Creative to RETRENCH 50%!

[makapaaa]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Creative cuts 2,700 jobs
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Nearly half of workforce slashed in last fiscal year as sales decline </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Robin Chan
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Creative, which makes MP3 players and speakers, has been hit by slowing sales of its products, due to the worsening economic situation and tough competition. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->CREATIVE Technology, the home-grown tech firm, has slashed 2,700 jobs, or almost half its total workforce, in the last fiscal year as falling demand for its products continues to hit its bottom line.
Jobs cuts were made across the board, but the bulk was in manufacturing, due to the sale of its Malaysian plant in July 2007.
The Straits Times estimates that up to 2,200 jobs have been eliminated as a result of that closure.
This came to light in the company's annual report filed with the Singapore Exchange on Wednesday.
In the report, Creative said it had about 3,100 full-time workers as at June 30 last year, or 47 per cent fewer than the 5,800 employed a year earlier.
In the previous year, Creative had cut headcount by about 800 from 6,600.
A Creative spokesman said: 'The bulk of the reduction in the worldwide workforce was due to the sale of Cubic Electronics, the manufacturing subsidiary of Creative in Malaysia, in July 2007.'
Creative sold an 80.1 per cent stake in the Malaysian facility for US$6.9 million (S$10.1 million) to a group of third-party investors as part of a move to streamline and improve its operational efficiency.
Other staff cuts were made, with about 250 coming from sales, marketing and customer support, about 180 from administrative and other areas and fewer than 50 from research and development (R&D).
Besides Asia, headcount was also significantly reduced in the Americas region, from about 640 to 280.
The spokesman said there had been no 'significant change' in headcount in Singapore, where Creative has its corporate headquarters and a large part of its R&D operations.
'We are still looking to hire more R&D engineers,' the spokesman said.
The company employs about 1,100 staff in R&D across the US, Britain and China, in addition to Singapore.
Creative had net losses of US$19.7 million for the year ended June 30, 2008.
The company, which makes MP3 players and speakers, has been hit by slowing sales of its products due to the worsening economic situation and tough competition.
Sales for the three months ended Sept30 were US$141.2 million, down from US$184.6 million for the same period a year before. Half of Creative's sales came from Europe, while the Americas and Asia made up the rest almost evenly.
In the report, Creative said it faces 'intense competition from a large number of established companies and emerging companies'.
Sales of electronic products have slumped as the economic slowdown forces consumers to cut back on spending, leading companies like Chartered Semiconductor and Philips Electronics to announce job cuts in recent months.
Creative suffered a net loss of US$32.2 million in the first quarter ended Sept 30 to follow a net loss of US$31.7 million in the three months before that.
'We will continue to reduce operating expenses as we target to reduce our losses in the uncertain market environment ahead,' president and chief operating officer of Creative Labs Craig McHugh said in October.
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[tonychat]

NO lah, should say ,Creative still able to retain 50% of his workforce strongly.

Must learn from the SinkieTimes how to write it well so that the people will not protest or riot.

IN this way, sinkies will still feel very good about themselves while PAP govt still wack their asses behind them viciously. Something like taking those hallucinating pills.

 

[johnny333]

The boss of creative should have sold off Creative & spend the time improving his golf game.

Can't keep on making sound cards & Zens forever

 

[popdod]

Creative have its last new weapon...... Zii. Stemcell computing.

If Zii fails.....thatz it for creative.
Can open its headquarters at sim lim square liao.

See Mr Lim back to action again.

:o :( :o

 

[silverfox@]

Creative's achievement is in creating soundcards. That is how it became famous.

But blaming it on economy crisis is just plain stupid. (not a main factor) Before the crisis, creative's market share in soundcards have been dwindling.

Their venture into MP3 players, sound sytems, other peripherals just don't make any sense if they do not think of how to monopolise the sound card market or even if they can't monopolise, they should think of how to make it even better. That is to say strengthen it.

It's not a surprise to see Creative moving south.

12 years ago, when you do up a computer, the name Creative, everyone knoes.
5 years ago, talk about Creative, people start to huh, simi lai eh.

The problem is if you are good in Fish ball noodle, make it better or even better than your competitors, not wasting time trying to think of making Laksa, Lor Mee, Chee Cheong Fun.

 

[R4g3]

Creative's achievement is in creating soundcards. That is how it became famous.

But blaming it on economy crisis is just plain stupid. (not a main factor) Before the crisis, creative's market share in soundcards have been dwindling.

Their venture into MP3 players, sound sytems, other peripherals just don't make any sense if they do not think of how to monopolise the sound card market or even if they can't monopolise, they should think of how to make it even better. That is to say strengthen it.

It's not a surprise to see Creative moving south.

12 years ago, when you do up a computer, the name Creative, everyone knoes.
5 years ago, talk about Creative, people start to huh, simi lai eh.

The problem is if you are good in Fish ball noodle, make it better or even better than your competitors, not wasting time trying to think of making Laksa, Lor Mee, Chee Cheong Fun.

i think the problem lies with marketing. they are leader of audio and mp3 yet ipod came out and change everything. Even they have better functions, better specs, cheaper price yet people prefer ipod.

and the brand creative gives me the impression of products that are not so durable.
there was once me and my bro went for a special private sale and we bought quite a few products, most of them broke down before 1 year, quite disappointed.

