Palm Announces Good Revenues, Layoffs

Posted By: Ed Wednesday, November 28, 2001 5:29:04 PM

In a classic example of taking medicine with a spoonful of sugar, Palm announced today that its handhelds have been selling well and that it expects its revenues for the quarter than ends this month to be about 30% higher than the last one, and, oh yeah, it is reducing its headcount by about 250 employees.

The stock market reacted positively to the news, pushing the share price up 6% in after hours trading.

When all is said and done, Palm is going to lay off more than 250 employees and contractors but it is hiring at the same time. The company has hired 45 people as part of its acquisition of Be Inc.

The company said it expects to report revenue for its fiscal second quarter, which will end November 30, of between $250 million and $280 million. Palm had previously said to expect quarterly sales to be about the same as last quarter's $214 million or possibly a little better. During the same quarter last year the company had $522 million in sales.

It expects to meet consensus analyst estimates, with a pro forma loss of approximately 7 cents a share. The company does not yet know when it will return to profitability.

"We are pleased to report an improvement in our revenue outlook,'' said Eric Benhamou, chairman of the board and temporary CEO. `"Palm is executing better than a few months ago in both of our core businesses. And we are now in a position to further reduce our cost structure. Together, these favorable factors will accelerate our return to profitability.''

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I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/28/2001 6:33:33 PM #
Do you hear me Satjiv?????

Deletion
Ed @ 11/28/2001 6:47:36 PM #
Do not add anonymous replies to your own comment, trying make it look like other people agree with you. They only get deleted.

---
News Editor
RE: I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/28/2001 7:39:55 PM #
WHERE WAS BENHAMOU WHEN ALL THE WRONG DECISIONS WERE MADE IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS

BUCK STOPS AT THE TOP ERIC

HAHA What a loser!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/28/2001 8:30:50 PM #
I guess i was wrong about administrators of these boards. They do read the posts. I also realized that as much as they would probably like to delete many posts, they do respect peoples opinions. Different and often contrasting perspectives are what makes boards great. Unfortunately opinions are often mistaken for immature, illogical banter.

And to think i was actually thinking about not coming back to these boards...

RE: I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/28/2001 8:44:11 PM #
Dear Eddie - Please do not always assume that my reply to my own comment is an attempt to make it look like someone else agrees with me. Frankly, I could care less if anyone else agrees with me or not. My own reply comment is simply an afterthought addition to something I forgot to include in the haste of my original post.

Thank you.

RE: I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 4:55:47 AM #
Obviously posted by someone who is not a *star*... you are the weakest link, byesy, bye...!

He's Back!
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 5:11:38 AM #
>Dear Eddie - Please do ....

Whatever Man!!

Lame-o
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 11:41:40 AM #
> Frankly, I could care less if anyone else agrees with me or not.

Good, 'cause no-one does.

RE: I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/1/2001 10:59:09 AM #
The original poster is actually right. Palm has a lot of the original executive team members that are still on the payroll but are absolutely useless at this point, Todd Bradley has brought in a new team that has taken over the responsibilities of sales, marketing, and product development.

There is a lot of duplication of job effort at the top, and it is clear that many top execs are useless at this point and need to go away and save the company a few million dollars a year.

RE: I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/1/2001 1:55:51 PM #

http://www.palm.com/about/corporate/executive.html



Actually, Palm's site lists 21 Vice Presidents:
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/1/2001 2:34:31 PM #

Eric Benhamou
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (Interim)

Judy Bruner
Palm Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer

David Nagel
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Platform Solutions Group

Todd Bradley
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Solutions Group

Barry Cottle
Chief Internet (Net) Officer

Satjiv S. Chahil
Chief Marketing Officer

Doug Solomon
Palm Senior VP and Chief Strategy Officer

Steve Manser
Palm Vice President and Senior Vice President, Worldwide Product Engineering, Solutions Group

Paul Reubens
Palm VP, Pornography

Stewart Gill
Palm VP, Human Resources

Stephen Yu
Palm VP, General Counsel and Secretary

Osama bin Laden
Palm VP, Psychotic Jihad-waging

Philippe Morali
Palm VP, Affiliations, Mergers and Acquisitions

Michael Mace
Chief Competitive Officer

Michelle Mace
PalmInfocenter Poster and m505 Damage Controller

Marina Levinson
Palm VP and Chief Information Officer

Glenn Cross
Palm Vice President and Senior VP, Americas Sales and Enterprise Business Development, Solutions Group

Craig Will
Palm VP, Asia Pacific

Lucifer
Palm VP, Hell

Mike Lorion
Palm VP, Education

Ruth Hennigar
Palm VP, Software Engineering

(Currently unfilled)
Palm VP, Innovation

Angel Mendez
Palm Vice President and Senior VP, Global Supply Chain Operations, Solutions Group

