 |
| >>> A couple back.
>>> 3500 permanant employees and 1500 temps (they will stay as temps) will
>>> go to Quantam [sic]. This means that we are now down to 15,000...
14,000 of which will come out of the Computer Systems Division (CSD)
bulk of which will be sales, sales support, marketing and manufacturing.
CSD Engineering cuts not as deep as others.
RC
|
| 3253.62 | Consessions to Quantum? | USCTR1::JHERNBERG | | Thu Jul 21 1994 12:46 | 4 |
|
Does anyone know what kind of conssessions (if any) were granted
to Quantum as conditions for continued employment?
|
| 3253.63 | | HIBOB::KRANTZ | Next window please. | Thu Jul 21 1994 14:11 | 16 |
| > Does anyone know what kind of conssessions (if any) were granted
> to Quantum as conditions for continued employment?
What do you mean by concessions? Hotdogs and beer at the baseball game? ;^)
Continued employment by Quantum is not a given. We were told that Quantum
will make offers to the employees they want (including title and wages).
The belief is that most of engineering and manufacturing will get offers,
but that the support groups have yet to be addressed. That is a belief,
not a given.
Quantum currently has less than 4K people, taking 5K from storage will
more than double their size. Bound to be a culture shock, and lots of
unknowns.
Joe
|
| 3253.64 | Quantum apparently doesn't plan to move all to California | TPSYS::BHAT | | Thu Jul 21 1994 14:14 | 7 |
| RE: .54
I read somewhere that Quantum already said that they have no intention
of moving the people to California, and that Shrewsbusry is a strategic
facility for them.
/P.B.
|
| 3253.65 | 20,000 doesn't include folks going to Quantum | HYLNDR::MKING | | Thu Jul 21 1994 15:25 | 12 |
| Our VP, Mahendra Patel, presented the restructuring plans and background
to all of his employees over the last couple of days.
I asked if the downsizing of 20,000 would include people in functions sold
off, such as to Quantum. He said no, and went on to confirm that this means
Digital could be significantly less than 65,000 at the end of the fiscal year
because of this - depending on what gets sold.
This means 20,000 have still to go, 14,000 of which will come from CSD.
FYI
Martin
|
| 3253.66 | Is this public or internal only? | TLE::PERIQUET | Dennis Periquet | Thu Jul 21 1994 17:33 | 8 |
|
Was the communication from Mr. Patel internal only or something that
will eventually be divulged to the public. As a VP, I would trust that
what he said is correct; however, if this were to be said to the public
eventually, I would believe it even more.
Dennis
|
| 3253.67 | | HYLNDR::MKING | | Thu Jul 21 1994 19:45 | 10 |
| The forum was 'internal' (ie for employees), the slides said 'Digital Internal'
(or similar), so I take it all discussion was internal-only too.
Much of the information was what had been included in the press-release and
interviews last week, though I dont believe it all was. As for the 20,000 not
including the Quantum folks, I heard that stated on NPR last Friday by an
analyst and asked Mr. Patel to confirm it. So presumably it has already been
said to the public...
Martin
|
| 3253.68 | What the NY Times said | ZENDIA::BORSOM | | Thu Jul 21 1994 20:35 | 14 |
| re .66
>Was the communication from Mr. Patel internal only....
From the New York Times, 7/20/94, page D6:
As part of the agreement, Digital will transfer 5,000
employees to Quantum's payroll, including 3,500 full-
time and 1,500 temporary workers. Charles F. Christ,
vice president of Digital's components division and the
executive who oversaw the deal for Digital, said these
employees were not included in the 20,000 job cuts the
company has scheduled for the next 12 months.
|
| 3253.69 | About time someone told us what's going on | GIDDAY::SETHI | Better to ask a question than remain ignorant | Fri Jul 22 1994 02:20 | 22 |
| Hi All,
So this means that we will become a 45-35k people company and a $US10
billion or less business. It's rather demoralising state of affairs
and no one really knows what blue print we have for the future of this
company.
Are we to become purely a hardware company ? Or a phantom company that
exists in name only and collects some royalties from the various
companies that we have sold off to ?
The moral is becoming very low, I looked in this conference today
because a few people have started to discuss the future of the company.
We all want to know what is going to happen to us as we put our lot in
with this company because it's the best company to work for. Now the
lest they can do is to let us know what is going to happen so that we
can plan our futures in terms of repayments for our house, our
childerns education, etc. This uncertainity is very bad.
Regards,
Sunil
|
| 3253.70 | 20,000 + sold off = total downsizing | ASABET::SILVERBERG | Mark Silverberg MLO1-3/H20 | Fri Jul 22 1994 12:18 | 13 |
| I had the opportunity to attend a dinner where Enrico Pesatori spoke
about the restructuring, CSD, downsizing, ABU Sales Force
consolidation, etc. The message I got was that any employees acquired
during a purchase of any Digital business or product would NOT be
counted in the 20,000 reductions. Many managers I spoke with said
the same thing.
PS Enrico is on a tour of European offices this week to speak with
employees, and will be be touring the US the next few weeks...I suggest
you ask him directly.
Mark
|
| 3253.71 | | PCCAD::RICHARDJ | Living With A Honky Tonk Attitude | Fri Jul 22 1994 16:37 | 35 |
| I'm surprised no one posted anything about the speech Bill Miller, CEO of
Quantum gave to the Storage employees here in SHR Thursday ! It was
excellent and people were given a good shot of confidence in becoming
part of Quantum. In fact, many would have signed over to Quantum even
if they could stay with DEC, that's how impressive his leadership skills
came across. He described Quantum as being a people oriented company,
which sounded like DEC use to be 20 years ago.
