Definitely sad that people will be let go but the severance is likely to be good.
Also if Beats total # of employees is about 500 then a good chunk of those will have received share options. With the sale price of $3B a lot of the employees will be making a ton of money.
That's probably exactly the reason their new contracts have end dates and are not immediately terminated. This always happens when companies are taken over. It's not Gordon Ghekko - stripping for parts.
The fact is the administration of mid tier companies can be fairly heavy compared to
Companies like Apple. If Apple needed 200 new administration (or sales ) staff it would have hired them. Instead it realises it can handle this integration with the existing staff
One can hope that this elimination of jobs includes any in-house legal counsel Beats has on board. That arm of the company clearly didn't do its job to do due diligence on whether Beats was infringing patents when the company incorporated noise cancelation into its products. Someone was sleeping on the job.
By that logic, Apple should fire its own legal counsel. Perhaps Apple should keep Beat's legal counsel instead as it is getting sued far less. Further, last I checked Beats has not been found guilt of patent infringement.
So who are the people Apple is keeping? Does Beats have a lot of hardware engineers or are they mostly people working on the streaming music app? The headphone designs were done by a 3rd party design firm (which said its work would be transitioning to Apple's design team).
Software companies tend to allow such employees to apply for open positions giving them priority (or try to find a good fit) whereas possible. Those that do not make the cut usually get shown the door. Sometimes people that lose their job are skilled employees but their skills are not a good fit.
All the HR, Accounting and Sales folks tend to be cut. It's common sense.
Agreed (for the first 2). HR is totally superfluous, and as soon as the financial due diligence is done, it's easily transferred.
If Apple is leaving the sales channels, then the sales force is usually kept on... Apple probably doesn't have reach into some of the retailers Beats does... however, the big box overlap... Apple staff takes that over (and most sales people would leave anyway... my guess is Beats had a higher commission rate anyway).
You'll see another group go in the 2nd round of layoffs, likely 2-6 months afterwards (IT, purchasing, admin, etc), as 'keeping the lights on' work is transisitioned to the mother ship.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DogCowabunga
If the acquisition does not go through, does this mean they have hired all the Beats people that constitute Beats value to Apple? Just wondering!!!
If it doesn't go through, officially nothing should change.
does go through, They wanted Jimmy and Dre, talent and label management, and likely some IP ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale.
<ronald reagan voice>
There you go again, thinking that corporations have to be moral.
I would have much rather read a story where Apple gives 200 Beats employees in obsolete positions a chance to least get hired on at Apple, even if they are support roles and have to move to Cupertino, than simply being shown the door.
And who knows - maybe Apple will give them a chance. But there's nothing in the least bit wrong with letting people go you don't need. It's also commendable for a business to treat people like people and try to do a reasonable amount to make the transition as minimally jarring as possible. I both applaud companies that are sensitive to employees they have to let go, and question the understanding of the business world of anyone has who implies or says that companies are somehow wrong for cutting jobs that are no longer needed (not saying that you're saying that - but it always seems like there's someone who cries foul whenever there's a story about a company doing appropriate streamlining that involves cutting positions).
Some of your ineccsant brainless comments on these AI articles suggest you really need to be somewhere else !!!
[insert any comment whatsoever about the fact that the labor force participation rate is 62.3%, making Apple’s reduction of redundancy look meaningless in comparison and calling into question why you think companies should be making terrible decisions to fix the terrible decisions made already]
This is completely normal cost synergies from most acquisitions in the business world. Administrative roles are almost always overlapped when two companies get together.
In related news Apple just completed the purchase of another 13% of Beats they had not already bought, paying off Vivendi/Universal Music Group to the tune of $400M. Apparently there's still a few other shares out in the wild too but expected to be acquired over the next few weeks.
In related news Apple just completed the purchase of another 13% of Beats they had not already bought, paying off Vivendi/Universal Music Group to the tune of $400M. Apparently there's still a few other shares out in the wild too but expected to be acquired over the next few weeks.
If the acquisition can be leveraged to damage Samsung in any way I'm all for it.
I understand that, but there is a difference between "we can give a severance package or you can take a lower position at Apple right now with or without a pay cut" and "we're letting you go, here's your severance package." I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale. I think mass layoffs, like what MS is doing with Nokia in Finland, just taints your brandname.
This is what I meant by trusting an AI article so easily.
Posted on AI 08/01/14
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr issued a statement yesterday saying much the same.
"We're excited to have the Beats team join Apple, and we have extended job offers to every Beats employee," Neumayr said in a prepared statement sent out to various news outlets yesterday. "Because of some overlap in our operations, some offers are for a limited period and we'll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple."
This is what I meant by trusting an AI article so easily.
Posted on AI 08/01/14 Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr issued a statement yesterday saying much the same. "We're excited to have the Beats team join Apple, and we have extended job offers to every Beats employee," Neumayr said in a prepared statement sent out to various news outlets yesterday. "Because of some overlap in our operations, some offers are for a limited period and we'll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple."
I don't trust the rumours insofar as to think they are canon, but I do respond with how I would feel if they do they turn out to be truthful.
Comments
That's probably exactly the reason their new contracts have end dates and are not immediately terminated. This always happens when companies are taken over. It's not Gordon Ghekko - stripping for parts.
The fact is the administration of mid tier companies can be fairly heavy compared to
Companies like Apple. If Apple needed 200 new administration (or sales ) staff it would have hired them. Instead it realises it can handle this integration with the existing staff
I have only listened to a couple of Beat products... but they all sound crap. Big changes are needed. Tim is great with these things.
By that logic, Apple should fire its own legal counsel. Perhaps Apple should keep Beat's legal counsel instead as it is getting sued far less. Further, last I checked Beats has not been found guilt of patent infringement.
Software companies tend to allow such employees to apply for open positions giving them priority (or try to find a good fit) whereas possible. Those that do not make the cut usually get shown the door. Sometimes people that lose their job are skilled employees but their skills are not a good fit.
Doooooooooooooooooooooomed!™
These are real people losing real jobs.
Some of your ineccsant brainless comments on these AI articles suggest you really need to be somewhere else !!!
All the HR, Accounting and Sales folks tend to be cut. It's common sense.
Agreed (for the first 2). HR is totally superfluous, and as soon as the financial due diligence is done, it's easily transferred.
If Apple is leaving the sales channels, then the sales force is usually kept on... Apple probably doesn't have reach into some of the retailers Beats does... however, the big box overlap... Apple staff takes that over (and most sales people would leave anyway... my guess is Beats had a higher commission rate anyway).
You'll see another group go in the 2nd round of layoffs, likely 2-6 months afterwards (IT, purchasing, admin, etc), as 'keeping the lights on' work is transisitioned to the mother ship.
If the acquisition does not go through, does this mean they have hired all the Beats people that constitute Beats value to Apple? Just wondering!!!
If it doesn't go through, officially nothing should change.
does go through, They wanted Jimmy and Dre, talent and label management, and likely some IP ...
I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale.
<ronald reagan voice>
There you go again, thinking that corporations have to be moral.
</rrv>
They have to be profitable...
everything else is just gravy.
I would have much rather read a story where Apple gives 200 Beats employees in obsolete positions a chance to least get hired on at Apple, even if they are support roles and have to move to Cupertino, than simply being shown the door.
And who knows - maybe Apple will give them a chance. But there's nothing in the least bit wrong with letting people go you don't need. It's also commendable for a business to treat people like people and try to do a reasonable amount to make the transition as minimally jarring as possible. I both applaud companies that are sensitive to employees they have to let go, and question the understanding of the business world of anyone has who implies or says that companies are somehow wrong for cutting jobs that are no longer needed (not saying that you're saying that - but it always seems like there's someone who cries foul whenever there's a story about a company doing appropriate streamlining that involves cutting positions).
These are real people losing real jobs.
Some of your ineccsant brainless comments on these AI articles suggest you really need to be somewhere else !!!
Its 200 people!!!!! This shouldn't even make the news!
EDIT: of course people already saw what I posted over email notification. Please excuse me for my err.
probably the most edited post in history this one...
We all make mistakes. Misread, misunderstand, jump to conclusions, etc, etc, but it takes a big man to admit them.
Jesus - Gonna delete it, sorry Andysol. I was soooo wrong here.
EDIT: of course people already saw what I posted over email notification. Please excuse me for my err.
probably the most edited post in history this one...
I have no clue what you posted- or what was edited. But no- I don't accept your apology. I will hate you until the end of days!
Thank you
Even without knowing what that movie is about... LOL
I did however saved the text I posted, so just holler if you'd like a PM. I will, obviously, explain myself after pasting in that stupid post.
Whoop de doo.
[insert any comment whatsoever about the fact that the labor force participation rate is 62.3%, making Apple’s reduction of redundancy look meaningless in comparison and calling into question why you think companies should be making terrible decisions to fix the terrible decisions made already]
Brace yourselves...evil Apple posts coming.
If the acquisition can be leveraged to damage Samsung in any way I'm all for it.
I understand that, but there is a difference between "we can give a severance package or you can take a lower position at Apple right now with or without a pay cut" and "we're letting you go, here's your severance package." I think the moral thing to do is to not push anyone out if you have acquired them and they have been productive for the company you've purchased, no matter how high or low on the scale. I think mass layoffs, like what MS is doing with Nokia in Finland, just taints your brandname.
This is what I meant by trusting an AI article so easily.
Posted on AI 08/01/14
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr issued a statement yesterday saying much the same.
"We're excited to have the Beats team join Apple, and we have extended job offers to every Beats employee," Neumayr said in a prepared statement sent out to various news outlets yesterday. "Because of some overlap in our operations, some offers are for a limited period and we'll work hard during this time to find as many of these Beats employees as we can another permanent job within Apple."
I don't trust the rumours insofar as to think they are canon, but I do respond with how I would feel if they do they turn out to be truthful.