AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT GLOBALFOUNDARIES (12/22/22)

Am I Next? GlobalFoundaries discontinues competing on advanced technology chips.

DECEMBER 21, 2022 — 220 LAYOFFS IN MALTA, NEW YORK

The company has confirmed that 220 employees at the Malta Fab 8 facility are targeted for layoffs primarily in non-manufacturing positions, and will include positions at the executive level,

According to a company spokesperson, “Based on the current macroeconomic environment, we are taking a very disciplined, proactive approach to contain costs and like many in our industry and across the technology sector, we too, are initiating a hiring freeze and taking a set of focused actions to selectively reduce our workforce,”

DECEMBER 21, 2022 — 148 LAYOFFS IN ESSEX JUNCTION, VERMONT

GlobalFoundries will lay off 148 employees in Essex Junction, Vermont.

According to a company spokesperson, "As we look to 2023, the entire semiconductor industry is facing softer demand as the overall economy slows, and although we cannot predict the depth and duration of these pressures, like others in our industry and across the technology sector, we initiated a hiring freeze and are selectively reducing our global workforce.”

DECEMBER 3, 2022 — TARGETED LAYOFFS OF 6% OF THE WORKFORCE BY THE END OF 2022

According to a company spokesperson, "As part of a recent all-employee meeting, we shared the cost-saving actions we are taking across our business in response to the current macroeconomic environment, including reducing corporate and manufacturing overhead costs as well as selectively reducing our workforce by less than 800 employees globally before the end of the year."

NOVEMBER 10, 2019 — DIVISION SOLD — 78 EMPLOYEES LAID OFF AS REDUNDANT

Santa Clara, California-based Marvell Technology Group Ltd. laid off 78 employees after assuming control over GlobalFoundries’ Avera Semiconductor subsidiary in Essex Junction, Vermont, which they purchased for $650 million.

It should be noted that Marvell is totally responsible for the layoffs — not GlobalFoundaries.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 — Original Post…

Sometimes the only way to win is to not play the game. It appears that the Santa Clara, California-based GlobalFoundaries, a manufacturer of semiconductor chips, cannot keep up with the competition and has announced the discontinuance of its next-generation chips. As a consequence of this shift in strategy, the company will lay off up to 900 employees worldwide and up to 170 at its Malta, New York manufacturing facility.

GlobalFoundries said back on June 11 that it would target 5 percent of its total global workforce of 18,000 people for layoffs this month as part of a move to better compete with its rivals. Worldwide that would mean about 900 people, or about 170 people at Fab 8, which has 3,400 employees. 

“In the coming weeks, we will be initiating a targeted workforce reduction specifically designed to improve our global cost structure and minimize redundancies that have accrued from previous mergers and acquisitions. This limited action will impact approximately 5 percent of our global headcount, with a significant portion expected to come from a voluntary separation program. The program is part of a companywide initiative to improve the competitiveness of our cost structure relative to industry peers. The workforce reduction is challenging for any organization and we do not take this action lightly. We are confident that these changes will position us to build a solid foundation for sustainable growth and continue investing for the future.” 

In jargon-filled corporate-speak…

"GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced an important step in its transformation, continuing the trajectory launched with the appointment of Tom Caulfield as CEO earlier this year. In line with the strategic direction Caulfield has articulated, GF is reshaping its technology portfolio to intensify its focus on delivering truly differentiated offerings for clients in high-growth markets." 

"GF is realigning its leading-edge FinFET roadmap to serve the next wave of clients that will adopt the technology in the coming years. The company will shift development resources to make its 14/12nm FinFET platform more relevant to these clients, delivering a range of innovative IP and features, including RF, embedded memory, low power, and more. To support this transition, GF is putting its 7nm FinFET program on hold indefinitely and restructuring its research and development teams to support its enhanced portfolio initiatives. This will require a workforce reduction, however, a significant number of top technologists will be redeployed on 14/12nm FinFET derivatives and other differentiated offerings." 

"GF is intensifying investment in areas where it has clear differentiation and adds true value for clients, with an emphasis on delivering feature-rich offerings across its portfolio. This includes continued focus on its FDXTM platform, leading RF offerings (including RF SOI and high-performance SiGe), analog/mixed-signal, and other technologies designed for a growing number of applications that require low power, real-time connectivity, and onboard intelligence. GF is uniquely positioned to serve this burgeoning market for “connected intelligence,” with strong demand in new areas such as autonomous driving, IoT, and the global transition to 5G." 

“Lifting the burden of investing at the leading edge will allow GF to make more targeted investments in technologies that really matter to the majority of chip designers in fast-growing markets such as RF, IoT, 5G, industrial and automotive,” said Samuel Wang, research vice president at Gartner. “While the leading edge gets most of the headlines, fewer customers can afford the transition to 7nm and finer geometries. 14nm and above technologies will continue to be the important demand driver for the foundry business for many years to come. There is significant room for innovation on these nodes to fuel the next wave of technology.”  <Source

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

NO LOVE AT KRUSH TECHNOLOGIES

Am I Next? Krush Technologies. Layoffs.

