TheOrange 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Seems the xbox performance in Japan is meaning layoffs. Found this article though, interesting the way they supposedly did it: ------------------ Microsoft cuts 17 percent of the workforce at the Japan branch. According to a new report in Nikkei BizTech, Microsoft has laid off 34 employees in the Xbox division of its Japanese offices. The layoffs apparently caused a commotion among the workers because of differences in business practices between Japan and the United States. According to the article, the Xbox division staff in Japan, which consists of approximately 200 employees, was called to a meeting at the company's Tokyo office on March 20. The staff was then told by its new division head, Par Singh, that the sales of the Xbox in Japan had been extremely disappointing, and that the company will be forcing early retirement on a number of its workers. The employees were then told to check their e-mail inboxes, in which 34 of the workers received a notice to pack their belongings and go to the conference room. The passageway to the conference room had security guards protecting all the elevators and emergency exits. The terminated employees could use the restroom only if they were accompanied by one of the retained employees. According to one of the employees who was cut, it felt as though they were treated like criminals. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Sure, several times in my career I have seen the retrenchment rounds on the trading floor. Often a whole bunch of people will get the call at pretty much the same time and are asked to attend HR. Sometimes they do it one man at a time and one of the traders will walk in and say 'it has started'. Then you all wait to see who's phone rings next. Sure enough, there will be another call and the next guy goes into HR to get his letter. This can take quite a while. Once I saw 12 sequential 'come to HR please' phone calls over the space of 1 hour. Out of a team of 25 traders the suspense was huge. Who would be next. Someones line would ring... see ya buddy. Eventually the calls stop. The whole time there are security guards all over the place. Those that get executed are not allowed to use the phone or even touch their computer (this depends on the situation). If you are beheaded you are told to leave within 30 minutes. After one particularly gruesome round of executions, the head of the trading floor pulled those left standing into a meeting. He gave the usual blurb and advised that there was one more of us that would fall but none of us in the room need worry. The one remaining sackee was currently on stress leave as his wife had just left him for another chap. He was to be sacked when his stress leave ended. Poor guy had just taken out a huge second mortgage. At least he would now have plenty of time to look for a new woman. Link to post Share on other sites
echineko 1 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Why is there security people?? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by echineko: Why is there security people?? Um, a complete lack of civilized values perhaps? An American friend of mine who got fired from a company in the US said they had guards armed with pistols to march them out. Link to post Share on other sites
cal 6 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Seriously, what is the point of the security? They don't want sacked people stealing corporate secrets or something? Violence? Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 In the instance of traders being sacked the security is merited. It has happened more than once where a digruntled sacked emp[loyee left the 'you are sacked' meeting with HR and walkied directly into the trading room went short a crap load of currency or futures or out of the money options into a rallying market. All it takes is to press a broker button on the phone terminal and say "sell such and such at market". Even easier, you just hit a particular red SELL key on the trading terminal keyboard and wham, you are hitting bids. There are heaps of huge money losing things that can be done in the space of a few seconds. One guy I saw retrenched had a history of punching junior traders on the jaw and smashing monitors and phones - not the ordinary desk phone either (we have all pulverised a phone consol in our immature days, but he was the head trader of an FX desk). This guy had 3 security guards escorting him. Under normal circumstances I think that the security guard concept is as Ocean staes. Link to post Share on other sites
MistaSparkle 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 I've seen two different layoffs, and it's not pretty. Although neither company had security guards, they did it on friday afternoons, and everyone was asked to leave the building within the hour. It's a pretty cold affair... I wonder though... what do they do differently in Japanese companies, or UK companies for that matter?? Link to post Share on other sites
akibun 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Do people really want to do bad thing for company if losing the job? Why do they want to do such thing? And if they do it, they can be caughr by police? Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 First job after University 6 weeks into it a bunch of people in suits marched the managers into the meeting room. 5 mins later we were all (roughly 100) collecting all our personal belongings for a meeting on the lawn outside. shit shit drug testing thought one particuly paranoid employee. No drug testing but everyone was sacked. Had a new job before the day was out but most others were not so lucky. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 You would figure that someone would sue in America for mental abuse. Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 OR simply sue for being fired, or being held by a security guard, or not being able to defend themselves. Link to post Share on other sites
Will Lee 0 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by jared: First job after University 6 weeks into it a bunch of people in suits marched the managers into the meeting room. 5 mins later we were all (roughly 100) collecting all our personal belongings for a meeting on the lawn outside. Why did the company bother to hire you guys in the first place? What a waste of your time and effort! Link to post Share on other sites
Will Lee 0 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by akibun: Do people really want to do bad thing for company if losing the job? Why do they want to do such thing? Hell yeah I probably would! And I wouldn't even really call that a "bad thing"...considering the circumstances. Nobody wants to be run outta there feeling completely powerless. Sometimes we need to exact some street justice! Have you ever felt betrayed Akibun? Think about how you'd feel, then maybe you'll have a better understanding. Just my 2 cents Link to post Share on other sites
MistaSparkle 0 Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by SnoboYaro: Why did the company bother to hire you guys in the first place? What a waste of your time and effort! When my previous company did it's 1st round of layoffs, there were people who had been hired from overseas who arrived for their 1st day of work, only to find out they were laid off the same day.... talk about a waste of time and effort! Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Thats bizarre. Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 I think it has to do with keeping up the appearance of a stable business and not wanting to panic share holders/ creitors/ employees. I think only the top layer of management knew and the middle management were kept in the dark till the day. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 The best way to do it as an employer is to offer goodwill, assume goodwill, and punish transgressors, although few can be expected. Of course, offering goodwill means having a valid reason for firing in the first place. Some companies in Japan and the UK invite people to apply to leave with certain inducements, and let leavers use the company resources to search for a new position. Other companies adopt the macho "Call security and have them thrown onto the street" approach. I've heard of examples of both. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Goodwill. Now theres an often abused word. What does it mean, like? Link to post Share on other sites
DrEvil 0 Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 Look at these dreasful results for xbox in Japan. No wonder yhry're getting fired: ---------------- Console Hardware Sales Chart From: Jun 16 - Jun 22, 2003 System Sales this week : Total Sales in 2003 PlayStation 2 46,900 : 1,520,200 GameBoy Advance SP 39,600 : 1,187,500 GameCube 20,900 : 307,300 GameBoy Advance 9,600 : 908,100 PSone 900 : 44,800 Xbox 750 : 59,400 WonderSwan Crystal 450 : 23,900 Link to post Share on other sites
slimeypete 0 Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 Woah, those numbers are so low. PS One still selling more? And how can the PS2 keep on selling that many every week....hasn't everyone got one by now? Link to post Share on other sites
sexy-northerner 0 Posted July 5, 2003 Share Posted July 5, 2003 Those are mighty numbers for the PS2 there. Incredible how it can storm the superior competition even now in such a huge margin. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Are Microsoft going to give up on Japan with their box do you reckon? Pretty embarrasing numbers going on there. Link to post Share on other sites
barok 0 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 s`too bad really - it is a good system, from what I have played. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 I had a go on the D-Day game at my brothers. You run around shooting lots of Nazis. It's quite compelling. My brother said you can run up to them and smack them with a rifle butt, but he didn't show me the moves. The graphics and force feedback were pretty good. Throw in a few home-made "Take that, Fritz!"(*) type comments and you can have an enjoyable hour or two. (*) Typical speech bubble in Battle Picture Weekly, the comic I read as a kid. Great entertainment for six pence! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Achtung! Aiieeeee! Link to post Share on other sites
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