Here are some of the facts as we have them.
By August 15, Employees will be offered a position with Quantum at the
same salary level they are at now. They will have until September 1,
to sign over. If they don't they are history with no TFSO package.
Employees will carry over vacation time, pensions and seniority over
to Quantum. Some employees will get more vacation time because Quantum
gives 5 weeks after 15 years whereas DEC gives it after 20.
Health benefits will be equivalent to what we have now, but their just
not sure which HMO's will be in the picture. Quantum has two California
based HMO's, so most likely they will have to negotiate with East Coast
HMO's.
Quantum will not move the business to California.
They bought SHR 1 & 2 because they want to keep the business here.
Bottom line as I see is that, this is a good opportunity for the DEC
employees who go over to Quantum. The Storage business is only expected
to grow in the next 5-10 years. We will have more opportunities to grow
with Quantum than if we stayed part of Digital.
I'm looking forward to it !
Jim
|
| 3253.72 | quantum doesn't have a pension plan (yet?) | HIBOB::KRANTZ | Next window please. | Fri Jul 22 1994 19:02 | 10 |
| Jim,
Bill told us (in CXO) not to be suprised if Quantum sold SHR 1&2
and rented them back - also, we've heard nothing about salaries staying
the same - it is an assumption, always stated with 'most' or 'expected'
but never as a fact. The people at RMMI were also impressed with Bill
(so was I, and I haven't been impressed by upper level DEC management
for several years!)
Joe
|
| 3253.73 | Quantum abd TFSO | DASPHB::PBAXTER | | Fri Jul 22 1994 19:25 | 1 |
| Are the employees being adopted by Quantum entitled to TFSO ?
|
| 3253.74 | | PCCAD::RICHARDJ | Living With A Honky Tonk Attitude | Fri Jul 22 1994 19:26 | 14 |
| RE:72
Bill said explicitly that our salaries would be lateral. He also added,
that Quantum doesn't have a wage freeze, meaning that they may even
offer increases in order to keep key people.
As far as selling the buildings and leasing them back, he didn't
mention that, but only said that they would not be moving the business
out of Shrewsbury.
Lets face it, anything could happen, but at this point,... which company
looks more promising, Digital or Quantum ?
Jim
|
| 3253.75 | | PCCAD::RICHARDJ | Living With A Honky Tonk Attitude | Fri Jul 22 1994 19:29 | 10 |
| re:73
Some people who work in my department who support Digital business
which are not being taken over by Quantum, could be offered positions
in the departments which are.
Employees who are not offered a position with Quantum, may or may not
be TFSO'd, it depends on the business they support.
Jim
|
| 3253.76 | | HIBOB::KRANTZ | Next window please. | Fri Jul 22 1994 19:36 | 6 |
| re: which company looks more promising?
Digital has been promising for years...
Which company will treat the storage business as an important
part of the overall organization? Quantum, for obvious reasons...
|
| 3253.77 | RE: TFSO for Quantumized employees | ESD55::CASSIDY | Except when you don't, because sometimes you won't | Tue Jul 26 1994 12:42 | 11 |
| According to Bill Miller, the way things will happen is this. Each employee
affected will receive an offer letter from Quantum. If the employee accepts,
they will become a Quantum employee. They will keep their salary and years of
service with Digital. If the employee rejects the offer, it is treated as a
VOLUNTARY SEVERENCE from Digital and no TFSO.
If an employee accepts, and is later laid off by Quantum, the employee will
receive a package at least as good as what Digital is offering "and probably
better".
Charlie
|
| 3253.78 | | TOOK::DELBALSO | I (spade) my (dog face) | Tue Jul 26 1994 13:24 | 4 |
| It sounds to me like those employees going to Quantum will be very fortunate
to be working for a company whose leadership is honest and open.
-Jack
|
| 3253.79 | | BIGQ::SILVA | Memories..... | Tue Jul 26 1994 14:25 | 11 |
|
Jack, when I worked for Data Terminal Systems a few years back we were
all very impressed with National Semiconductor when they bought us out. They
made a good pitch and everyone thought they were up front and honest. They
turned out to be wolves in sheeps clothing. I hope Quantum is NOTHING like
that, but time will tell.
Glen
|
| 3253.80 | | HIBOB::KRANTZ | Next window please. | Tue Jul 26 1994 14:51 | 5 |
| Has anyone heard if those who are sold to Quantum are eligible for rehire??
(I know, why would you want to come back ;^)
Joe
|
| 3253.81 | | PCCAD::RICHARDJ | Living With A Honky Tonk Attitude | Wed Jul 27 1994 19:04 | 10 |
| re:79
The difference here is that Data Terminal products were no match for
NCR. Our disk and tape drives however, are on top and this acquisition
will only help Quantum to be the leader in the storage market.
Also, you only have to look at how Quantum treats its employees to get
an idea of how they value human beings.
Jim
|
| 3253.82 | They knew what they wanted BEFORE they went in, but said differently | BIGQ::SILVA | Memories..... | Wed Jul 27 1994 19:32 | 10 |
|
Jim, National only bought us because they wanted our market share. At
the time DTS was #1 in drug stores (walgreens was our biggest customer), #2 in
supermarkets. National, who had the DataChecker line was trailing in both these
areas. So they weren't really all that much different.
Glen
|
| 3253.83 | | PCCAD::RICHARDJ | Living With A Honky Tonk Attitude | Wed Jul 27 1994 20:24 | 12 |
| RE:82
Well that's another difference. Quantum not only wants our market
share, but our engineering and manufacturing capabilities in the high
end storage business. Its something they don't already have.
