Leica Camera will reduce further development in the mechanical field

[AgX]

They stated to cut about 90 jobs (11% of all employees) in the field of mechanical development and marketing. Marketing will be more digital. As substitution for the jobs in the mechanical world, about 35 jobs in software development will be created.
The respective labour union called this step necessary.

 

[Richard Man]

*shrug* sound like the right move. There is no better Leica film camera than the MP and the M7....

 

[BMbikerider]

The way to look at it in the real world is through the binoculars of economics. If they (the manufacturers) can make more money via electronic equipment who are we to criticise the board of Directors for the decision. I don't know what salary the employees who will loose their jobs will be on, but it will be almost certainly a larger amount than the ones working on the electronic side. For purposes of argument say the average salary in the mechanical side is around 25,000 Euro, multiply that by the 90 that equates to be 22.5 million Euro saved. Re-employ 30 of those who were made redundant on new contracts with a lower salary scale and you will get the idea of another money making venture. If you say it doesn't happen - wake up and smell the coffee. It happened to my partner and 175 other employees in the company she works for. In their case the rate of pay was the same, they simply reduced the hours.

It all went to pot in big business when the accountants (AKA Bean counters) got their grubby little fingers into the equation. Quality goes down by using cheaper alternatives = more profit' This is all over modern business practises ;- 'They know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.'....................... If you think I don't like accountants, you won't be far off the mark..

If you consider the life of an electronic gadget (camera) is significantly shorter than a good mechanical one, Because the electronic one will expire a lot quicker than a mechanical one - there is another avenue for more profit, If you look how many Leica rangefinder bodies from say the Leica 111 right up to the Leica 6 or 7 are still fully functional, then compare these with the electronic bodied rangefinder and reflexes of almost all makes, including Leica that have expired after a much shorter life. I am talking here if film cameras but it is probably even worse with digital examples.

Once the production run is finished, the spares (Usually circuit boards and meter systems) begin to disappear and in all instances bar one, (that I know of} cannot be produced again. That model of whatever make is now junk. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but they are part of the throw away life we live in today

 

[Pieter12]

What more is mechanical development is necessary for mechanical Leicas? They seem pretty mature to me, unless the company would look to find a cheaper way to make and assemble components.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

They stated to cut about 90 jobs (11% of all employees) in the field of mechanical development and marketing. Marketing will be more digital. As substitution for the jobs in the mechanical world, about 35 jobs in software development will be created..

That is interesting and somewhat sobering. Leica has a niche with their mechanical camera expertise, and there is definitely a revival (if modest) in film cameras. But tens of companies in Asia make digital cameras. It is a crowded field. One day, there may be a market for a lower cost brand new film camera. Why not Leica? Also, they must have some continuing need for R&D in spotting scopes, gun sights, and binoculars. Many changes are coming!

 

[Jim Jones]

What more is mechanical development is necessary for mechanical Leicas? . . .

I wonder if that's what Leica photographers thought in 1932 when they first saw a Leica II with coupled rangefinder.

 

[Pieter12]

I wonder if that's what Leica photographers thought in 1932 when they first saw a Leica II with coupled rangefinder.

As far as I know, short of automation, nothing major has changed on mechanical Leicas since the M4. A few refinements, mostly for marketing purposes. Today's mechanical Leica buyers like their cameras "classic" and exclusive. There's more money to be made putting an exotic covering or making a signature/anniversary edition than changing the guts and handling of the camera. And you don't need much of a "mechanical" staff to do that. Pretty much the same goes for lenses, too.

 

[Richard Man]

Seriously, the design of the latest digital M10P bares so much resemblance to the 1953 Leica M3 (the first M) that anyone can see the DNA is there. Besides, they didn't laid off the entire mechanical design division. The article just said they laid off ~90 people, most are from the mechanical division. The company had about 800 employees, we don't know how many people they had as mechanical designers.