Ken Wirt
Palm Vice President and Senior VP of Marketing, Solutions Group

Kevin Hell
Palm Vice President and Senior VP of Product Management, Solutions Group



RE: I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/1/2001 3:25:12 PM #
They could cut this Executive Staff down to just a few positions. Not so much because they cost money BUT because of too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. When management is this FAT at the top, there's too many places to hide and not enough accountability. Simplify the executive structure and they will get something done:

Chairman/President/CEO
CFO
Sr. VP - Software
Sr. VP - Hardware
VP - Engineering - Hardware
VP - Engineering - Software
VP - Sales & Marketing - Software
VP - Sales & Marketing - Hardware
VP - Legal

And Definitely FIRE anyone who has "Competitive", "Internet" , "Strategy" in their current title! These are all BS FLUFF positions which simply obfuscate what needs to be done. And keep Benahoumou as far away as possible from the operation. He should be banned from the Palm building!

Palm is not big enough to justify all this FAT up top. It just causes a blurry focus with all of these knuckleheads pointing fingers at each other. They need to be lean and mean to survive!

RE: I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/1/2001 4:52:16 PM #
Fire Michael Mace???????????????????

But we like him! He defends Palm at the drop of a hat in coffee shops, grocery stores and Palm discussion sites:

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=1941&MODE=FLAT#12642

This guy is ESSENTIAL to Palm's survival. So just BACK OFF, BUDDY!!!

RE: I hope they get rid of a few of the18 USELESSVicePresidents.
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/1/2001 5:21:30 PM #
Interesting quote from M. Mace thread 6 months ago.

ATT: Mike, CCO of Palm Inc.
Posted by: I.M. Anonymous @ 5/17/2001 11:13:05 PM

Gates must be laughing his head off watching the idiots managing Palm destroy the company for him. Palm will implode within six months because:

1) Their top level staff are incompetent
2) Their products lack innovation
3) Their OS is stagnating
4) They licensed the OS to Handspring and Sony, who have now produced better hardware than Palm
5) Their wireless strategy will fail as "smart" cellphone technology catches on over the next 12 months.
6) The m505 has a low quality screen and will flop
7) Poor sales will force further price cuts, resulting in even lower revenues than expected
8) Palm will not be able to replace the m505 for at least 6 months
9) Their revenues from OS sales are trivial - they need to sell hardware to succeed
10) Their top level staff are VERY incompetent

TELL YOUR BOSSES THIS IF THEY HAVEN'T BEEN FIRED YET.



The boat has gone - byby Palm

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/28/2001 10:01:02 PM #
I have seen the many Handhelds come and go, I saw the Psion leaving market - now I see history repeats itself.
There always the same stories, the same press releases about healthy sackings before a product folds finally. Some (as Potter at Psion/ Jankonowhere and dezillions of his useless as highnosed vice pres. at Palm) stuff some money in their pockets to leave the rest of the pack with useless gear on their board or worthless shares at the broker. Sorry to say that my drawer will become a little more crammed latest by March 2002, when Palm goues down the sewer. I only hope that Linux will take over - if not - the pda market has finally gone. M$ is no pda - its a shame...

RE: The boat has gone - byby Palm
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 8:43:32 AM #
What the @#@#*&!? You've got an interesting take on history. Let's see...back in April, after the m500 series pre-release fiasco, people were predicting on this site that Palm would be gone by the end of the year. Doesn't look like that'll happen. Meanwhile, Palm is cutting costs while at the same time reporting that revenues are increasing. Last time I checked, Revenue - Costs = ...PROFIT! Oh, yeah, that little thing businesses, and their stockholders, seek.

I wouldn't hold my breath until March 2002. Your brain might suffer, and from the looks of it, you can't afford to lose the 2 remaining brain cells you have.

RE: The boat has gone - byby Palm
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 10:36:30 AM #
>were predicting on this site that Palm would be gone by the end of the year. Doesn't look like that'll happen.

If your not living on the moon - this exactly how it looks. Shares ar below the cellar, no new product in the next 6 months - and the worst:
This sacking is not a cost reduction - this is basically a closure already = a company gets rid of basically all emploees - isnt it?

Get a grip on reality
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 11:26:24 AM #
No, you said the company would be out of business by the end of the year, not that they would be struggling. You were wrong. There's no doubt that Palm's got problems. But they are on track to be profitable again within a year.

You say their stock price is in the cellar. It is, compared to last year, when the company was valued higher than GM!! Palm still has a market capitalization of $2.01 BILLION.

You were also wrong about the new products. The new wireless model is expected early next year and so is the m525.

