Apple Retail Stores Seeing Significant Layoffs of Recent Hires?

[alhedges]

Apple is a publicly traded company. They have a legal obligation to maximise shareholder value. Maximising shareholder value means you can't institute policies such as paying rank and file staff more than the marketplace dictates you need to pay. It also doesn't afford you the luxury of maintaining a larger than necessary headcount.

Sorry, but this is not true at all.

If a corporation believes it's in its long-term best interests to pay above market rates to employees, they can do so. If they believe it's in their long term best interests to maintain an unusually large headcount, they can do that, too. This is very well settled. See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_judgment_rule

Basically, as long as the directors of the corporation have a good faith belief that their actions are in the long-term best interests of the corporation, they can do whatever they want (as long as it's not fraudulent or completely insane.)

Of course, a lot of corps just look at short term results and do focus on cost-cutting above all. But that's a choice they've made; it's not legally required.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Sorry, but this is not true at all.

If a corporation believes it's in its long-term best interests to pay above market rates to employees, they can do so. If they believe it's in their long term best interests to maintain an unusually large headcount, they can do that, too. This is very well settled. See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_judgment_rule

Basically, as long as the directors of the corporation have a good faith belief that their actions are in the long-term best interests of the corporation, they can do whatever they want (as long as it's not fraudulent or completely insane.)

Of course, a lot of corps just look at short term results and do focus on cost-cutting above all. But that's a choice they've made; it's not legally required.

I think stock option in many ways are a bad thing to get higher ups because they encourage short term boost in stock prices right around the time their option mature and they can sell them.

 

[marksman]

now understand why it takes so long to buy something in an apple store

very annoying going in if you know what you want and just want to pay and leave

Well for a lot of things you don't need an employee for that

 

[Supermule]

Maybe one day the communists will be right, and the retail workers will make a rebellion and take over the entire Apple corporation...

 

[marksman]

Company making gazillions of dollars firing $9.50/hour employees. How low.

Enjoying your iToys much?

You know how a company makes billions? By managing their costs. The retail division is there to make money. The largest overhead for retail is payroll. Managing payroll is the key to a successful retail operation.

People who think they should just pay people and drain their reserves obviously don't have any experience running a business. I suspect most would not even qualify for the 9.50 an hour job. If they had 5000 employees worldwide over staffed that would cost them 10 million dollars a month or 120 million dollars a year. That is a huge amount of money. People who successfully run businesses know that people who don't go they have 80 billion so who cares about 120 million a year.

They executives of the company service the shareholders. If people want to discuss service issues finds but saying they should keep everyone because they make a lot of money is wholly ignorant.

 

[Ugg]

They executives of the company service the shareholders. If people want to discuss service issues finds but saying they should keep everyone because they make a lot of money is wholly ignorant.

I can't believe that anyone thinks that is still true. The only investment that is relevant is the initial one. anybody who buys shares from an initial investor is a gambler. No more no less.

 

[urbanlung]

If all is as it appears then this is ****** behaviour. I work in a very very large media company that is being absolutely reemed by crummy cowardly unimaginative managers who's only goal is to mark their territory by pissing on others. Hopefully this will be a short lived exercise and wiser council will prevail. And in case it was not obvious, Dixons is not where I go to buy my gear. I have however been known to visit with my chums and point and laugh at the What Fi they tip into customers cars at the weekend.

 

[Scott66]

Steve Jobs was the one who shifted production to China for cheaper manufacturing costs while maintaining/expanding the profit margins. Most of the executives don't care about the person all the way at the bottom of the company working in a retail store. One of the few exceptions would of been Sam Walton.

Steve Jobs moved production to China for more than just labor savings. The US job market did not have enough engineers available to support the factories and production lines.

 

[mccldwll]

I can't believe that anyone thinks that is still true. The only investment that is relevant is the initial one. anybody who buys shares from an initial investor is a gambler. No more no less.

I really can't believe anyone buys into that "is a gambler" manure, other than someone who took a biz 101 class and doesn't understand the market at all. That perspective is beyond silly.

 

[Bill Killer]

They get minimum wage and job security. If Apple can't even match Mcdonald with the job security part, thats just pathetic.

What? At minimum wage, the service industry has a 100% turnover rate.

 

[turtle777]

Yeah, working Apple retail back in '07 was one of those... stories I'll always have to tell people about. Awful management and crappy work conditions, and of course poor compensation for all the hard work.

Geez, welcome to retail.

Did Apple ever promise to be that different ?

-t

----------

Even on a very basic level; in England one never hears a retail shop employee say "have a great day". Such brazen insincerity is part of the American culture.

Seriously ?
Do you really complain that people say one thing, and don't mean it literately ?

That rock you've been hiding under must really be great.

-t

 

[koobcamuk]

Seriously ?
Do you really complain that people say one thing, and don't mean it literately ?

That rock you've been hiding under must really be great.

-t

The rock is called "anywhere outside America [n culture and influence]"

Have a great day.

 

[Medic311]

FIFO - First In First Out

I'm not surprised that the people let go were all of the employees with less than 6 months. That's how the world works, unfortunately. As long as you were a good employee and left on good terms, I'm sure the manager of your store would have no problem hiring you back at another point in time or for temporary shift work during the holidays or maybe if someone calls out. Presuming you left on good terms, you can certainly get a reference letter out of it. Despite it being just a retail job, reference letters go a LONG way when applying to college, other retail jobs, or career positions anywhere. As long as you did your job well and didn't throw a fit or create a scene on your way out, ask for a reference and you will get one.

