Originally Posted By Bob Paris " It has gotten to the point where professions that used to be considered modest (cops, firefighters and nurses) now routinely earn better paychecks and benefits than cubicle dwellers." What strange logic. "Modest" professions like cops, firefighters and nurses SHOULD earn more money than fat Dilberts. Does the average "cubicle dweller" have to worry about being stabbed by a meth addict or burnt alive or whether he can alieve a suffering person's pain? No - all he has to worry about is avoiding paper cuts and whether he will make a fool of himself at the office Christmas party. Get real.
Originally Posted By dshyates Some of these lay-offs were needed The DisCo. was one of the most bloated companies I have ever seen in regards to Executives. But getting rid of loyal fronline CMs in favor of a new crop of guys named Beavis isn't going to help in keeping traditional Disney Quality in regards to the guest experiences.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad I can understand layoffs happening. It's part of business. But, I can't see firing CMs with so many years experience while keeping ones newly hired. I would think most recently hired would be first to go. I can't imagine how this has destroyed CM moral. They have just chucked loyalty out the window. No matter how they spin it actions speak louder than words.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad Concerning layoffs....At one point the head of BofA was making 35 million a year and they had layoffs. I couldn't help but think that if that 1 position was eliminated that would have been 38 million dollars of payroll saved. How many people could have kept their jobs. And don't say he was worth it b/c they just had to be bailed out too.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<What strange logic. "Modest" professions like cops, firefighters and nurses SHOULD earn more money than fat Dilberts.>> You completely missed my point, which is that highly skilled workers, many with Masters Degrees and PhDs are now paid less than a cop. And its not because the cops pay skyrocketed, its because everyone else is seeing their pay collapse and benefits collapse. But you have to admit that cops like to play the "we're just humble, low paid public servants" card, especially when they threaten to strike for pay raises that the rest of us can only dream about.
Originally Posted By fkurucz I must say that I am perplexed regarding your contempt for "Fat Dilberts", who are the ones that create the real wealth that goes to pay the salaries of public servants. Dilbert works tons of unpaid overtime (unlike cops), doesn't have a union to represent him (unlike cops), doesn't have a pension waiting for him (unlike cops), has to train his Indian replacement (unlike cops) and had to spend 4 to 8 years in College to prepare for his profession (unlike cops). What have you got against poor Dilbert?
Originally Posted By sjhym33 The reality is that the people at the top of Disney (and any other company) are under enormous pressure to cut costs to keep profits up. Their bonuses, which make up most of their compensation, is tied to that. Eisner's method of making profits tended to be expansion of the company and over-exposure of the Disney name. Who ever thought in the early 80's that there would be a race track, sports complex, 4 theme parks and tons of resorts at WDW? Who would have thunk that every mall in America would have a Disney store? Igor has taken a different approach in the current economic climate and that is to cut where thay think they can. You can argue which one is a better approach (I chuckle when I see the race track or the DVD of Jungle Book 20 or whatever) but the days when Walt told investors that he will run the company the way he wants is long gone. The majority of large stockholders and cold institutions just like Disney has become
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<The reality is that the people at the top of Disney (and any other company) are under enormous pressure to cut costs to keep profits up. Their bonuses, which make up most of their compensation, is tied to that. >> Yup. The system is utterly broken, and now that people can't use their houses as ATMs anymore the system is now collapsing. Wall St and the CEOs need to get this through their thick skulls: Customers need jobs in order to remain customers. The unemployed do not buy houses and cars (which they actually could do during the recently ended credit insanity). Lenders now actually want to see proof of income, long term savings and a decent debt to income ratio (imagine that!). Unless people have incomes that can actually cover their bills it is game over.
Originally Posted By RockyMtnMinnie >>>I can understand layoffs happening. It's part of business. But, I can't see firing CMs with so many years experience while keeping ones newly hired. I would think most recently hired would be first to go. I can't imagine how this has destroyed CM moral. They have just chucked loyalty out the window. No matter how they spin it actions speak louder than words.<<< I was just laid off yesterday and I was the last with a senior title. They get rid of the most experienced employees because they earn the most and replace them with less qualified, lower paid employees. Company loyalty is a thing of the past.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<I was just laid off yesterday..>> I am so sorry to hear this. Its always hard to find a good job on the Front Range even in good times. My advice is to be creative. I was laid off in 2001, just 2 weeks before 9/11. There was nothing to be found as Colorado was also being hit by the tech/telecom bust. I wound up taking a job in Laramie, Wyoming (an 80 minute drive from where I live). It wasn't fun and I had to do it for 18 months, but it kept us out of bankruptcy. It wasn't until 2003 that I was able to find a decent job in Boulder, which cut my commute in half. <<and replace them with less qualified, lower paid employees>> Which is why everything is so shoddy.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> I was just laid off yesterday and I was the last with a senior title. They get rid of the most experienced employees because they earn the most and replace them with less qualified, lower paid employees. Company loyalty is a thing of the past. << Sorry to here this. Good luck in the job hunt. I know it's a drag, but I hope things turn out for the best. You are right. Company loyalty is a thing of the past, and it's the companies that made it that way.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> Lenders now actually want to see proof of income, long term savings and a decent debt to income ratio (imagine that!). << Don't you just hate it when you have to prove you can afford to buy something. How are we suppose to afford all of those luxury items if they actually expect us to pay for them!
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad <<<You are right. Company loyalty is a thing of the past, and it's the companies that made it that way. >>> I think it still comes back to the short term view. Even the CEOs of companies know that a couple of bad quarters and they're out. Bad quarters are inevitable as the market changes so essentially these guys have a temporary job also. So its not surprising that they treat everyone as temps and have no concept of long term loyalty. It's not just the CEOs either, it's the board also. Look at Jet Blue they fired the founder. That's like Disney firing Walt Disney.I think if I founded a great business the last thing I would do is sell shares.
Originally Posted By dshyates So sorry to hear about your lay-off RockyMtnMinnie. I was laid off twice last year, and it was really tough. But I have recently scored a much better job than either that I was laid of from. It is not without some sacrifices, mainly having to move 700 miles away from my kids. But it can with a 50% pay increase over either of the jobs I had last year. Be flexible and keep your chin up. I am confident that in the long run, everything will work out.
Originally Posted By hopemax My Dad just called, he said they heard on the radio (they are in Orlando) that there were 900 layoffs, with an addition 500 positions that had been empty that have been eliminated. So 1400 total. Disneyland had 200 layoffs and 100 jobs not filled and eliminated.
Originally Posted By hopemax Article <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-layoffs-040309,0,7115954.story" target="_blank">http://www.orlandosentinel.com...54.story</a>
Originally Posted By Anatole69 >Take WalMart for example. It has gone from being viewed as a low price leader to just being viewed as cheap.< The irony of this is that apart from their advertised specials, or their aisle items that carry the low prices, they actually aren't cheap. The make a good part of their profit from the perception of them being cheap, when in actuality, they are just as expensive as any other store (again, apart from the few products they offer at a lower price). The power of spin control is an amazing thing. - Anatole
Originally Posted By MPierce >> The irony of this is that apart from their advertised specials, or their aisle items that carry the low prices, they actually aren't cheap. The make a good part of their profit from the perception of them being cheap, when in actuality, they are just as expensive as any other store (again, apart from the few products they offer at a lower price). The power of spin control is an amazing thing << So very correct. Their prices are only cheap when they are targeting a competitors price or they are actually selling cheap inferior merchandise.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<The power of spin control is an amazing thing.>> That's true ... whether at WalMart or WDW or in the White House. ~A glass of Jack would be great!~
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad <<<The irony of this is that apart from their advertised specials, or their aisle items that carry the low prices, they actually aren't cheap>>> I don't know if they still do it this way, but they used to have a list in each dept called a comp list. These were high visibility items that they would base their price on what the competitor was charging and beat it by a small amount.(5cents) Each week Dept managers would go to the competition and price these items. It was a big game of cat and mouse. Also another interesting fact. The stores with the highest markups were in rural areas where there was less competition.