Have I pointed out lately that IDC, a major industry analyst, has predicted that the Palm OS will continue to dominate the handheld market through at least 2005? Pocket PC will have between 15 percent and 25 percent of the market this year. I have to give Microsoft credit for the marketing savvy to convince so many people that their slight recent gains were a trend.

But something tells me you aren't one of those people who are going to be swayed by facts.

RE: The boat has gone - byby Palm
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 1:33:40 PM #
>>"But something tells me you aren't one of those people who are going to be swayed by facts."<<

That something speaks loud & clear, albeit with fragmented syntax.

I'd be willing to be that the original poster here:
1) Uses a Clie
2) Has never owned or managed a business before
3) Spouts off opinions about just about EVERYTHING without ever considering any facts

I wonder how much other idiocy this person tries to pass off as "obvious." Here's one:

>>"This sacking is not a cost reduction - this is basically a closure already = a company gets rid of basically all emploees - isnt it?"<<

Let's see--originally (as posted HERE on PIC) Palm had announced plans to lay off approx. 400 workers. Now they come out with about 250. Unless I've forgotten how to ADD & SUBTRACT, that means they've actually RETAINED 150 more workers than originally planned. I guess you need to personally go tell those workers that this is a closure...but you'd be lying.


Sorry for the laid-off

bcombee @ 11/29/2001 1:22:14 AM #
I had a number of friends who work for Palm -- mostly here in their Austin, TX development office, but I've also made friends with some of the developers in California. I'm hoping that the layoffs didn't affect them too much; I don't think anyone should take joy in the thought of people losing their jobs, especially in the current economic climate.

RE: Sorry for the laid-off
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 4:57:42 AM #
Ben, your words of support for those of us at Palm are a sign that you are one of the real stars in the Palm Economy. Thanks.

RE: Sorry for the laid-off
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 8:44:09 AM #
Here is a thought...

If you are riding a train that is headed for a cliff and you know this and continue to ride that train, no one should feel sorry for you when it goes over.

Im sorry, but employees should have seen this coming a long time ago. I can tell you if the stock falls $1.50 from $100, my ass is BUSY looking for another job.

RE: Sorry for the laid-off
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 8:47:34 AM #
Hopefully, some of those layoffs will ultimately be only "temporary," meaning that if Palm can get things going well again, they could perhaps hire back some of these people. It happens with a lot of companies; perhaps it can happen for Palm, too.

RE: Sorry for the laid-off
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 10:26:56 AM #
The company got too big and fat, and a bunch of people who followed their line are going to suffer (not the people who made the bad decisions - such as Yankowski with his brick comments about the VII - how much was in his parachute?). I'm very sorry to hear about the layoffs, and I hope that the "victims" can find some other employment. It hurts especially during the holiday season...

RE: Sorry for the laid-off
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 1:28:04 PM #
>>"I can tell you if the stock falls $1.50 from $100, my ass is BUSY looking for another job."<<

Well, then, you'd have been looking for another job if you had been working for A LOT of companies this year, wouldn't you? Most tech-oriented stocks were overvalued since about mid-1999. Honestly, an employee shouldn't be primarily concerned with the stock value, except as an indicator that they need to WORK HARDER and be more productive for the good of the company. Beyond that, the stock value is something an "arm-chair businessman" like yourself uses to bash people mercilessly (let me guess - you own a Clie...).

The view is really good from the cheap seats, isn't it? Try getting into the game, instead of crapping on the people who have been in it for a while.

RE: Sorry for the laid-off
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 5:00:50 PM #
It's survival of the fittest, and the people at Palm have no one to blame but themselves. Everyone is real quick to accept the glory and praise of success but no one wants to look within and blame themselves when things go wrong. You reap what you so. And when I hear all that "Palm Economy" crap now, I cringe, because these people at Palm (Mace?) actually still believe this "Simplicty" "Zen of Palm" and "Palm Economy" crap. They just don't have what it takes to get the job done. It's the free market and if you work hard and work smart, you will win. If you rest on your laurels and delude yourself with reality distortion, you will lose and cease to exist. REALITY CHECK - THERE ARE NO "STARS" OF THE PALM ECONOMY.

Please give it a rest
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 7:43:57 PM #
If Palm hadn't licensed their OS to Handspring and Sony, they would still be raking in the profits - despite whatever other grievous errors you think Michael Mace et. al. have committed.

Then twerps like you wouldn't be able to spend their days griping about Palm.

Anyone know when the OS licensing agreements expire?

RE: Sorry for the laid-off
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 8:09:44 PM #
I posted the "train" analogy above and I have to respond to one of my critics.

Actually, I currently work for a publically held company whose stock dropped from 20 to 12 post Sept 11. It is back up to 17. Want to know why? Because our CEO has made the right moves and knows what the hell he is doing. I havent had to work for multiple companies because the one I do work for is STABLE.



