And just before a holiday as usual

Photo Engineer · Nov 27, 2013

In the first major layoff since declaring bankruptcy, Kodak has announce 30 layoffs in the film division.

From some information, there appears to be a slight downturn again in analog product sales.

PE

Prof_Pixel · Nov 27, 2013

I think it may be worse than that. Today's Democrat and Chronicle says "Eastman Kodak Co. has laid off roughly 40 Rochester workers, most of them employed in film manufacturing."http://www.democratandchronicle.com...11/26/kodak-lays-off-40-film-workers/3758641/

Tom1956 · Nov 27, 2013

I wonder what that means in percentage of employees.

Christopher Walrath · Nov 27, 2013

One thing I am thankful for, though. I still have my job. I cannot fathom my level of WHAT THE HELL were I to just up and lose my job to cuts, let alone in the holidays.

Photo Engineer · Nov 27, 2013

Fred, I may have misheard. This was on the news. And I was wondering what percentage too.

PE

Prof_Pixel · Nov 27, 2013

This article says: "Eastman Kodak Co.’s local workforce dropped to 3,542 at the end of the 2012, down from 5,129 a year ago." http://www.rbj.net/article.asp?aID=194269

So that would be around 1% of the Rochester workforce,

Tom1956 · Nov 27, 2013

It is barely possible that film sales is not the culprit, at least I hope. It may simply be a move in preparation for the health insurance situation that is fixing to hit the fan. I've little doubt that the management has that situation very much on their mind.

Sirius Glass · Nov 27, 2013

Tom1956 said:
It is barely possible that film sales is not the culprit, at least I hope. It may simply be a move in preparation for the health insurance situation that is fixing to hit the fan. I've little doubt that the management has that situation very much on their mind.

Kodak, like most companies, is still large enough that the change in the health care laws does not have ANY EFFECT.

It is probably more driven by the fact that if people are laid off now, the company will not have to pay for the end of the year company holidays.

kb3lms · Nov 27, 2013

They just have a great sense of timing, don't they!

I am sorry to hear of the loss of those jobs and the troubles that will be caused for those former employees and their families.

Tom1956 · Nov 27, 2013

Sirius Glass said:
Kodak, like most companies, is still large enough that the change in the health care laws does not have ANY EFFECT.

It is probably more driven by the fact that if people are laid off now, the company will not have to pay for the end of the year company holidays.

Sorry--I'm the son of an insurance man. When my Mom died, he re-married an equally successful insurance woman from another agency. So I get an insurance angle on a lot of things from exposure. So that's just a prism I see things through some times myself. What I see isn't exactly comforting and re-assuring. You've got to believe these companies like this are very much in strategy mode.
Because the only other possible scenario would be the one with declining film sales. That's a pill that's as bitter as Cipro. I don't like that one at all. GL Kodak

BrianShaw · Nov 27, 2013

What a shame.

Two23 · Nov 27, 2013

Sirius Glass said:
Kodak, like most companies, is still large enough that the change in the health care laws does not have ANY EFFECT.

Not true. Many large companies are replacing FT people with PT. My company specializes in helping other companies do this. With the new rules, a company is very wise to get rid of a large percentage of FT workers who aren't key personnel.

Kent in SD

SWphoto · Nov 27, 2013

Best wishes for the holidays to you too!

Two23 said:
Not true. Many large companies are replacing FT people with PT. My company specializes in helping other companies do this. With the new rules, a company is very wise to get rid of a large percentage of FT workers who aren't key personnel.

Kent in SD

Brian Legge · Nov 27, 2013

Is 3,542 the film work force? Or everyone they have?

As terrible as layoffs are, 30 of 3,542 isn't too unexpected for a large company. I expect their yearly turnover is much higher from regular departures. If everyone stuck with their jobs for 15 years before changing position that would still be an average ~236 departures and hires annually.

Just saying, not much we can get without context here though Photo Engineer may have a better sense of how they operate.

Prof_Pixel · Nov 27, 2013

3542 is everybody in Rochester. BTW, since that figure was as of the end of 2012 that figure also includes all of the Kodak Alaris people as well. I don't know what the current 'real' Kodak employment is.

