Article 49872 of comp.sys.amiga.misc:

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From: traveler@shell.portal.com (Traveler Ltd.)

Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc

Subject: Re: C='s situation as it stands now

Date: 29 Apr 1994 06:42:43 GMT

Organization: BS Busters, Inc.

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References: <110282@cup.portal.com>

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A few things need to be sorted out re: several misconceptions regarding

Commodore, it's structure, it's demise, the layoffs and the like. I realize

that trying to inject reality into the .misc and .advocacy groups is a

short, true path to insanity but here it goes...

 

First, the layoffs ...

 

 1. Last Friday (April 22) approx 15 people were let go from West Chester.

    These included the person doing the payroll.

 

 2. Last Friday Commodore Semiconductor Group was (finally) closed and

    the approx 15 people there were let go.

 

 3. Last Friday, the "rumor" (it turned out to be fact) was that this week

    ("tuesday or wednesday" was the common wisdom) engineering would follow

    in their footsteps.

 

 4. On Tuesday (April 26, the engineers who would not be there the next

    day (for whatever reasons) were told that they were history and not to 

    worry about coming back.

 

 5. On Tuesday, plans were laid for a big "lunch party" at Margarita's (the

    semi-official CBM watering hold where many "after layoffs" and "going

    away" parties have been held over the years.)

 

 5. On Wednesday the expected layoffs occurred. Over 50 people were at the

    party (including yours truly) and much was said about what is and

    isn't real about the current situation. More on that later.

 

 6. Remaining at CBM are :

 

 	Software :

 	

 		Allan Havemose (department head)

 		David Junod

 		Eric Cotton

 

 	Hardware :

    

	    	Jeff Frank (department head)

  	  	Dave Haynie

 	   	Greg Berlin

	    	Fred Bowen

 

	CATS

	

		Carolyn Scheppner

		Wayne Lutz

		

		(John Campbell, head of CATS, was let go)

		

	LSI

	

		Ted Lenthe (department head)

		Jeff Dean

		Rich Llewellyn

		(and two more I can't remember - sorry guys)

 

	Other engineering folks remaining:

	

		Ian Kirschemann (assistant to Jeff Frank)

		Dan Faust (lab tech)

		

		Lew Eggebrecht

 

		('m sure I'm missing a couple.)

		

There are also a couple of non-engineering folks remaining like one person

in personnel, etc. The total is about 22 according to those at the lunch.

 

Now Commodore...

 

There is no difference between the US operations and the UK or German

operations. None. They all get machines designed and engineeried by the

folks at West Chester. The phrase "U.S. Operations" refers to the US sales

and mareting departments, just as "U.K. operations" refers to the sales

and marketing departments in the UK. It does _not_ refer to engineering

nor Commodore Internation Ltd. (CIL) which was "the business". CIL was

nuked completely last Friday.

 

The notion that "the U.S. company is going down the tubes but the U.K. will

save things" is a total, complete fantasy. Won't happen. In fact, the U.S.

sales company has been history for some time now. I guess no one bothered

to consult with the net about it (G) .

 

At the Wednesday lunch the information came out that 

 

  1. There are only 3 people remaining in the U.K. operation. 

  

  2. There are only 2 people remaining in the German operation.

  

  3. There are only 3 people at the Phillipines manufacturing plant

     (which is closed, by the way)

  

  4. All the other companies, world wide, have been, or are being,

     "liquidated".

     

  4. The subject of the Canadian company never came up but I would have 

     to assume that it's no better off than the UK company.

 

The remaining staff (almost all engineering) believes that they are being

kept till the last possible minute in order to keep the sale of the

technology as attractive as possible to prospective buyers. There would

still be people available to hand off the technology. However, one of the

(remaining) managers, when asked point blank "how much longer does it

really have?" replied "oh, two to three weeks." The problem with this

proposed sale of the technologies is that it's hard to them to separate out

parts of the company to sell because so many creditors want their share.

Mariott is still owed approx $350,000 for last year's Devcon, for example.

 

These notions that "the UK will become the base of the new operations" and

that "CBM is moving there" is complete BS. As Mr. Barrett correctly pointed

out, few, if any, of the remaining staff would move there - especially not

to work for Mehdi (would you???). Also, the company can't afford to make

ONE machine, much less move people to England and make enough to support

the staff. They are not paying severance pay to those they lay off.

 

In reference to several things said over the past couple of days :

 

 >I just ping'd Dave Haynie's workstation, and it was alive as of 10 minutes

 >ago.

 

Pinging machines inside CBM doesn't mean a thing. The hardware could be

left on for weeks with no one there to use them. Also, whenever there are

layoffs like this, the systems are shut down for a period of time to

prevent reprisals from unhappy employees. Once the ex-employees' accounts

are fixed to kill their access, the machines come back on-line.

 

 >The company intends to continue operations overseas with the UK becoming

 >the primary office.

 

If this is so, was the office always just three people? Does this represent

a _growing_ number? (g)

 

 >Are the various C=s (eg UK, US the defunct C= Australia) all separate

 >companies? 

 

Only in the sense that they all operate(d) under different legal rules.

But they all took their cues from West Chester.  Cut off the head and the

snake dies.

 

 >Even the Amiga, if it survives, is going down the Microsoft path (Windows

 >NT for example)

 

The Windows NT Amiga thing was _never_ more than a pipe dream of Misters

Eggebrecht and Pleasance. None of the engineers ever believed it. Nor was

it ever even proposed as a real project.

 

 >Commodore UK will ride the wave for another year or so, marketing the

 >current stock, but then it too will go down - it has no real engineers of

 >its own.

 

What current stock?

 

 >Please understand this: CBM USA might be dead, but the Amiga is _VERY_ well

 >alive!!!!!!!!!! It will continue selling just like before, and we have

 >nothing to worry about support because in the first place we never got any

 >from C=.

 >

 >So, don't panic, Amiga has a long way to go, and the upcoming AAA Amigas

 >will make a big splah when they come out (they'll give SGI a run for the

 >money).

 

You've been into the weed again, haven't you? Or just spending too much

time with Jim Drew. Man, oh man. Who the hell do you think MAKES Amigas?

Geez.

 

Harv's posting about his phone conversation with the CBM employees paints

an accurate picture (which I must admit surprised me a bit :))

 

I will be attending the "death vigil party" (as Randell calls it - he

called to invite me yesterday) this weekend. It should be interesting.

Quite a few ex engineering folks are going to be there (Bryce, Lauren 

Brown, Andy ...)

 

Anyway, all you folks out there who desire to cling to your hopes, dreams

and fantasies, well ...

 

Brian Jackson - ex Amiga engineer