I'm not so naive to think that I will have life long job security.
Anything can happen, which is why your moral should not be dependent
on your job.
Jim
|
| 3253.84 | Is what we are doing smart | KERNEL::BARNARDP | God told me to do it ! | Thu Jul 28 1994 17:15 | 34 |
|
I live and work in the UK for the Central Control Desk in Customer
Support Centre. Working shifts I am able to watch many business
programs that others miss. Recently there was an article on the
"downsizing of companies" to achieve profit. Included within the title
was the reduction of expenditure.
They pointed to companies such as Chrysler, IBM and a few others.
Please remember that I am quoting there phraseology from memory so
although the words may be slightly altered the meaning is the same.
The news report reported that the companies had reduced head counts
significantly and sold parts of themselves off and were on the way to
profitability or had reached it. In fact Chrysler had a record year if
I remember correctly. The companies it depicted had experienced a 3%
growth in the last year ( I can not remember if this was profit or
turnover ). The reporter commented that this was an American approach
to achieving profit, although I am sure that it is a world wide
attitude now, for the most Europe regretfully tends to follow in the
footsteps of the US with business and very much so with money markets.
He then added the analysts bit - as they do, and this was the down
side. The analysts are of the opinion that cutting expenditure is only
a temporary solution to regain profit, why? Simple companies
expenditure will rise with inflation, wage demands etc, if the company
does not increase its sales/turnover they are doomed to return to the
very situation they started from. the analysts also stated the best
growth that could be expected from this approach was circa 3% and the
companies mentioned had more or less achieved those levels.
I found the report troubling, knowing that Digital is bent on cutting
its way to profitability.
Paul
|
| 3253.85 | | ADA9X::BRETT | | Thu Jul 28 1994 18:28 | 19 |
| > I found the report troubling, knowing that Digital is bent on cutting
> its way to profitability.
Wrong.
Digital is bent on FOCUS'ING its way to profitability. The cutting is
a consequence of this.
The only way to survive as a big company in a commodities market is to
achieve a lower cost per delivered item than a small company.
The entire computer business, apart from a few small niches that will
support exotic small companies, is commodity NOW. This includes PC's,
w/s's, compilers, databases, and networks.
Get used to it. If you want to see profit margins like the 1980's, you
are in the wrong business - go join a drug company.
/Bevin
|
| 3253.86 | now I KNOW! | MPGS::CWHITE | Parrot_Trooper | Thu Jul 28 1994 18:42 | 10 |
| re:-1
SO THAT's the reason that we NEED 150 or so vice
presidents..............
I've lost sleep over that question for MONTHS!
parrot_trooper!
|
| 3253.87 | divest... | GRANMA::JWOOD | | Thu Jul 28 1994 19:00 | 3 |
| maybe we can sell 'em as non-integral components...
8}
|
| 3253.88 | isn't that what the rats & lawyers are for? | HIBOB::KRANTZ | Next window please. | Thu Jul 28 1994 19:57 | 4 |
| > SO THAT's the reason that we NEED 150 or so vice
> presidents..............
to test the drugs on?
|
| 3253.89 | Quantum details, and my reactions | GENRAL::CRANE | Barbara Crane --- dtn 522-2299 | Thu Jul 28 1994 20:58 | 26 |
| Going back to the main topic here (Quantum & Digital Storage)...
Re: buying vs. leasing buildings: Bill Miller and Bill Roach
both indicated in various conversations that "Quantum has not
historically been into real estate". I believe I heard it correctly
that even their corporate headquarters in Milpitas is leased.
re: Revenue per employee
There is no doubt that we still have a way to go on this, but
the Quantum folks will quickly acknowledge that MOST of their
manufacturing is partnered/sub-contracted with MKE. They do not
show the employees OR the capital assets on their books. They
absolutely understand that if you do your own manufacturing, the
picture will be different on revenue/employee and return on assets
for the two modes of manufacturing.
To quote one of our senior managers after Bill Miller's speech
at the sales meeting "Most of what you've said sounds like `home',
and what doesn't, sounds better!" I feel the same way.
Storage has never been "core work" at Digital, so despite some
great times "on the sideline", I'm excited to go to work for a company
with a clear vision, where storage WILL BE core work.
With relief,
Barbara
|
| 3253.90 | Digital is too complex | GVPROD::DOIGTE::Chisholm | | Fri Jul 29 1994 07:07 | 9 |
| Re .84 You are right! There is a saying that no company has been saved by
cost cutting alone and cost cutting will not save Digital. Unfortunately
business today, like it or not is very complex. We have to reduce costs,
increase volume, increase quality, and bring new products to market faster
all at the same time. Small companies can do this, but big companies can't
simply because the issues are too complex. I think breaking the company into
autonomous divisions is the right thing to do. Create lots of small
companies than can focus on specific areas and thus reduce the business
complexity.
|
| 3253.91 | | VANGA::KERRELL | Hakuna matata! | Fri Jul 29 1994 07:24 | 16 |
| re.94:
> I found the report troubling, knowing that Digital is bent on cutting
> its way to profitability.
It's not as simple as that. A large part of the industry is changing from a
low volume/high margin business to high volume/low margin.
Digital must change or disappear. The move to indirect channels is to
enable us to achieve volume, which will make up for the lost margin.
As we migrate from the direct to indirect sales model, we are still paying
many of the costs of our old model whilst not achieving the volumes that
support the new model.
Dave.
|
| 3253.92 | the PRODUCT LINE approach? | DECLNE::TOWLE | | Fri Jul 29 1994 16:04 | 5 |
| This breaking up DEC into separate businesses sure sounds a lot like
the PRODUCT LINE approach we had, back in the late 70's and 80's, when
we were shipping PDP 11/70's and such!!
-VT
|
| 3253.93 | QUANTUM lays off 168 people | PCBUOA::SWANEY | Escape is never the safest path | Thu Jan 26 1995 13:44 | 12 |
|
I heard that Quantum layed off 168 people yesterday something like
20-30 from the Shrewsbury plant. From what I hear the package they
received was better than the last Digital offer (by how much I don't
know).
I'm kinda surprised/happy for the former Digital folks I thought the
cuts would be larger in the newly acquired business?
BS
|
| 3253.94 | somebody's stretching the truth... | PCBUOA::KRATZ | | Wed Feb 15 1995 20:16 | 3 |
| Digital claims in its press release (see .0) that the disk stuff
was sold to Quantum for $400m. Quantum, in their recent earnings
report, said $360m. 360=400 in marketing terms I guess. kb
|
| 3253.95 | Intent doesn't mean actual :) | BOUVS::OAKEY | I'll take Clueless for $500, Alex | Wed Feb 15 1995 21:49 | 11 |
| 3253.96 | Gotta read the fine print | VMSSPT::LYCEUM::CURTIS | Dick "Aristotle" Curtis | Thu Feb 16 1995 01:43 | 5 |
| .94:
Maybe it's the difference between unformatted and formatted?
Dick
|
| 3253.97 | | NOVA::FISHER | now |a|n|a|l|o|g| | Mon Feb 20 1995 15:26 | 3 |
| or one is using a million = 1048576 and the other 1000000?
ed
|
| 3253.98 | Quantum CEO resigns | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150kts is TOO slow! | Thu Aug 24 1995 14:01 | 3 |
| I heard that Quantum's CEO resigned unexpectedly yesterday.
Bob
|
| 3253.99 | Quantum Announces Management Transition | DECCXX::AMARTIN | Alan H. Martin | Thu Aug 24 1995 19:47 | 53 |
| FOR RELEASE: August 24, 1995, Contact: Catherine Hartsog Toor,
Communications
(408) 894-4334
Ed McClammy, Finance
(408) 894-5703
QUANTUM ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT TRANSITION
MILPITAS, Calif, August 24, 1995 - Quantum Corporation (NMS:QNTM)
today announced that William Miller has resigned as chairman of the board
and chief executive officer for personal reasons. He will remain at
Quantum as CEO until a replacement is named. Stephen Berkley, who was
chairman and CEO until Miller joined the company in 1992, will serve as
chairman of the board and lead the process to name a successor.
Miller's decision was driven by a desire to back away from the lifestyle
demands of leading a large multinational corporation, especially the
extensive international travel required to support a global operation.
"Bill has done an excellent job in guiding Quantum through a critical
period in the company's history," said Stephen Berkley, chairman of the
board. "He provided important visionary leadership as the company grew
from a $12 billion hard disk drive company to a nearly $4 billion mass
storage company which is one of the clear leaders in the industry. Bill
has been talking with the board for some time about his desire to find
a better balance in his life, and we wish him well as he works to make
that happen.
"Quantum's position in the mass storage industry is excellent. The
company's strong customer base, broad product line, reputation for superior
quality products and services, and technology depth are virtually
unequaled in the industry," Berkley continued. "Quantum also has a strong,
highly motivated management team with the experience and vision to take
advantage of the immense opportunities in our business. I look forward
to working closely with them during this transition period."
William Miller stated, "The mass storage industry offers boundless
opportunities as the information revolution reshapes our society. As
Quantum moved forward to take advantage of those opportunities, I will
take pride in having been part of its history. I've had the privilege of
leading the company for the past 3 1/2 years, but it was the management
team and employees, combined with our manufacturing partnership with MKE,
that built Quantum to what it is today, and they will continue to make
the difference for Quantum in the future."
Founded in 1980, Quantum Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets
storage products for today's digitized world. The highest unit volume
supplier of hard disk drives, Quantum is widely recognized as the
industry's quality leader. The company sells a broad range of storage
products to OEM and distribution customers worldwide. Quantum's sales for
its 1995 fiscal year, ended March 31, 1995, were $3.4 billion. The
company's world wide web home page address is http://www.quantum.com.
|
| 3253.100 | | STAR::FERLAN | DECamds as your cluster mgmt tool | Thu Aug 24 1995 20:02 | 11 |
| >> board. "He provided important visionary leadership as the company grew
>> from a $12 billion hard disk drive company to a nearly $4 billion mass
>> storage company which is one of the clear leaders in the industry.
Hmm... grew from $12B to $4B... no wonder he's leaving :-)
Or did I just read this wrong!
John
|
| 3253.101 | Misteak | DECCXX::AMARTIN | Alan H. Martin | Thu Aug 24 1995 20:40 | 8 |
| Re .100:
> Hmm... grew from $12B to $4B... no wonder he's leaving :-)
>
> Or did I just read this wrong!
No, it's their typo. It should read "... grew from $1.2B to $4B... ".
/AHM
|
| 3253.102 | Otherwise known as "Take the money and run"... | HLDE01::VUURBOOM_R | set prof/person | Fri Aug 25 1995 09:16 | 3 |
| > Miller's decision was driven by a desire to back away from the lifestyle
> demands of leading a large multinational corporation, especially the
> extensive international travel required to support a global operation.
|
| 3253.103 | | ODIXIE::MOREAU | Ken Moreau;Sales Support;South FL | Fri Aug 25 1995 14:58 | 20 |
| RE: .102
> <<< Note 3253.102 by HLDE01::VUURBOOM_R "set prof/person" >>>
> -< Otherwise known as "Take the money and run"... >-
>
>> Miller's decision was driven by a desire to back away from the lifestyle
>> demands of leading a large multinational corporation, especially the
>> extensive international travel required to support a global operation.