According to published reports, Krush Technologies in Dayton, Ohio has laid off half of its workforce, estimated to be 40 employees. The positive spin: “Moving forward, the Krush team remains optimistic about the future.” And, “Krush Media continues rapid growth in the very dynamic ad tech space and Krush Digital will continue operations of ooVoo and Flinch, which engage and connect millions of users every day.” 

Personally, I am not surprised that the company has decided to retrench and possibly pivot. It starts with the overblown and generic information on their website which looks like the product of a committee or someone with a buzzword generator.

Consider how they describe themselves in their “Who we are” tab on their website …

“Krush operates at the intersection of digital and physical, creating a more perfect union between humans and machine."

"By mashing up traditional and emerging technologies and culture in new and astounding ways, we build irresistible products that engage and connect."

"We’re always looking ahead to the next, exploring new ideas and discovering. We invent. We invest. We build. We nurture. We grow. We’re a company of makers and doers who are attracted to shifts in culture and tech. When the world changes, so do we. You’ll find our people behind the products you can’t put down and the experiences you keep coming back to."

"We’re an innovation factory focused on things like video communication, emotion AI, virtual and augmented reality, and beyond. We believe in humanizing technology so that its inevitable advance will mean happier and more connected humans. We create exciting spaces and meaningful experiences that bring people and machines together for the good of all.”

Fom their “What we create” tab …

"We ignore boundaries, building tech that spans physical and virtual worlds, hardware, software, and engineering. Our products create spaces for true engagement, excitement, and interaction."

And their description of their most prominent product, ooVoo …

"Open up life."

"With more than 185 million users, ooVoo is the world’s highest quality group video chat app featuring collaborative stories and allowing you to connect with friends, family, and the worldwide ooVoo community. Available on iOS and Android tablets, PC, Mac, and web. Download today!"

So, what’s the big deal?

The copy is boring and somewhat generic. And, as far as I can tell, ooVoo is a Skype “me too” product with a few nice features not presently found on the infinitely larger and more popular Skype -- but could be added if the competition became problematical. Nice, but not compelling to the large mass of longtime Skype users. The real value in the company is the value of that portion of those 185 million users who might see your paid ad in the free version or who have paid for the premium ad-free version.

REPOSITIONING …

According to a recent (July 6, 2017  ) press release ... 

“Krush Media Launches, Offering Fully-Managed Digital Advertising Solution for Advertisers and Publishers -- Owner and operator of popular social apps for millennials, including ooVoo, expands digital advertising offering – entering the traditional and programmatic space

“Krush Media, a full-service digital advertising and media company that allows brands and publishers to traditionally and programmatically execute powerful ad campaigns that engage and monetize audiences across all screens, launched today. For the past several years, Krush has owned and operated popular social apps, including ooVoo, representing a suite of top mobile, tablet, desktop and CTV publishers.

The company’s new, full-service offering will allow advertisers to place highly targeted and effective ads across all screens that drive deep customer engagement and higher conversion rates, while publishers can programmatically connect with advertisers and media buyers in search of high-quality ad inventory.

Krush Media’s Publisher Direct Network and ooVoo Audience Extension, coupled with its programmatic solution, first and third-party user data and full-service campaign management, guarantee measurable results across its network of partners.”

Great! From competing with Skype to competing with Facebook and Google for advertising dollars. And, more of the same boring descriptive language. 

When evaluating your company, look at the value proposition and the competition. Unless you see significant exploitable differences that will allow you to become the market leader or capture significant market share from the competition, your job might be on shaky ground. It also helps to read website and media releases to determine how management might be positioning the company. 

Meanwhile, let’s hope Krush lives up to their hype and do something great in the future. 
 


COUNTERFEIT COMPETITION

Am I Next? Counterfeit Competition. Job Loss

It is one thing to hear President Trump rant and rave about China’s theft of intellectual property or the trade imbalance between our two countries, but is it quite something else when one of the largest sales platforms on the planet, Amazon, is being gamed by Chinese counterfeiters who pop in-and-out of business at the drop of a name change. Not only is the consumer hurt by shoddy, and potentially unsafe goods, but small businesses that derive a significant portion of their revenue from online sales through Amazon are devastated. 

Unfortunately, since many products are made in Chinese plants, it is a simple matter to rebrand them and offer the very same item or simply run an extra off-the-books shift of the real product to be sold a deeply-discounted prices. Either way, American businesses are hurt and without legal redress if they want to seek what will most surely be a pyrrhic victory in the courts – ever mindful that a change in name and the miscreant company is right back at it the next day. 

Of course, Amazon is incapable of vetting all third-party vendors and will shut down their platform access (at least under the offending name) when a consumer makes a legitimate complaint. After all, it is the consumers and not the vendors who are responsible for Amazon’s revenue and growth. That Amazon will refund your money and even provide a free return shipping tag is a given. 

Caveat Emptor, “let the buyer beware,” should be the tagline below every FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) marking. 

Bottom line: It pays to keep an eye on the large marketing platforms like Amazon and Alibaba to see if your company’s particular product or category is being knocked off – because job losses can follow due to a significant decline in revenue and market share. Or in Latin, operarius cave, “worker beware.”