Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Poaches Imagination Technologies COO and Graphics Engineers After Passing On Acquisition

MH01 said:
Exactly. And that is what is happening here. 100% poaching, though a smart move. Get the talent without having to buy the company . 25 people is a lot of product knowledge ...
Click to expand...

That's a pretty tough sell when the company they came from was in the middle of cutting jobs anyway. The fact that the COO was one of the ones that left sends a clear signal (to me, anyway) that there's more to that company's troubles than just a small burp in its performance.

Imagination Technologies has reported financial difficulties for several years, despite repeated expectations that iPhone sales would boost its revenues. Shares dropped 10 percent last year when the company reported a first-half loss, and nosedived as much as 18 percent when the restructure was announced in February. The company has also put its digital radio business Pure up for sale.
Click to expand...

This company is not doing very well. It should come as no surprise to see this type of thing happening, and it bolster's the odds of a possible bankruptcy filing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gasu E.
marty11 said:
I love seeing corporate leaders who wear their populist-progressive ideologies on their sleeves as they engage in cut throat business practices that hurt working men and women to advance their own wealth and power.
Click to expand...
I love it too!

Wait, were you being sarcastic? Uh, nevermind....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tycho24
ActionableMango said:
Hurt? You have it completely backwards. Unquestionably these employees moved because they got a better offer from Apple.

As an employee myself, nothing was better for my salary, benefits, and career than having companies compete for me.

Being recruited is a good thing. In fact, when Google and Apple secretly agreed not to recruit each other's employees, that was illegal under California law since it suppresses job opportunities and salaries.
Click to expand...

What about the employees left behind that Apple does not want?

Do they benefit from the best leaving? If the company goes under in say 6 months and they loose the jobs , one could say that such practices actually do have adverse affects.

A win win is Apple buys the company and everyone's wages go up along with job security .

People here are only looking it from the lucky 25.....
[doublepost=1476386565][/doublepost]
duervo said:
That's a pretty tough sell when the company they came from was in the middle of cutting jobs anyway. The fact that the COO was one of the ones that left sends a clear signal (to me, anyway) that there's more to that company's troubles than just a small burp in its performance.
Click to expand...

Lots of companies cut jobs. The rule of the thumb , cut the deadwood. I'm sure Apple got the best .

Taking the COO is smart, they know who else to take .

Apple effectively achieved a mutiny through the COO, taking knowledge without buying the company, very smart.

I say well played Apple.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iPadCary
When you see a mass poaching like this during buyout talks, someone was pressing hard for a price way above asking price.

Also, it is usually a sign of weak IP inside the buyout canadite. This usually leaves the overpriced start-up an empty shell with a investor or CEO screaming like a diva they were betrayed.

Expect the typical lawsuit making IP and trade secret theft claims. Apple knows this dance and will win. The start-up investors don't get their vacation house nor kept mistress.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Gasu E. and MH01
MH01 said:
What about the employees left behind that Apple does not want?

Do they benefit from the best leaving? If the company goes under in say 6 months and they loose the jobs , one could say that such practices actually do have adverse affects.

A win win is Apple buys the company and everyone's wages go up along with job security .

People here are only looking it from the lucky 25.....
[doublepost=1476386565][/doublepost]

Lots of companies cut jobs. The rule of the thumb , cut the deadwood. I'm sure Apple got the best .

Taking the COO is smart, they know who else to take .

Apple effectively achieved a mutiny through the COO, taking knowledge without buying the company, very smart.

I say well played Apple.
Click to expand...

It's smart, yeah, but I suspect that had Apple not done anything, that company would be out of business sooner rather than later anyway.

Also, Apple still has shareholders to which to answer. A point that a lot of people seem to forget for some reason (present company excluded). This comes as no surprise at all to me. Better deal for Apple shareholders than buying the company because "it's the right thing to do". In fact, I'm kinda surprised this wasn't reported on back in July when the COO began working at Apple (unless it was and I just missed it somehow). That's a whole financial quarter at this point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MH01
MH01 said:
What about the employees left behind that Apple does not want?

Do they benefit from the best leaving? If the company goes under in say 6 months and they loose the jobs , one could say that such practices actually do have adverse affects.

A win win is Apple buys the company and everyone's wages go up along with job security .

People here are only looking it from the lucky 25.....
Click to expand...

