Corning did indeed kill the microarray project. Virtually the entire division was laid off. I know because I worked at Corning at the time and know some of those laid off. They called the entire division into an auditorium and told them their jobs no longer existed as of that day. I believe a few researchers were kept on, but not those involved in the microarray project.
I believe what it came down to was that others were bringing out cheaper microarrays (though of lessor quality), the project was a big drain on cash flow, and there were some issues with product development.
Corning will plow money into potential long term winners, but is quick to cut perceived losers. The technology looked impressive, but the business model didn't. I still think the technology has a lot of potential, but when times are tough hard decisions have to be made and this was one of them.
I like the diesel catalytic converter project. Cormatec looks very good (though small). The photonics and fiber optics businesses will be back in time. People and companies aren't going to stop using the Internet or data networks anytime soon, and the long term growth is still there.
I also don't believe in the "fiber glut" myth on the street. All those dark fibers will need photonics to light them, and many of the dark fibers in the ground won't support the current state-of-the art in DWDM. The growth in data traffic is there, but just needs some time to catch up to some of the installed base.
Also, many telecom providers are suffering from overindulgence in debt, and combined with the current lack of available capital simply can't afford to spend capital, even if the need for more capacity is there.
As usual, Wall Street oversimplifies technology it doesn't understand, and exaggerates the downside (alternating fear and greed prevail). |
