Thank God for Christmas
You’d probably be surprised to find a Christmas related editorial in any other February publication, but upon further consideration, you realize that I am writing this opinion and figure, “It’s Shad.”
So I did want to thank God for Christmas, especially in behalf of these people:
Hasbro, the second largest toy maker in the world, maker of Milton Bradley games, G.I. Joe and Tonka trucks, has decided to spread the Christmas cheer to its employees. Because its stock prices haven’t risen along with their earnings and sales, Hasbro has decided to close one factory and fire 2,500 employees. They have had growing sales and earnings but are still firing people because stock prices are at a stable $31 a share. On the bright side, the company will save $350 million in the next 5 years.
Philip Morris has also decided to fire 2,500 people. Those European food sales haven’t risen as quickly as they have in the U.S. The company, which owns Marlboro, Kraft and Miller, expects annual savings to be near $200 million.
Kodak has entered the fray adding to the Christmas cheer being doled out by the wealthy. It announced the release of 10,000 people in November. (I would guess to celebrate Thanksgiving; something in the realm of “Thanks for giving us all of your hard work – now get out.”) Then they decided that Christmas is a bigger holiday and shouldn’t be left out, so they cut 6,600 people from their jobs. (Maybe the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future convinced them not to fire more people.) I am sure that the benefits of all these people losing their jobs during the holiday season far outweigh the losses. Kodak’s stock prices rose, and they expect to save $1 billion annually. (They did have a 25% slide in profits this year [1997].)
Maybe I should start a fund to buy copies of “A Christmas Carol” to send to the world’s CEOs and stockholders. Of course, that rests on the assumption that they can read something other than the “Wall Street Journal” and that they actually have hearts that would be touched by the story. Then again, I bet none of them would see themselves as Scrooge – they are, after all, just good men of business.
So I did want to thank God for Christmas, especially in behalf of these people:
Hasbro, the second largest toy maker in the world, maker of Milton Bradley games, G.I. Joe and Tonka trucks, has decided to spread the Christmas cheer to its employees. Because its stock prices haven’t risen along with their earnings and sales, Hasbro has decided to close one factory and fire 2,500 employees. They have had growing sales and earnings but are still firing people because stock prices are at a stable $31 a share. On the bright side, the company will save $350 million in the next 5 years.
Philip Morris has also decided to fire 2,500 people. Those European food sales haven’t risen as quickly as they have in the U.S. The company, which owns Marlboro, Kraft and Miller, expects annual savings to be near $200 million.
Kodak has entered the fray adding to the Christmas cheer being doled out by the wealthy. It announced the release of 10,000 people in November. (I would guess to celebrate Thanksgiving; something in the realm of “Thanks for giving us all of your hard work – now get out.”) Then they decided that Christmas is a bigger holiday and shouldn’t be left out, so they cut 6,600 people from their jobs. (Maybe the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future convinced them not to fire more people.) I am sure that the benefits of all these people losing their jobs during the holiday season far outweigh the losses. Kodak’s stock prices rose, and they expect to save $1 billion annually. (They did have a 25% slide in profits this year [1997].)
Maybe I should start a fund to buy copies of “A Christmas Carol” to send to the world’s CEOs and stockholders. Of course, that rests on the assumption that they can read something other than the “Wall Street Journal” and that they actually have hearts that would be touched by the story. Then again, I bet none of them would see themselves as Scrooge – they are, after all, just good men of business.