I don't know anything about the man or the reasons for his decisions, but
I suggest that your intepretation may be a little harsh. Consider also that
he might have looked around one day at a wife he hadn't seen in weeks, at
children who were surprised that Daddy is home for once, considered the last
time he just kicked back and read a book, and thought "this is stupid".
I tried working 90+ hour weeks with lots of travel (and I have to believe
that my schedule wasn't 1/100th of his, given our respective jobs). It is
no fun, and maybe he just wanted to balance his family in more.
-- Ken Moreau
|
| 3253.104 | Take the money and relax with the kids? | HLDE01::VUURBOOM_R | set prof/person | Fri Aug 25 1995 17:53 | 1 |
|
|
| 3253.105 | I can understand... | CHEFS::RICKETTSK | Rebelwithoutapause | Tue Aug 29 1995 07:18 | 12 |
| If you're thinking of putting in a 90+ hour week, and you haven't
seen more than fleeting glimpses of your family for weeks, just ask
yourself this:
Have I ever heard of anyone who, in their twilight years, looked
back on their life and said "You know, I wish I'd spent more time at
the office"?
I don't do 90+ hour weeks, and hardly ever have any of my 5 weeks
vacation (this is the UK) left to carry over at the end of the year.
Ken
|
| 3253.106 | I'm all for it | HLDE01::VUURBOOM_R | set prof/person | Tue Aug 29 1995 08:13 | 3 |
| Don't get me wrong, I personally would love to have the opportunity
to back away from the lifestyle demands (and salary) of running
a large multinational corporation...
|
| 3253.107 | Enough is plenty | WHOS01::BOWERS | Dave Bowers @WHO | Tue Aug 29 1995 13:07 | 9 |
| My brother-in-law is a tax and investment consultant. Among his clients
a few years ago were some of the hot Wall Street bond traders.
So, this thirty-something guy comes into Len's office and says: "I
earned $11 million in commissions last year. What should I do?"
Len: "Retire?"
\dave
|
| 3253.108 | agreed | DPDMAI::EYSTER | Texas twang, caribbean soul | Tue Aug 29 1995 14:34 | 20 |
| re -.105
Over the past twenty years I've seen many examples of people who put in
the 90+ hrs, were lauded by management,...then burned out. Toast. I
think it was in "Blade Runner" where the android said "That star that
burns shortest, burns brightest".
Besides Vuurboom, without whom we would collapse in a week at best, I
think it's a matter of looking at the long-term -vs- short-term. A
productive employee with time for family and hobbies usually returns
more on investment over the long-haul (IMHO) than a super-productive
(or at least superficially super-dedicated) employee.
Better reasoning, more patience, more tolerance, less time lost on
goofs related to tiredness, etc. I don't mind putting in the 90+ too
much if it's for a very short-term and specific need or to grow the
business. I *do* if it's a long-term gig where we're understaffed,
insufficient technical resources, etc.
Tex
|
| 3253.109 | Should have gone into Bob's Note, Tex :^) | HLDE01::VUURBOOM_R | set prof/person | Wed Aug 30 1995 09:49 | 4 |
| > Besides Vuurboom, without whom we would collapse in a week at best, I
What? A whole week? I must be losing my touch :^)
|
| 3253.110 | Bob already knows... | DPDMAI::EYSTER | Texas twang, caribbean soul | Wed Aug 30 1995 14:20 | 4 |
| We're all getting older, Roelof. But you're still doing a good job of
keeping the corporate standard flyin'!
Tex
|
| 3253.111 | Quantum Names Michael A. Brown CEO | DECCXX::AMARTIN | Alan H. Martin | Wed Sep 27 1995 21:45 | 61 |
| QUANTUM CORPORATION NAMES MICHAEL A. BROWN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MILPITAS, Calif., September 26, 1995 - Quantum
Corporation (NMS: QNTM), today named Michael A. Brown, 37, to
the position of chief executive officer of the company
replacing William Miller who resigned last month. Brown, who
has been at Quantum since 1984, was most recently president
of the desktop and portable storage business group (DPSG)
which represents approximately 70% of Quantum's revenues.
Stephen M. Berkley will remain chairman of the board of
directors.
"Under Michael's leadership, our desktop division has
grown from about $1 billion three years ago to a nearly $3
billion business and a clear leadership position in that
marketplace," said Berkley. "Michael's experience in this
industry and his solid leadership capabilities will be
critically important as we work to continue building the
company."
"The opportunities in front of the storage industry are
immense, and I believe that Quantum is very well positioned
to take advantage of them," said Brown. "Although
maintaining our leadership in the desktop market is
important, our future growth and success will depend more on
our ability to continue growing and strengthening other areas
of our business. Our high-capacity drive business and our
digital linear tape and other non-hard disk drive product
lines are essential for our future, as is our ability to take
advantage of our leadership position in recording heads."
"Quantum has an extremely capable and highly energized
management team. I look forward to continuing to work
with them as we work toward our goal of building Quantum
into the unquestioned leader in the mass storage industry."
Brown continued.
Mark Jackson, 44, previously vice president of worldwide
logistics reporting to Michael Brown will succeed Brown as
president of DPSG. As vice president of worldwide
logistics, Jackson was responsible for worldwide production
planning, customer service, and logistics centers around the
world in addition to day-to-day management of Quantum's
relationship with its manufacturing partner, Matsushita
Kotobuki Electronics (MKE). At Quantum since 1985, Jackson
has served in a variety of positions in the logistics and
operations organizations, and has played a key role in
Quantum's relationship with MKE during those 10 years.