First of all, it is job mobility for everyone. I've seen people leave my workplace. Those open positions led to internal promotions to fill those spots. I saw a customer support rep become a product manager! And after a few years as a product manager he had the experience to go work anywhere, and left for a promotion. The job vacancies also meant we hired people, providing opportunity to people with less experience.

Secondly, you assume that one company buying a company outright is some sort of wonderful thing for the employees involved. It is not. It almost invariably results in duplication of employees, and then mass layoffs. If Apple bought the company and didn't want these people, they'd lay them off. That's what happened with Beats.

So I see the remaining employees as better off too, because (A) they aren't going to be bought and then laid off by Apple, and (B) there are now open job positions that might mean promotions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gasu E. and foxkoneko
Well let's see ... make overtures to purchase company, spend time in due-diligence learning about company secrets and employees, back out of deal, steal away key employees :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
ActionableMango said:
First of all, it is job mobility for everyone. I've seen people leave my workplace. Those open positions led to internal promotions to fill those spots. I saw a customer support rep become a product manager! And after a few years as a product manager he had the experience to go work anywhere, and left for a promotion. The job vacancies also meant we hired people, providing opportunity to people with less experience.

Secondly, you assume that one company buying a company outright is some sort of wonderful thing for the employees involved. It is not. It almost invariably results in duplication of employees, and then mass layoffs. If Apple bought the company and didn't want these people, they'd lay them off. That's what happened with Beats.

So I see the remaining employees as better off too, because (A) they aren't going to be bought and then laid off by Apple, and (B) there are now open job positions that might mean promotions.
Click to expand...

Valid points .

The only thing I'm assuming .I actually see the company going under in the future . They are already in trouble . Laying people off is not a good sign.

You don't want to be left in a company with layoffs and people jumping large scale
 
MH01 said:
Valid points .

The only thing I'm assuming .I actually see the company going under in the future . They are already in trouble . Laying people off is not a good sign.

You don't want to be left in a company with layoffs and people jumping large scale
Click to expand...

I agree with you there.
 
Interesting move. Not sure what is going on. I'm reading a lot of negativity and accusations about Apple's motives here but there's one thing that muddies even those waters.

Apple owns 10% of this company
Intel owns 16%

Although there have supposedly been talks for a complete buyout. I'm not sure Apple would completely ruin its investment arbitrarily.

I feel like there may be some form of mutual benefit for all involved at the end of the day for the bottom line being worked out.

While some employees may get left high and dry, the IP, value, major talents and shareholders are probably being protected and utilized in the most efficient way possible to maximize profit and technology progress moving forward.
 
People hate when Apple and Google agree not to poach because it drives down wages but then they hate when they do poach talent because it internally kills a company. Some people are never pleased :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gasu E.
Imagination Technologies has 1700 employees. I don't think losing 25 of them is going to kill the company.

Also, they are in middle of laying off people anyway. So they aren't having a shortage of employees in the first place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iPadCary, Gasu E. and Tycho24
So they'll poach these guys but wouldn't poach me when I was going for a customer service position with them while in contract with another company? I see how it is....... makes sense, honestly. ;)
 
marty11 said:
I love seeing corporate leaders who wear their populist-progressive ideologies on their sleeves as they engage in cut throat business practices that hurt working men and women to advance their own wealth and power.
Click to expand...

Why are you corporate-shilling for Imagination's investors? You think the employees should sacrifice their careers for some VCs? That's not being a progressive, that's being a sycophant for financiers.
 
So, did Apple go in on the pretext of due diligence, identify the key talent then poach them rather than buy them through acquisition. What a nice, honourable company Apple must be.
 
asiga said:
Sure. And "constrained" too by not updating to new NVIDIA and AMD GPUs. I guess Apple's strategy for the Mac consists in defeating both Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD with a single move. Brilliant. Who needs a 12GB Pascal Titan X when you can have an iPhone GPU? Brilliant.
Click to expand...

It won't matter when they release their first iOS notebook. ;)
 
ActionableMango said:
Imagination Technologies has 1700 employees. I don't think losing 25 of them is going to kill the company.

Also, they are in middle of laying off people anyway. So they aren't having a shortage of employees in the first place.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, a friend of mine just got hired by Imagination a few weeks ago. They're based out in Kings Langley.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back