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Microsoft Lays Off 34 Japanese Xbox Employees
Thanks to GameSpot for their article discussing the layoff of 34 Microsoft employees from its Japanese Xbox division. This accounts for just 17 percent of their Xbox workforce in Japan, but apparently the March 20th layoffs, documented in Nikkei BizTech, "..caused a commotion among the workers because of differences in business practices between Japan and the United States." The harsh 'escorted from premises' style of layoffs is not so common in Japan, according to the article, and so "..according to one of the employees who was cut, it felt as though they were treated like criminals." Needless to say, the layoffs, according to division head Par Singh, were because "sales of the Xbox in Japan had been extremely disappointing."
I'm not sure how layoffs should be done but I know the way most American companies do it today isn't the solution. It does treat the ex-employees as if they were criminals. In my experience the ex-employees are escorted, in front of coworkers, to a small office. Given the news and any severence then given a swift kick out the door. I've even been in companies where they didn't let the employee pack their cube. Rather someone boxed it for them and shipped it...
One should not theorize before one has data. -Sherlock Holmes-
The employees were then told to check their e-mail inboxes
What a shitty and gutless way to fire someone. I think firing someone any other way than face to face whould be illegal.
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I know this feeling. When I was much younger, I had a lot of company loyalty and was convinced that if I worked hard, I would be treated right. I watched layoff after layoff at two companies before i finally got caught up in one, and it was like a punch in the gut.
That was a giant wake-up call to look out for #1, because if you don't, all you'll get is #2.
The way the company handled it though came across as if they trusted me about as much as they trusted a potential disgruntled employee. It comes across as a lack of respect for the person leaving and their level of responsibility.
Yes, I understand that it's not "nice" or "fair" but companies don't really care about those things. They are playing it safe by assuming you're as bad as everyone else. Besides, would it really be any "nicer" for the company to escort certain employees out and let others take their time?
The best part of it was the companies core values and beliefs touted the fact that they believed firmly in giving individuals respect and that individuals treated with respect acted accordingly. But their treatment of those is another story.
You seem to already understand that their stated core values were really just words on a page to them. Also, you should double check that their stated core values really say "treating individuals with respect" and not "treating employees with respect". Since you just severed your relationship with them -- amicable or not -- I'm not sure why I see that they should still be held to those core values with regards to a now-former employee.
I'm not trolling or flaming you. I do understand the points you're making. I'm just saying that you have to look at this whole situation from the company's point of view. You remember how the LAPD told O.J. "Sure, you can turn yourself in down at the station when it's convienent, Juice. We don't want this to be any more embarrasing for you than it already is." Well, we know how well that approach went. Even if you seem like a nice guy, no manager is going to risk that one-in-a-million chance that you might go bonkers on your way out. That's the way PHB think. Remember, it's called "Human resources" and not "personel" for a reason.
GMD
watch this
Games don't appeal to them
Controller is huge, even the S
The marketing is INSULTING
It isn't Japanese
They had a recall when it first came out
It doesn't have Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior
Want me to go on?
The reason employers do this "kick them out quick" approach is not out of spite but, rather, to protect themselves from employees who might try to exact some revenge on their way out.
Really, if there is worry that ex-employees will try to sabotage things, shouldn't that be an indication that the company didn't treat them very well in the first place? I guess escorting them out is just a continuation of that...
Anyone who gets fired can be expected to be a little upset... but I think it takes a vested hatred of the company to start sabotaging things.
-"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -EH
Besides that, it is going to be hard for anything to make a dent in the Playstation 2's popularity in Japan. Sony is just considered a cool, superior brand over there. Yes, I suppose cultural superiority is a factor, but I don't think that is all of it. I've noticed that when I ask the Asian people I know "Which is cooler, Sony or X?" they invariably say Sony.
I also think that (and I'm no expert, not owning one) the Xbox's lineup has something to do with it. The big system selling game is Halo, a First Person Shooter. First Person Shooters have never been popular in Japan. Ever notice how few Japanese origin FPSs there are for the various Japanese consoles? Even Metroid Prime was made by an American second party using the Nintendo Metroid license. (This is why the N64 also had a tough time over there.) I once remember noting that the Japanese seem to like fighting games the way Americans like FPSs, if I can go by the huge number of fighting games coming out of Japan and the huge number of FPSs coming out of the U. S. (I could be way off on that but I don't think I am.)
Basically, I think that there are cultural reasons why the XBox hasn't caught on in Japan that don't have anything to do with it's relative merits as a console or just cultural superiority.
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
> "..according to one of the employees who was cut, it felt as though they were treated like criminals."
It feels like that here in the US as well. It's really a shame. The only thing you can do is take preventative maintenance. For every file you keep at work that you want to keep after you're fired, burn it to disk, or email it home, or log in remotely and copy it, keeping as up-to-date as your needs call for. It's also not a bad idea at work to heavily encrypt things like your resume, locally stored personal email, and anything else personal you might have. Sure they can fire you and delete it, but they can't look at it. Having something at home on permanent loan, like a company laptop (even better, with sensitive data on it) also helps for when you want your USB drive, 8 port hub, speakers, flash card reader, and optical mouse back.
The times when you are least likely ever to get fired are the times to arrange this sort of minor parachute, not the day after they announce layoffs.
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And to a degree, this used to be the way things were in America. At least, if you were part of a super powerful union. But techies don't have a union and even unions don't assure this kind of expectation anymore.
It's undestandable that company changs can lead to people having to be laid off, but the problem is that it's no longer a matter of "our company is losing money, so we can't afford to keep you". Instead, it's a matter of "our company is making a profit. In fact, we're making more money than any other year in our history. But we're not making as much as investors wished we would, so we're going to have to cut back a ton to make the numbers look good and encourage more investors so our stock goes up".
I like the place I work. It's a huge company with about 40,000 people and I'd love to work here the rest of my life. The problem is, I know that I could be fired any day of the week on a whim and that prevents me from being as loyal and dedicated as I could be. They're cutting their own nose off there in lost production and customer service because it's hard to be enthusiastic about a place that will just end up a blip on your resume.
I know that years ago people would have had one, two maybe three jobs on their resume by the end of their career. I wonder what this generation's resumes will look like in the year 2040. I bet we can expect to see ten page resumes become the norm.
Perhaps the lack of interest is the lack of Japanes only titles for the XBox. The PS2 has a constant stream of Japanese only titles being released. As bizare as I find some of those games they obviously have a market because they keep putting them out. The Xbox may not be properly targeting their audience.
That means nothing as far as games consoles go. It's all about the games and if you haven't got any decent games on your platform your machine won't sell.