Founded in 1980, Quantum Corporation designs and
manufactures storage products for today's digitized world.
The largest global supplier of hard disk drives, Quantum is
widely recognized as the industry's quality leader. The
company sells a broad range of storage products to OEM and
distribution customers worldwide. The Company's sales for
the fiscal year ending March 1995 were $3.4 billion.
Quantum's World Wide Web home page address is
http://www.quantum.com.
###
|
| 3253.112 | Quantum out of disk business? | BSS::PROCTOR_R | Good, Cheap, Fast -- Pick 2 | Wed Jan 31 1996 14:26 | 6 |
| I just fell over a note written today that sez
"Quantum is out of the disk business"...
Trying a dir/title=quantum caused me to fall asleep in front of the
tube..
has anybody got a concise newsflash on this?
|
| 3253.113 | MKE = Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics | BSS::BRUNO | Burly Computer Nerd | Wed Jan 31 1996 14:32 | 6 |
|
More precisely, Quantum is out of the business of MAKING disk
drives. They will still sell those manufactured by MKE as Quantum
drives.
Greg
|
| 3253.114 | DEC-->Quantum-->? | LOCH::SOJDA | | Wed Jan 31 1996 15:00 | 4 |
| Let me get this straight....
Didn't they buy our disk MAKING business? What's going to happen to
that?
|
| 3253.115 | The $64k question.. | BSS::PROCTOR_R | Good, Cheap, Fast -- Pick 2 | Wed Jan 31 1996 15:07 | 8 |
| >> Didn't they buy our disk MAKING business? What's going to happen
>> to that?
that was the note that I fell over in another conference (and I can't
find the darned conference!) that dealt with just that subject..
mumble mumble lessee here, was it humor? DEC PCs? mumble mumble..
|
| 3253.116 | Found it! thanks to S_WATTUM... | BSS::PROCTOR_R | Good, Cheap, Fast -- Pick 2 | Wed Jan 31 1996 15:23 | 93 |
| <<< GENRAL::DISK$UTIL:[NOTES$LIBRARY]COLORADO.NOTE;8 >>>
-< Colorado >-
================================================================================
Note 2101.65 Quantifying Quantum 65 of 65
GENRAL::RALSTON "Fugitive from the law of averages" 86 lines 31-JAN-1996 07:15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quantum streamlines
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Company will quit making disk drives
By Joanna Bean, Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph
Quantum Corp. said Tuesday it will get out of the business of making
computer disk drives.
The Milpitas, Calif., company said it will continue to develop and sell
disk drives, devices that store computer information. Quantum also will
keep its 680-employee operation in Colorado Springs, which makes tape
drives.
But the company will no longer make any of the disk drives it sells.
Quantum's manufacturing partner, Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries
Inc., or MKE, will make all Quantum's drives. MKE has been making some of
Quantum drives since 1984.
"This announcement has no impact on the specialty storage products group in
Colorado Springs," said Jennifer Simms, Quantum manager of government and
community relations. "We expect (the decision) to improve the outlook of
the company long-term."
Also on Tuesday, Quantum reported a third-quarter loss of $2.5 million, or
5 cents per share, including a $38 million restructuring charge. The
company reported record sales of $1.2 billion for its third fiscal 1996
quarter, which ended Dec. 31.
Even as Quantum made its announcement Tuesday, about two dozen Quantum
workers in Colorado Springs were wrapping up the closure of Quantum's
disk-drive plant here. Quantum shut down the plant in November and moved
the manufacturing work to its new plant in Penang, Malaysia.
On Tuesday, Quantum said it will close its Malaysia plant along with
another plant in Milpitas. Quantum said it will lay off about 1,800 regular
and 450 temporary employees. The bulk of those employees -- about 1,500 --
are in Malaysia; Quantum plans to sell the 370,000-square-foot plant there.
The remainder of the layoffs will occur in Milpitas.
Up to now, MKE has made Quantum's desktop drives, which Quantum sells to
makers of personal computers. MKE turned out 20 million drives last year
from its plants in Japan, Singapore and Ireland.
Beginning this summer, MKE also will make Quantum's high-capacity disk
drives, a family of high-end drives used in servers and disk arrays. Most
of Quantum's high-capacity disk drives were part of a family of storage
products Quantum bought from Digital Equipment Corp. in October 1994. That
acquisition included the Malaysia plant, the disk-drive plant Quantum
closed here, as well as the tape drive business which is growing in
Colorado Springs. Tape drives store information on tape as opposed to a
computer disk.
The $400 million acquisition has proved hard for Quantum to digest, Simms
said.
"We inherited some things that didn't turn out the way we expected," she
said. "What we've determined is we're really focused on profitability,
getting costs down, building quality products and making sure our customers
can get these products ramped up."
She said Quantum would have closed its Colorado Springs plant regardless of
Tuesday's announcement. Quantum and MKE reached an agreement on the
high-capacity disk drives only in the past couple months. Quantum
officials, meanwhile, had to cut costs last summer, when they decided to
close the Colorado Springs plant, she said. Quantum will vacate the plant,
which is owned by Digital, on Feb. 9, she said.
Quantum's announcement leaves the company with manufacturing plants in
Colorado Springs -- the specialty storage products group -- and Shrewsbury,
Mass., where Quantum employs about 1,600. Quantum's worldwide work force
now is about 8,200.
Quantum isn't saying how much it will save by handing its disk-drive
manufacturing work to MKE. Simms said officials hope Quantum's
high-capacity disk-drive business, which has been losing money, will break
even within a year.