 

[silverfox@]

i think the problem lies with marketing. they are leader of audio and mp3 yet ipod came out and change everything. Even they have better functions, better specs, cheaper price yet people prefer ipod.

and the brand creative gives me the impression of products that are not so durable.
there was once me and my bro went for a special private sale and we bought quite a few products, most of them broke down before 1 year, quite disappointed.

If Ipod can beat them, why can't they think of something to beat Ipod? The worst thing is in terms of design, they even lost out to Samsung and Sony. So from market leader, become 4th or even worst. That is why they can't blame the economy crisis.

It's the way of the company's direction.

 

[dysentry]

The Vado HD cam is a good product to me, but too little too late I guess.

 

[DerekLeung]

When in good times !

It keep coming up with repetition and shitty stuff !

 

[The_Latest_H]

Creative's achievement is in creating soundcards. That is how it became famous.

But blaming it on economy crisis is just plain stupid. (not a main factor) Before the crisis, creative's market share in soundcards have been dwindling.

Their venture into MP3 players, sound sytems, other peripherals just don't make any sense if they do not think of how to monopolise the sound card market or even if they can't monopolise, they should think of how to make it even better. That is to say strengthen it.

It's not a surprise to see Creative moving south.

12 years ago, when you do up a computer, the name Creative, everyone knoes.
5 years ago, talk about Creative, people start to huh, simi lai eh.

The problem is if you are good in Fish ball noodle, make it better or even better than your competitors, not wasting time trying to think of making Laksa, Lor Mee, Chee Cheong Fun.

Creative's problems started when Sim decided to compete with Apple, with an attitude, strategy and campaign that can now be described retrospectively as "boneheaded" and "arrogant".

 

[Satan]

Creative used to be very strong in the 90's. They started dwindling in the 2000s when their products could not compete with others like ipods.

 

[johnny333]

Creative's problems started when Sim decided to compete with Apple, with an attitude, strategy and campaign that can now be described retrospectively as "boneheaded" and "arrogant".

If you are going to improve, must compete against the best.

However, it must be with the right attitude otherwise you end up like Sim. Its ok to come out 2nd best against the best but Creative didn't even get off the starting blocks.

 

[Yoshitei]

Creative's achievement is in creating soundcards. That is how it became famous.

Creative's achievement was in copying AdLib's sound cards and marketing it as their own.

After a while arrogance made them diverted their focus destroying it's competitors via costly lawsuits, technology tie ups and marketing campaigns.

Sim in my opinion is just reaping what he sowed.

 

[hemunkeong]

Creative's problems started when Sim decided to compete with Apple, with an attitude, strategy and campaign that can now be described retrospectively as "boneheaded" and "arrogant".

Sim should the book " Inside Steve's Mind " by Leander Kahney
and learn how the ipod was created. Steve put the best team on the planet
to work on its development, nothing escape his attention. That first ipod
was a sensation and rocketed apple to the pinnacle of digital music.
Sim's gunho attitude of rushing variation upon variation of mp3 players
serves only to bring down creative brand. You just need one very good
product - and for goodness sake get it right the first time ! - to have make a good
challenge

 

[nextinfidel]

seriously, there is only so much progress you can have with sound cards.
who would really install those 5.1 Cambridge Soundworks all over their computer to achieve the highest performing sound? a sound card is still a sound card, unless you are some pro sound engineer working in a recording studio.

DVDROM, DVD-RW technology has already stagnated.

Ipod and those Mp3 players? how can you go with those? a 100" LCD screen and 999TB of space to store your MP3 music??

 

[huahero]

Uncle Sim should sale Creative and enjoy life when he had the chance.

 

[johnny333]

Uncle Sim should sale Creative and enjoy life when he had the chance.

He will end up wandering the HDB void decks, the fate of Sporeans who stay.

He will be sporting the latest iPod

 

[johnny333]

Steve put the best team on the planet
to work on its development, nothing escape his attention.

Sim is practising the Spore way of doing things, putting the cheapest Foreign Talent on the job, family members are preferred, experience is optional

 

[Cestbon]

He will end up wandering the HDB void decks, the fate of Sporeans who stay.

He will be sporting the latest iPod

Sim Already pocket money millions if not hundred million. Only those buying creative share at high are the loser.

 

[The_Latest_H]

Sim should the book " Inside Steve's Mind " by Leander Kahney
and learn how the ipod was created. Steve put the best team on the planet
to work on its development, nothing escape his attention. That first ipod
was a sensation and rocketed apple to the pinnacle of digital music.
Sim's gunho attitude of rushing variation upon variation of mp3 players
serves only to bring down creative brand. You just need one very good
product - and for goodness sake get it right the first time ! - to have make a good
challenge

Actually I don't think Sim has fully understood why he had lost. In fact the latest Mosaic model is so complicated to program and operate that one needs the Manuel to know how to operate.

With more MP3 players in the market which is instinctive, and easy to use(to enable the user to easily teach friends who wants to buy the same product), Creative flies against the wind. Unfortunately, if many people thinks its ridiculous to read a manuel to understand an MP3 player, and feedback to their friends as such, Creative only loses more of its prospective customers.