That reminds me of something else I heard -
An Air Force Pilot flying a multi-million dollor airplane is required to have a 4 year degree, while the sergeant responsible for keeping it in the air only needs a HS diploma.
__________________ AIR #15800
"Wimpy" 1/2 ton 2002 GMC Sierra 4X4 Z-71 Gasser
2000 Safari SS 25'
That reminds me of something else I heard -
An Air Force Pilot flying a multi-million dollor airplane is required to have a 4 year degree, while the sergeant responsible for keeping it in the air only needs a HS diploma.
Nice.....
__________________
Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 11/91
In most circles, world wide, those are fighting words.
As an example, as this is posted, Hilton Hawaiian Village in Oahu, Hawaii, has 5000 rooms, (five thousand).
For most of this year, they have been over booked. That info comes straight from the guest services manager, that has been my friend for a long time, so it's not a made up story.
Not to question what you were told by your friend, Andy, a story in the NY Times a couple of weeks ago stated that bookings in luxury hotels are suddenly way down and there have been a lot of cancellations for the rest of the year. Apparently the market cratered as quickly as the stock market, though a little later. There are now a lot of deals for those wanting to stay in those hotels. Corporations are also cutting way back on business trips and when they send employees somewhere, they have to book at middle class places. We are lucky to have our own luxury "suites" on wheels.
Maybe EA Sports is getting rid of people they dont really need...If they can make the same money WITHOUT them, maybe they should go...Gotta keep the investors happy, or theyll invest in something else then EA Sports will cease to exist if they dont have investors..
I love this quote..if you don't keep the investors happy they will invest in something else (like credit default swaps) and then when they aren't happy with that investment, they will just get the government to pay them
I understand that when you have excess people layoffs are a consideration. Too many companies forget why they exist to begin with, if they make a product, its about the product, not the investor. If the product is good, then the profits come then the investors are interested in owning part of the company. You can get caught being a buggy whip maker, not adapting to the market, but you can also forget about what your product is, get caught up in "paying the investors" and then there is no company. Just look at a very long list of financial firms that are gone because, they kept reaching higher to pay an investor that they could not satisfy.
"The video game company reported a loss of $310 million, or 97 cents a share, in the quarter compared to a loss of $195 million, or 62 cents a share, a year ago"
The above info from thestreet.com on 10/31/08. For more information, go to: ERTS: Summary for Electronic Arts Inc. - Yahoo! Finance and sift through the SEC filings and look for the 8-K for each quarter in the last several years.
From Purman:
"Yesterday in the big wig meeting (his job is ok) the the international ceo said the company was selling more, and making more than they had in a long time.... They have 28 million in the back.. Things are good... But stockholders want something done. So they have to lay off 600 employees.."
I'm sorry Purman but the company is not doing well. It has lost millions upon millions in the last few years. Actually, their cash and accounts receivable are more than you indicate but hemorrhaging at the rate of $310,000,000 per quarter will eat up several million in a hurry.
In essence, things are not good as you were told, and they might be circling the drain. Layoffs, while not desirable, are a fast way of maintaining cash. You might ask yourself what these 600 (out of 9,000) people were doing if the sales were that bad. you might opine they were not needed.
Others here have said that the company should take better care of the employees. Well, there might not be a company at all if things continue as they have been.
"So they lay off 600 people that they don't need to, so the stockholders can make more money" is not quite accurate.
The company has never paid a dividend since going public in 1990 and the stock has gone along marginally up and down since. The stockholders have made very little money unless the timing was right on a couple of dips. Any company whose product is dependent on discretionary spending is subject to the vagaries of the economy. For instance, people don't absolutely have to have motorcycles, boats, fancy cars, video games, RVs, etc. When things get tight, those types of expenses are usually the first to get cut.
"It's the price of the stock and the profit to the stockholders that is the important thing."
Absolutely right! The stockholders are the owners of the company. not the CEO. Sometimes it is hard to remember that people own the company. The officers of the company do not. The owners (stock owners) put up money for the company to run its business. If it goes south, the owners are out. Yes, they want a return for their money as do we all.
I hope your brother and his company fare well!!
__________________
Larry
"Turleen", the '57 Flying Cloud
Lone Jack, MO
Pop.528 "You better learn it fast; you better learn it young"-John Fogerty
naw I think it was Pong??? Check out the graphics on that baby!
But hey if you had Etch-a-Sketch you were cool! Much cooler than I was playing with my magnetic hair wand moving metal shavings or getting the beads in the holes games. LOL
OK sorry, nostalgia attack over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Air2Go
Electronic Arts, you say?
I used to own one of their earliest video games and it was a prized possession...
It was called an "Etch-A-Sketch."
Actually, I think it was manufactured by "Ohio Arts."
And I am dating myself here.
__________________ CJ The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.-Eleanor Roosevelt It is never too late to be who you might have been.-George Eliot
Larry, thanks for the information on the company. With credit largely frozen, a company with such major persistent losses cannot survive. I wonder why they did not try to fix their problems long ago. It seems the CEO has had his head in the sand. I don't want to see anyone lose a job, but a company like EA is not a good one to stay with and it's best to look for a job now before the whole company folds.