The specialty storage products group, meanwhile, is reporting record
earnings, Simms said.
Quantum plans to host an open house at its specialty storage products group
in Colorado Springs on March 19, she said. The group is located in the
former headquarters of Cray Computer Corp., 1110 Bayfield Drive.
|
| 3253.117 | intellectual property, too | R2ME2::DEVRIES | Mark DeVries | Wed Jan 31 1996 16:26 | 11 |
| >> Didn't they buy our disk MAKING business? What's going to happen
>> to that?
It seems to me that the Digital sale announcement and resulting
discussions also mentioned that Quantum was buying our technology for a
particular class of drives, and that maybe that was the most attractive
part of the bargain.
Anyone remember that more clearly?
-Mark
|
| 3253.118 | | ATLANT::SCHMIDT | See http://atlant2.zko.dec.com/ | Wed Jan 31 1996 16:54 | 14 |
| > >> Didn't they buy our disk MAKING business? What's going to happen
> >> to that?
As the article clearly states, they closed part of it a while ago
(previously discussed here in this conference) and are now closing
the rest of it.
So much for the "treat our workers with great care" or whatever
was promised by the spin-doctors at the time we sold off that
part of the business. On the other hand, I believe I read that
the ex-Quantuum ex-Digits got packages that were a lot better
than contemporaneous Digital-offered packages.
Atlant
|
| 3253.119 | Quantum Announces Results for Third Fiscal 1996 Quarter | DECCXX::AMARTIN | Alan H. Martin | Wed Jan 31 1996 16:54 | 142 |
| FOR RELEASE: January 30, 1996, 2:15 PM PST
Contact: Catherine Hartsog,
Communications
(408) 894-4334
Ed McClammy,
Finance
(408) 894-5703
QUANTUM ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR THIRD FISCAL 1996 QUARTER
MILPITAS, Calif., January 30, 1995 PP Quantum Corporation (NMS:
QNTM), today announced record sales of $1.2 billion for its third
fiscal 1996 quarter, ended December 31, 1995. In November, the
company took steps to resize the infrastructure of the
high-capacity business resulting in charges of $38 million.
Prior to this charge, net income was $21 million or 36" per share
fully diluted. After accounting for this charge, the company had
a net loss of 5" per share fully diluted. (Approximately $2
million of the $38 million charge is in operating expenses; the
remaining $36 million is in cost of goods sold.) For the first
nine months of fiscal 1996, net income (excluding the charge
announced in November) was $56 million on sales of $3.2 billion.
Demand for Quantum hard drives in the desktop PC market was
exceptionally strong during the quarter, said Michael A. Brown,
Quantum's chief executive officer. Our total sales were up 18
percent from $1.0 billion last quarter, and our desktop drive
sales were up 23 percent. We were unable to fully meet demand
for our desktop products during the quarter."
Unit shipments of Quantum hard disk drives for the quarter were
an industry record, exceeding 5.8 million drives compared to 4.9
million drives shipped in the prior quarter. Quantum's five
largest OEM customers accounted for 41 percent of the company's
sales in the third quarter.
Although the high-capacity portion of the business continued to
be unprofitable, the company began taking actions during the
quarter to help return that business to profitability. Today in
a separate release, Quantum announced a major shift in its
high-capacity manufacturing strategy. Matsushita-Kotobuki
Electronics Industries, Ltd. (MKE), Quantum's long-time
manufacturing partner for desktop drives, will now also
manufacture the company's high-capacity drives. (See separate
release for more information.)
Founded in 1980, Quantum Corporation designs and manufactures
storage products for today's digitized world. The highest unit
volume supplier of hard disk drives, Quantum is widely recognized
as the industry's quality leader. The company sells a broad
range of storage products to OEM and distribution customers
worldwide. The Company's sales for the fiscal year ending March
1995 were $3.4 billion. Quantum's World Wide Web home page
address is http://www.quantum.com.
