EdisonReport FLASHBACK: On 23 APR 2012, ER carried the Philips Conference call and reported the following:
Frans van Houten: “The LED transformation is expected to make Lighting less profitable in the short term and we have recognized this by lowering our midterm EBITA objective from the 12% to 14% range to 8% to 10%. This is due to higher investments in R&D and selling expenses, as well as competitor pricing pressure, especially in relation to LED components and bulbs from new entrants in the high-volume electronic space.”
On September 11, 2012, your humble editor was attending the Street and Area Lighting Conference in Miami, Florida. That morning I was making small talk in the elevator with Niels Van Duinen, the Global Marketing Director at Philips Lighting and SALC keynote speaker. There was a television in the elevator set to CNBC. As we talked, news scrolled at the bottom of the flat-panel monior. “Philips to layoff 2200 from healthcare and lighting.” I asked Mr. Van Duinen for a comment, and he said, “No comment. I am seeing it for the first time just like you.”
The layoffs started last week. We were told that every city that has Philps sales people will have fewer. This week the large scope of change is becoming clear. By lighting standards, this is a massive layoff both in the quantity and quality of people.
We are told that pink slips are still going out and one will not be able to recongize the sales organization when the cutting is finished.
Developing….