Does the current crisis affect your company?

[Laurens]

I've started a poll on Prepressure.com asking people if the current crisis affects the company they work for. Head over to cast your vote or discuss this topic here.

[gnubler]

As a weekly print publication, my company's line of business is probably doomed anyway as everything shifts to the Internet.

While I don't subscribe to the "economic crisis" buzzword, we have had a noticeable drop in ad sales - particularly car dealerships who used to run full page 4c ads. Some dropped ads for a while and came back, some are now b/w, and one doesn't run ads at all anymore (Saturn).

Luckily, about half of my job duties include doing web-related stuff and I have skills that no one else in the company has...so I'm hanging on for now. We haven't layed anyone off, but our salespeople are pushing ad promotions like crazy to try to increase sales.

[Joe]

It is affecting us. Most of the work that I perform is weekly's and although we still run them every week the page count and quantities have dropped significantly in the last few months. It's not uncommon for those to drop this time of the year but they've dropped more than usual this year. No layoffs yet but it needs to get better soon or there will be.

[Chelle]

No real effects that I can see yet. We usually slow down a bit around this time of year anyway. I am busy - and it seems like more stuff keeps getting thrown at me. I haven't heard anyone in my department complain that they DON'T have anything to do.

We have some major accounts that really keep us busy and I think that helps a lot. Plus the fact that we also have our motel/franchise supply division with our own embroidery and sign shop doesn't hurt.

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

We will have layoffs soon. I seem to be the only one that ever has too much to do, but the other Operators are sitting on their asses. It's not fair, and I am extremely jaded about it, but the layoffs are needed. The Blood-Sausage will be first, it's already in the works. What I don't understand, is that my company is still spending money like it's water!

In the last 6 months, they bought a 2/4 40" Perfector... Brand new, and a Canon DI. Total bill, about a mil and a half. I am in such a dire financial strain from the OT cuts, and lack of side jobs, that if I don't get some extra income soon, i'll be getting ready for work at the YMCA. I am actually thinking about a life of crime.

[Chelle]

We will have layoffs soon. I seem to be the only one that ever has too much to do, but the other Operators are sitting on their asses. It's not fair, and I am extremely jaded about it, but the layoffs are needed. The Blood-Sausage will be first, it's already in the works. What I don't understand, is that my company is still spending money like it's water!

In the last 6 months, they bought a 2/4 40" Perfector... Brand new, and a Canon DI. Total bill, about a mil and a half. I am in such a dire financial strain from the OT cuts, and lack of side jobs, that if I don't get some extra income soon, i'll be getting ready for work at the YMCA. I am actually thinking about a life of crime.

Wait... I thought you HAD a life of crime...

My company is spending too. There was the whole Prinergy upgrade, some new sign-making equipment, and now our new computers for the 4 of us. I guess Steve knows what he's doing.

[gnubler]

We're supposed to be getting sign making equipment, too. I thought it was on its way, but that was a month ago and I haven't heard anything further.

[Chelle]

We have a sign department, but we are getting new equipment to be able to make a different kind of signs for certain hotel chains.

[Stiv]

What timing. We just had the "talk". No OT, meaning not over 40 hours/week. If you have 40 by Thursday you go home. But if we get a rush job in you have to come in. WTF? They might even send you home before 40 and you have to fill out the week with personal or vacation time. WTF? Is this legal?

Perception is reality I say.
Reality - They all got new IPhones, Perception - Hourly workers get screwed.
Reality - They all got new laptops, Perception - Hourly workers get screwed.

I sense a pattern here.

[delooch]

i thought i was safe working for the govt, but we are funded by our own revenues, not by a general fund. granted we dont have to make profit margins like the commercial side, but we still have to cover our costs.  departments have been cutting their print budgets drastically, and we have been feeling the effect for a few months already.  we lost one of our employees to cancer 6 months ago, and theres still not enough work to keep the 3 of us left busy. if this keeps up, im sure they are going to outsource the whole press operation. fortunately we have a lot of confidential materials we must reproduce in-house, so at least one of us should survive..

[Laurens]

Next to the as-yet undisclosed effects of the crisis on the company I work for, I hate the effect it has on newspapers. My favorite paper cancelled a few cartoons (including Casper & Hobbes  ) and got rid of the magazine that was included in the week-end edition. It seems to have fewer pages and there are talks of firing some of the in-house photographers. Since this paper is printed on one of those waterless Cortina presses, the quality of pictures is sometimes breathtaking. I 'll hate the moment that the first crappy pictures made by someone's mobile phone show up. The only effect all these savings have on me is making it easier to switch to another newspaper or stick to the web for news!

[frailer]

Yes, Laurens, though early days as to how much/over what period. Not sure how it's going to play out. