Captain Jack, re: Layoffs
My recollection is that originally layoffs of 2000 were announced in April, and then another 7000 through the special charge incurred late last year, for a total of 9000 employees. These layoffs were additive, according to IR.
I asked IR about the pace and they were going slowly, because in some countries, the legal requirements were complex, and severance could range as far up as 5 years compensation, outside of the anticipated scope of what the Firm had in mind. Therefore they planned this very carefully.
The late January presentation specified, if I recall correctly, the layoffs by quarter, at least for the first two quarters. I think we can all go to their web site for specifics, but the numbers were roughly 2000 Q1 and another 2000-2500 Q2, according to my recollection, and please anyone jump in if you remember.
There had been strict silence regarding these layoffs, I guess to manage morale and other business aspects. Perhaps with the introduction of the new CFO the company wants more transparency and to show their progress throughout the quarter, especially given the commentary criticizing the lack of information available. That will help analysts measure expenses since they know what each head contributes to the bottom line in terms of savings. |