Since Apple has made it a priority to better compensate its employees, it had to abandon the practice of hiring 3x the number of part time employees to avoid full time pay and benefits. Now Apple is focusing on quality not quantity (due to its own progressive corporate visions and public pressure). Layoffs of excess part timers is what is expected.

Now with that said...working in retail IS tough, but it's the best at Apple than any other place. I worked at Best Buy for a few years in high school and college summers, and from talking to my friend's brother who works at an Apple store in PA he has it MUCH better than I ever did regarding pay, scheduling, company policies, and just the job in general.

 

[MacGuffin]

Live by the sweatshop...

...die by the sweatshop.

Apple retail flunkies feeling mistreated should give a thought to their (former) place in a very corrupt global arrangement.

No crying now. You said Apple wasn't to blame for screwing foreign workers. So it can't be to blame for screwing you. You got to wear the coolio lanyard, didn't you? And have a good pout over Steve, right? Oh, that visionary...

Yes, so visionary he saw how to get you to work for peanuts.

If you want this to change -- if you want any hope of a living wage before you're out of your 30s -- you'd better get smart, and fast. Learn to stop bending over for wealthy corporations and their shrink-wrapped politicians.

Stop confusing your enemies with your heroes. They sure as hell aren't confused.

 

[mccldwll]

...die by the sweatshop.

Apple retail flunkies feeling mistreated should give a thought to their (former) place in a very corrupt global arrangement.

No crying now. You said Apple wasn't to blame for screwing foreign workers. So it can't be to blame for screwing you. You got to wear the coolio lanyard, didn't you? And have a good pout over Steve, right? Oh, that visionary...

Yes, so visionary he saw how to get you to work for peanuts.

If you want this to change -- if you want any hope of a living wage before you're out of your 30s -- you'd better get smart, and fast. Learn to stop bending over for wealthy corporations and their shrink-wrapped politicians.

Stop confusing your enemies with your heroes. They sure as hell aren't confused.

Why are you here? Three posts in a year and you drop that turd today. What's the point?

 

[Hornhonker]

Quote:Another report similarly indicates that a number of newly-hired employees have just been laid off, while several longer-term employees who had recently been promoted never received their pay increases and are now being demoted back to their previous positions.


And the floggings will continue until moral improves

 

[tigress666]

What? At minimum wage, the service industry has a 100% turnover rate.

Yes, but a lot of that turnover is voluntary, it's not in mass layoffs.

Any retail company that is not desperate just has to not hire for a while and they'll easily shed jobs they don't need. Without having to look desperate to their investors (cause mass layoffs are a move of desperation. As I pointed out before, did Borders or Best Buy even resort to layoffs before they resorted to just closing stores instead. Companies don't like doing layoffs, if nothing else it is bad PR for many reasons. Both for looking cruel and also cause it stinks of, "We're desperate and we are about to go under.").

 

[JAT]

FIFO - First In First Out

Dude, your post was just fine. Except you mean Last In First Out.

 

[Judas1]

What? At minimum wage, the service industry has a 100% turnover rate.

Talking about job security here. A trained Mcdonald's employee is more valuable than a new hire. A long time employee is more valuable than a trainee. All that equals job security.

 

[725032]

Well for a lot of things you don't need an employee for that

A sad sign of the times... Who needs human interaction anyway

 

[jetsetter]

This is BAD NEWS, i see APPLE'S reputation sliding downwards with this approach. Why do they get these guys in ? i hate stores like Dixons and Curry's and never use them,mainly due to the way they operate their business. Why would Apple go down this route? OK , the economy is bad ,however this is a worldwide problem,so why do they price their products so highly instead of more affordable to everyone. Look how much it costs to up-grade Flash Drive on new AIR or 15' Pro with Retina display,it's ridiculously over priced,it would make sense to price their products better for a faster turnover. As my Grand Father always said, "A quick penny is worth more than a slow pound".
Wake up APPLE, we don't want to hear that your mixed up with a rotten guy who will slaughter your good reputation,keep your staff morale high before you mess things up,too many business's take this route and later the problems start to show through,just done do it!

 

[santaliqueur]

Of course they are for-profit company Einstein. I am continually amazed by people like you who take so much care to look out for Tim Cook's and his cronies' business. Do you have a personal stake in Apple's profits?

The way you speak about "iToys" and Tim Cook's cronies, and suggesting I'm a shareholder because of my posts, I'd say you are much more fanatical than I'll ever be.

Your original post:

Company making gazillions of dollars firing $9.50/hour employees. How low.

Enjoying your iToys much?

Every multibillion dollar company in history has fired people making a low amount of money. Is this seriously new to you?

If you owned a very successful business, and you had people on the payroll you did not need anymore, I suspect you would keep them on your payroll anyway. Because after all, it would be "low" of you to fire them, right?

 

[turtle777]

The rock is called "anywhere outside America [n culture and influence]"

Have a great day.

Pfff, that's BS.

In Australia, they say "Good Day".
Are you going to say they don't mean the "good" ?

And in most english speaking countries, "good bye" is accepted.
So do you say they don't mean the "good" here either ?

In other words, stop this BS.
These are phrases that express something, and only an idiot would take them literally and then complain that people don't mean it.

-t

 

[Medic311]

Dude, your post was just fine. Except you mean Last In First Out.

YES - thank you for catching my typo.

LIFO no FIFO

lol

 

[MuppetGate]

Well...

It looks like MacObserver decided to do some actual investigating.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/uk_apple_retail_reductions_not_affecting_u.s._stores/

Our checks with sources at several stores across multiple Apple retail markets within the U.S. found no such layoffs or hour reductions had occurred. In fact, one store reportedly just hired about dozen additional employees to help with the back to school season, and part-time employees in other stores were being given the opportunity to work more hours if they chose.