Dead Link Removed from 9 Sep 13 says Kodak Alaris has roughly 400 employees locally in Rochester so the 'real' Kodak employment in Rochester is about 3100.

chriscrawfordphoto · Nov 27, 2013

Two23 said:
Not true. Many large companies are replacing FT people with PT. My company specializes in helping other companies do this. With the new rules, a company is very wise to get rid of a large percentage of FT workers who aren't key personnel.

Kent in SD

I don't believe you. Why would big companies that give their employees good insurance suddenly want to drop them to part time to avoid doing what they've ALWAYS done for those employees? Are they doing it just to spite the [President]? Or are you just spreading falsehoods to steer people in the direction your handlers want? All Obamacare does is require companies to provide insurance. Companies that already do so are NOT affected, except for some low-wage employers like Walmart that provided insurance few employees could afford that provided little real benefit. It has no effect on high-wage, good benefit employers like Kodak.

Tom1956 · Nov 27, 2013

I have an idea PE really doesn't want to think about it beyond his initial post. And I'm not asking. I don't like rubbing salt into people's sores. It's not easy watching the computer eat up your whole life's work. It's different from automobiles putting the livery stable out of the picture. The computer is eating up EVERYTHING, not just photography. That beast swallows EVERYTHING whole.

ME Super · Nov 27, 2013

That stinks. I've been the subject of layoffs just before the holidays. It bites.

And it's not that the computers are eating everything whole. It's that guys like me think up new ways they can be used. So ya gotta blame the Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists/IT guys.

A wise teacher once told me "Computers are stupid. They do exactly what they are told to do, not what you thought you told them to do." Come to think of it, maybe computers are like the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal - A beast so mindbogglingly stupid, it thinks if you can't see it, it can't see you. So the best thing to do if you should encounter the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (or its earthly counterpart) is to stick your head under the dark cloth and keep on making photos!

But seriously, I do feel bad for those that were laid off just before the holidays. It sucks. There's no nice way to put it.

Tom1956 · Nov 27, 2013

ME Super said:
That stinks. I've been the subject of layoffs just before the holidays. It bites.

And it's not that the computers are eating everything whole. It's that guys like me think up new ways they can be used. So ya gotta blame the Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists/IT guys.

A wise teacher once told me "Computers are stupid. They do exactly what they are told to do, not what you thought you told them to do." Come to think of it, maybe computers are like the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal - A beast so mindbogglingly stupid, it thinks if you can't see it, it can't see you. So the best thing to do if you should encounter one of these ravenous beasts is to stick your head under the dark cloth and keep on making photos!

Two23 · Nov 27, 2013

chriscrawfordphoto said:
1. I don't believe you. Why would big companies that give their employees good insurance suddenly want to drop them to part time to avoid doing what they've ALWAYS done for those employees?
3. Or are you just spreading falsehoods to steer people in the direction your handlers want? All Obamacare does is require companies to provide insurance. Companies that already do so are NOT affected, (54) except for some low-wage employers like Walmart that provided insurance few employees could afford that provided little real benefit. It has no effect on high-wage, good benefit employers like Kodak.

1. Premiums have done nothng but go UP, to pay for all the changes. This is expensive. A few large companies have been getting rid of their insurance all together.

3. The only "handler" I have is my wife. As for my company, we're making a LOT of money because of the new laws.

4. If you were to check, you'd discover that Walmart's health insurance, designed by Prof. Steve Schondelmeyer of the Univ. of MN school of medical economics, is actually considerably better than Target's and is even better than what PT people at many unionized grocery stores get. Walmart is actually mid-waged for people with those educational credentials. Walmart's ESOP has made more millionaires from employees than just about any other company. Unions kill jobs; Walmart creates them.

Kent in SD

Tom1956 · Nov 27, 2013

Careful guys. This site WILL cut you off because of political talk. Believe me on that.

ambaker · Nov 27, 2013

... Edited because I do not want any part of this discussion...

Photo Engineer · Nov 27, 2013

I do not appreciate any racial slurs or allusions to such in a thread I am associated with. Please stop this sort of thing.

PE

Photo Engineer · Nov 27, 2013

The economics is simple. Let older trained people train younger people who are paid less. Then lay off the older people and have a smaller payroll and lower individual pay!

PE

PKM-25 · Nov 28, 2013

What a depressing thread on many levels.

And just before a holiday as usual

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