I'll tell you want wrong at Palm

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 5:27:02 PM #
They ramped non-R&D expenses up way too quickly relative to revenues and profits. They thought the gravy days would never end. They hired all these employees (expensive Managers and VP's) and they dropped big money on pricey real estate (which they had to back out of) they spent all this money like a bunch of drunken sailors. They did the easy part - spent money - but they couldn't do the hard part - control expenses, innovate, win strategic alliances, make smart business partnerships (ie profitable licensing, etc.). This is what these guys get paid the big bucks for - yet they have no idea how to run a business. Take a look at the early days of Dell Computer and you will see a blueprint of what good management is supposed to do in the first few years of a new business operation to be successful. Before you ask, I happen to be very good at what I do and I make a lot of money so yes - I do have room to talk.

RE: I'll tell you want wrong at Palm
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 5:55:34 PM #
sorry - that should be "what went wrong"

Why do people keep bashing Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 7:36:35 PM #
Yes, they made a series of huge mistakes and most (real - not armchair) analysts expect them to collapse within a year. But the repeated posts here regurgitating the obvious serve no purpose other than make these armchair quarterbacks feel good. What will you do with all your free time once Palm is gone?

RE: Why do people keep bashing Palm?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 7:45:56 PM #
Because of FRUSTRATION. We want the company to succeed and lead the way and make the best damn PDA possible - pushing the envelope of today's technological limits. Instead, we feel like they are giving us OS 1.4 and not OS 4! It's so frustrating to see a once great product with great innovative possibilities be hamstrung by incompetent management. We love Palm but feel like a great opportunity is being squandered - And there is nothing sadder in life than a missed opportunity. You've got to give MSFT credit - they are like an army marching. They keep marching and marching and marching forward and they keep their eye on the ball and never lose focus. With Palm, I feel like I have a son who should be getting straight A's and he is coming home with a report card that has nothing but D's and F's.

RE: I'll tell you want wrong at Palm
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 8:15:26 PM #
Saying the same thing 7 times a day in almost exactly the same words makes you feel better? That may be true but it makes you sound like a broken record.

Whether you realize it or not, you are becoming a troll. You may think you have the highest motives but someone who worked for Microsoft and was being paid to spread FUD would write the same messages you do. That makes you part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Ask yourself a question. When was the last time you wrote something positive on a web forum like this one. Helped someone with a problem, answered a question without using the word "dumbass". If you can't remember the last time, you're a troll.

If you actually want to escape trolldom, don't let yourself write something negative until you have written something positive or helpful about something. If you like being a troll, get used to everything you write being flamed.

I bet many anti-Palm trolls are actually working for M$FT
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 8:58:48 PM #
You hit the nail on the head.

One Microsoft employee working two hours a day could spread a lot of Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt among Palm users by posting to Usenet and sites like this. There are perhaps 3 major Palm newsgroups and 5 main Palm info sites on the Internet, so it wouldn't take much effort to cover them all. If you've been around these sites very long you'll quickly realize how quickly rumors spread from one site to another and how quickly these rumors become fact. If something is said enough times then surely it must be true...

Take a look here for a prime example.

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=1889

RE: I'll tell you want wrong at Palm
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 9:02:09 PM #
Maybe we should all just hold hands and sing "Kumbaya" together?? Would that make you happy?

RE: I'll tell you want wrong at Palm
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 9:08:35 PM #
> Maybe we should all just hold hands and sing "Kumbaya" together?? Would that make you
> happy?

I'd settle for putting you on some kind of quota system. Maybe only one anti-Palm rant a day. Couldn't you find some other web sites and bore them to tears for a while?

RE: I'll tell you want wrong at Palm
kevin @ 11/29/2001 11:06:25 PM #
ok here is my 2 cents so to speak. the next ceo for palm should be ex millitary and not a generel. a luetinet or a corrnell. some one with battelfield experience. my reason for saying this is cause LOL hire him one week later the news will read "palm has m505 sd mp3 add on". also he would problably tell the execs when some one gets fired cause of thier stupid decisions they get fined. while everybody seems to LOVE execs and their nice trips and their serverence from realality i don't. a millitary officer would basicly do what the millitary has trained them to do. fufill the objective. LOL i can just see a palm exec on the floor doing 20 :))

RE: Ed, any more facts?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/30/2001 12:54:10 AM #
Ed, thanks for keeping us all abreast of developments.

Now that the M$ lackeys (who don't seem to understand that PPC sales are falling) have had their rants, some more facts might be interesting. Does the Palm press release say anything about expected profits? Sales figures are nice to see but, as one of the earlier posts mentioned, that's just part of the equation.


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