I love this quote..if you don't keep the investors happy they will invest in something else (like credit default swaps) and then when they aren't happy with that investment, they will just get the government to pay them
Im not sure HOW you took my statment...Any reasonable investor who ISNT getting a return that they're expecting WILL put their money someplace where it WILL provide them with the returns they want...Its ALWAYS in the best interest of the company to produce a product that makes them money. If theyre making money the investors will be happy becuase they will get a return on investment...
__________________ Jay (KB8VMO) & Sheri Kids, cats, horses, & donkeys WBCCI #10917 AIR #32349
"The video game company reported a loss of $310 million, or 97 cents a share, in the quarter compared to a loss of $195 million, or 62 cents a share, a year ago"
The above info from thestreet.com on 10/31/08. For more information, go to: ERTS: Summary for Electronic Arts Inc. - Yahoo! Finance and sift through the SEC filings and look for the 8-K for each quarter in the last several years.
From Purman:
"Yesterday in the big wig meeting (his job is ok) the the international ceo said the company was selling more, and making more than they had in a long time.... They have 28 million in the back.. Things are good... But stockholders want something done. So they have to lay off 600 employees.."
I'm sorry Purman but the company is not doing well. It has lost millions upon millions in the last few years. Actually, their cash and accounts receivable are more than you indicate but hemorrhaging at the rate of $310,000,000 per quarter will eat up several million in a hurry.
In essence, things are not good as you were told, and they might be circling the drain. Layoffs, while not desirable, are a fast way of maintaining cash. You might ask yourself what these 600 (out of 9,000) people were doing if the sales were that bad. you might opine they were not needed.
Others here have said that the company should take better care of the employees. Well, there might not be a company at all if things continue as they have been.
"So they lay off 600 people that they don't need to, so the stockholders can make more money" is not quite accurate.
The company has never paid a dividend since going public in 1990 and the stock has gone along marginally up and down since. The stockholders have made very little money unless the timing was right on a couple of dips. Any company whose product is dependent on discretionary spending is subject to the vagaries of the economy. For instance, people don't absolutely have to have motorcycles, boats, fancy cars, video games, RVs, etc. When things get tight, those types of expenses are usually the first to get cut.
"It's the price of the stock and the profit to the stockholders that is the important thing."
Absolutely right! The stockholders are the owners of the company. not the CEO. Sometimes it is hard to remember that people own the company. The officers of the company do not. The owners (stock owners) put up money for the company to run its business. If it goes south, the owners are out. Yes, they want a return for their money as do we all.
I hope your brother and his company fare well!!
Like I told someone else I was just conveying what My brother was told... By the International higher up guy in a meeting 3 days ago...
Whether they told him the truth or not I don't know...
Whether he was for His part of the company I don't know...
EA overall may be a loss.
They have offices all over the world.... I don't know if each division keeps track of it own $ ...
Each type of Game is made in a different place...
I know When I was In management at REI in the early 90's we were told different things than the public... Not sure which one was the truth???
I don't mean to mislead anyone... I just thought the information was interesting, coming from my brother who has worked there for 10 years...
__________________
Jason
May you have at least one sunny day, and a soft chair to sit in..
Once upon a time, in a place overrun with monkeys, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest, and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and as supply started to diminish, they became harder to catch, so the villagers stopped their effort. The man then announced that he would now pay $20 for each one. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. But soon the supply diminished even further and they were ever harder to catch, so people started going back to their farms and forgot about monkey catching. The man increased his price to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so sparse that it was an effort to even see a monkey, much less catch one. The man now announced that he would buy monkeys for $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on his behalf.
While the man was away the assistant told the villagers, "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has bought. I will sell them to you at $35 each and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each." The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys. They never saw the man or his assistant again, and once again there were monkeys everywhere.
This thread started with a question about why we are in a depression. Actually the term "depression" has mostly been used for the deflationary period that started in 1929. Before that such events were called "panics", a very accurate term, or "bubbles" which actually described the period before the bubble burst. Since the Great Depression ("Great" probably means to distinguish it from previous deflationary periods which were also called depressions with a small "d"), we have had "recessions" to show they were less than the Great one.
That doesn't answer the question, but I thought it interesting although I'm not sure I'm completely right. Maybe we need a new name like "The Big Blow Up" or Magnarecession".
I think the answer isn't going to be found on a forum about Airstreams, but after we go get a degree in economic history, we may have an answer, even the answer. The causes are very complex and difficult to understand and the "experts" disagree. I suggest reading Paul Krugman's book "The Conscience of a Liberal" for some very cogent and rather easy to read facts on what has happened in the past 100+ years. Krugman just won the Nobel Prize in economics. Even if you are not a "liberal" it is well worth your time to understand his viewpoint. I think what has happened since the book came out in late 2007 proves his thesis to be correct.
Gene
Last edited by CrawfordGene; 11-05-2008 at 09:42 PM.
Reason: typo
1. Owe no man.
2. Support yourself with your own labor.
3. Understand that instant gratification is costly.
4. Resist the temptation to "keep up with the neighbors"
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