Philips axes thousands amid financial loss

The recently installed CEO at Philips has confirmed a restructuring blueprint that includes making 4,000 staff redundant to reduce overheads following sliding sales and steep losses. The health tech and consumer electronics maker on Monday estimated the job reductions comprise four percent of its global workforce, and it will …

[Potemkine!]

The biggest threat to the economy is the huge rise of energy costs. Many companies from tileries to bakers won't be able to cope, and companies supplying those companies will be the next dominoes to fall.

In Europe, the first thing to do is to get rid of the a system of marginal pricing.

== Bring us Dabbsy back! ==

[VoiceOfTruth]

-> The biggest threat to the economy is the huge rise of energy costs.

That's the price of following American policy in Europe. It has already been forgotten by many that the USA was opposed to Nord Stream 2 since years ago, which would have brought cheap Russian gas to Europe. No. The Europeans must follow American policy and do what they are told. There is a strong likelihood of permanently higher energy costs in Europe. That will lead to manufacturing moving to cheaper countries, particularly in Asia and, no surprise no surprise, the USA.

-> companies supplying those companies will be the next dominoes to fall

100% correct.

[Dave314159ggggdffsdds]

Fuck off, Kremlinbot.

[VoiceOfTruth]

You must be an America First Stooge. Buying Freedom Gas will bankrupt Europe.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh dear, Dave's soma has worn off again.

Unfortunately I have to partly agree with VoiceOfTruth. The current admin fronted by POTATUS is doing all it can to maintain the USA and USD as top dog in the world. The desperate attempts in the runup to the midterms to portray the US economy as being in good health are going to backfire soon. Exporting US LNG at the expense of its own citizens (albeit the ones who mostly live in the deplorable states that no-one cares about) and trying to kill pretty much every other major currency. Biden's handlers are desperate to keep USA as number one for their own profit.

Nordstream 1 and 2 were also part of the Russian 'environmental' disinformation plan where they have been funding the screeching superglue lovers to help push Europe towards renewables safe in the knowledge that for every kW of solar and wind we installed we would need a kW of gas fired generation as backup. The more we built the more we were reliant on gas. But if you dare say that someone will superglue their face to the road or something similar.

The great orange god emperor was one of the few people at the top table to see the issue. He will be back!

[VoiceOfTruth]

-> Unfortunately I have to partly agree with VoiceOfTruth

Thanks for the partial nod.

Alas some people do not like a few home truths. But my comments on energy prices in Europe are well founded. Macron too has woken up and smelled the coffee: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-21/macron-accuses-us-of-trade-double-standard-amid-energy-crunch. It's all very well say "do not buy Russian gas", but when the alternatives are far more expensive that is not very attractive. Europe's (particularly Germany's) competitiveness was built on cheap Russian gas.

We are in an era of a clash of two major economic powers: the USA and China. This is not a clash between the figurative "West" (as a whole) and China. It is specifically between the USA and China. Europe does not have a voice in this. Remember Victoria Nuland's "F*ck the EU"? Europe can be turned into an industrial wasteland for all the USA cares. Europe is becoming uncompetitive not through so-called lazy works or lack of innovation, but by the cost of energy.

I don't enjoy these simple truths. I'm not a harbinger of doom But I am a realist and this is what I see. Anyone who cares to argue the points, please feel free to do so.

[Anonymous Coward]

Indeed Europe is piggy in the middle and people do not like that idea so ignore it. We have been played by all sides. And Nuland is a particularly evil person.

We've been hooked on Russian gas, cheap junk from China and US defence and tech and have been completely neutered. European countries want to join NATO so they can get their own US base.

[Dave314159ggggdffsdds]

"In Europe, the first thing to do is to get rid of the a system of marginal pricing."

OK, and now the alt-right propaganda has been swapped out for full-on Nazi dogma.

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously, what??

To quote a great man: "You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means."

Anyway, you do realise that marginal pricing is what is creating HUGE profits and sky high energy costs? So removing it will reduce profits which as far as I can tell is not one of you fever dream 'alt-right propaganda' conspiracies.