###
Quantum Announces Results for Third Fiscal 1996 Quarter Page
January 30, 1996
December 31, March 31,
1995 1995
Assets
Current Assets:
Cash and investments $ 136,006 $ 187,753
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for
doubtful accounts of $10,398 and 704,008 497,887
Inventories 519,328 324,650
Other current assets 85,090 79,634
Total current assets 1,444,432 1,089,924
Property and equipment, net 363,225 280,099
Purchased intangibles, net 72,114 95,818
Other assets 14,426 15,187
$ 1,894,197 $ 1,481,028
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 518,733 $ 355,117
Accrued warranty 62,518 57,001
Other accrued liabilities 101,521 149,710
Accrued exit costs 21,785 32,213
Short term debt 50,000 50,000
Total current liabilities 754,557 644,041
Subordinated debentures 132,933 212,500
Long term debt 355,000 115,000
Shareholders' equity 651,707 509,487
$ 1,894,197 $ 1,481,028
QUANTUM CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
( In thousands except per share amounts )
THREE MONTHS ENDED NINE MONTHS ENDED
Dec 31 Jan 1 Dec 31 Jan 1
1995 1995 1995 1995
Sales $ 1,215,872 $ 932,702 $3,190,235 $ 2,384,175
Cost of sales 1,101,917 797,447 2,809,365 1,970,113
Gross profit 113,955 135,255 380,870 414,062
Expenses:
Research and development 63,681 54,004 173,939 111,158
Sales and marketing 37,211 28,355 105,716 74,221
General and administrative 17,730 14,218 45,365 35,901
Purchased research and dev - 72,945 72,945
and in merger costs
Total operating expenses 118,622 169,522 325,020 294,225
Income (loss) from operations (4,667) (34,267) 55,850 119,837
Interest expense, net 3,975 6,001 15,243 7,471
Income (loss) before income tax (8,642) (40,268) 40,607 112,366
Income tax provision (benefit) (6,161) 8,042 8,121 53,832
Net income (loss) (2,481)$ (48,310)$ 32,486 $ 58,534
Net income (loss) per share:
Primary (0.05)$ (1.06)$ 0.60 $ 1.24
Fully diluted (0.05)$ (1.06)$ 0.59 $ 1.10
Weighted average common and common equivalent shares:
Primary 52,941 45,448 54,465 47,180
Fully diluted 52,941 45,448 62,862 58,889
|
| 3253.120 | Quantum Announces Agreement with MKE to Manufacture High-Capacity Hard Disk Drives | DECCXX::AMARTIN | Alan H. Martin | Wed Jan 31 1996 16:57 | 91 |
| FOR RELEASE: January 30, 1996, 2:15 PM PST Contact: Catherine
Hartsog
(408) 894-4334
QUANTUM ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH MATSUSHITA-KOTOBUKI
ELECTRONICS TO MANUFACTURE HIGH-CAPACITY HARD DISK DRIVES
MILPITAS, Calif., January 30, 1996 Quantum Corporation
(NMS:QNTM) announced that it has signed an exclusive
manufacturing agreement with Matsushita- Kotobuki Electronics
Industries, Ltd. (MKE) covering all of Quantum's hard disk drive
products. In addition to the desktop products, MKE will now
manufacture Quantum's high-capacity disk drives beginning with
products currently in development. MKE has been Quantum's
manufacturing partner since 1984, and the relationship has been
a key factor in the leadership position Quantum has built in the
desktop market segment. According to Michael Brown, Quantum's
chief executive officer, leveraging this relationship for the
high-capacity business is expected to provide important
competitive advantages and improve the company's financial
strength and earnings potential.
Quantum expects to report a non-recurring charge of $160 to $190
million in the company's fourth fiscal quarter, ending March 31,
1996. The charge, approximately two-thirds of which is non
cash, is associated with the closure of the company's two disk
drive manufacturing facilities in Penang, Malaysia and Milpitas,
California; write-off of capital equipment and inventory; and
severance for approximately 1,800 regular and 450 temporary
employees associated with the manufacturing operations.
"MKE brings exceptional process disciplines and focus on design
maturity to the product development and manufacturing
processes," said Brown. "Leveraging this expertise to our
high-end products will enable us to capitalize on MKE's proven
record of consistent product quality and the ability to ramp
production quickly to meet customer requirements, while at the
same time reducing our inventory and capital equipment
spending."
The first high-capacity drives to be built by MKE will be the
Atlas II products, 2-, 4-, and 9-gigabyte leading edge
performance drives designed for mainstream server, mainframe,
and RAID applications.
"Quantum and MKE have developed a very strong and mutually
successful partnership in the desktop hard disk drive market
over the past 12 years," said Mr. Kanamura, MKE Board director
and general manager of MKE's division producing hard disk
drives. "We are very pleased to extend this relationship to the
high- capacity products where Quantum has a strong technology
position and will begin building high-capacity products this
quarter."
MKE has manufactured hard disk drives for Quantum since 1984 and
has three facilities in Japan, Singapore, and Ireland dedicated
exclusively to Quantum products. MKE has built more than 50
million drives for Quantum since the beginning of the
relationship with almost 20 million of those in the past year.
Founded in 1980, Quantum Corporation designs and manufactures
storage products for todays digitized world. The highest unit
volume supplier of hard disk drives, Quantum is widely
recognized as the industrys quality leader. The company sells
a broad range of storage products to OEM and distribution
customers worldwide. The Companys sales for the fiscal year
ending March 1995 were $3.4 billion. Quantums World Wide Web
home page address is http://www.quantum.com.
Founded in 1969, Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd.
is part of the Matsushita Group. MKE, which had consolidated
revenue of $4.6 billion for the fiscal year ended March 1995,
specializes in high-volume, high-quality electronics
manufacturing including digital memory technology, audio visual
products, information services, software, heating, and other
related product areas.
This release contains forward-looking statements concerning the
expected competitive and financial benefits associated with the
change in manufacturing strategy. Actual results could vary
from those expected due to the following risk factors: the
transition of high-capacity products to MKE may not occur as
quickly or as smoothly as the company expects due to the risks
inherent in a change in manufacturing strategy of this type; the
anticipated financial benefits depend to a large degree on the
successful customer acceptance and qualification of the high-
capacity products; competitive pricing pressures and
unanticipated cost increases could offset the anticipated
benefits of the change in manufacturing strategy.
###
|
| 3253.121 | Matsushita-Kotobuki, Quantum to set up venture | DECCXX::AMARTIN | Alan H. Martin | Thu May 01 1997 14:53 | 22 |
| http://biz.yahoo.com/finance/97/05/01/qntm_1.html
"
Thursday May 1 3:14 AM EDT
Matsushita-Kotobuki, Quantum to set up venture
TOKYO, May 1 (Reuter) - Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd 6783.T
said on Thursday that it and Quantum Corp have agreed to set up a joint venture
in the United States for recording heads for hard disk drives.
The new firm, which will take over Quantum's recording head operation, will be
51 percent held by Matsushita-Kotobuki and the rest by Quantum, the Japanese
firm said in a statement.
Matsushita-Kotobuki is a major producer of video players.
Quantum is a major manufacturer of hard disk drives in the United States.
"
(That includes the thin-film heads group from SHR2).
/AHM
|