Are you PRO huge profit and consumer exploitation or AGAINST it?

[Pascal Monett]

Only 4% ?

Hey Roy, why not go all-out and sack 40% ?

You'll be hailed as a visionary and the "other stakeholders" (ie shareholders) will be overjoyed by the drop in costs.

Oh, there's just the little problem of sustaining sales but, if you keep the marketing department, that shouldn't be a problem, right ?

[oiseau]

There's a reason

... reduce overheads following sliding sales and steep losses.

There's at least one good reason for Philips' sliding sales and steep losses: crap products, crap warranties and crap customer service.

A very long time ago, purchasing something from Philips meant getting a quality product.

The last time I purchased a something with the Philips name on it was around 1999/2000 and that was it.

Swore I'd never waste my money with them ever again.

O.

[imanidiot]

Re: There's a reason

The only true Philips made Philips products remaining are the shavers and the healthcare products. Everything else is designed, marketed and sold by companies other than Philips with a branding deal so they can put the Philips name on it.

And yeah, I'm currently working for a company that used to be Philips, supplying equipment to another company that started as Philips, and having regular encounters with people who worked for other (now succesful) companies that used to be Philips and the culture of that company still resonates and hampers progress so many years later it's so unfunny it's become funny again. Within our own company I sometimes refer to the former Philips employees as the Philips Fossils. Philips Healthcare honestly makes some very good products (just maybe not their ventilator/breathing products) and their electric shavers are imho also top of the market. Everything else is overpriced and "a bit shit". Even their lighting products (Now made by spun-off Signify. The Hue range was very early to the smart lighting market) haven't really been able to stay relevant as far as I can see.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: There's a reason

I'm amazed anyone would use polyurethane foam in a "sensitive" environment like this. I've come across so many objects containing something that once was foam but now resembles sat-on cake crumbs requiring a tedious scrape-out job. That's annoying enough when it's just cushioning or packaging, but in a medical device?

I can't help thinking that many of these historic companies have suffered a sort of corporate amnesia, where knowledge and standards, especially of quality engineering, have been thrown into skips and lost, generally when manufacturing has been offshored to save costs. I won't mention names but some of the company technical journals of the 60s to 80s are real exemplars of how to do things properly.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: There's a reason

I do not know what IBM used as what I assume was sound proofing in some of their old products. Oddly poo green foam that eventually goes really crumbly and is almost oily and sticky. YUK!

[StrangerHereMyself]

Lost the bet

Philips bet the company on Healthcare, believing that the pastures would be greener there and the profits unending.

I wouldn't be in the least surprised if this one screw-up (Respironics devices) sinks the company. They can't seem to get a handle on it. Good bet they'll simply sell the entire division for a pittance and write down a couple billion euro's just to be done with it.

[imanidiot]

Re: Lost the bet

Not much of Philips left outside of Healthcare if they sell the division outside of a holding company managing the (now tainted) brand name. I doubt they'll take that route

[StrangerHereMyself]

Re: Lost the bet

Respironics is only a small part of Philips Healthcare. As a matter of fact, it used to be an independent company which they acquired.

They could conceivably sell it. Another option would be for Philips to sell ITSELF to another healthcare company. I believe one of these options is in the cards.

Lets face it, spinning off every part of the conglomerate has made them vulnerable when a downturn occurs. They now have nothing to fall back upon.

[R Soul]

Re: Lost the bet

The rot set in when the HQ moved to Amsterdam from Eindhoven. The beancounters took over and gradually sold off lots of business units: lighting, TVs, semiconductors, consumer electronics, etc. The company's research labs got closed. All that's left now is healthcare/shavers and medical systems.

The company's probably kept afloat from its patents and royalties for CD/DVD.

[StrangerHereMyself]

Re: Lost the bet

And they're licensing their name for products like TV's and headphones. They don't do any of the development, merely raking in the cash. It just shows how lazy Western companies have become.

[Mike Flex]

Roy Jakobs ... said his "immediate priority" was to "improve execution"

Well, that's one way of reducing headcount. Seems rather severe though.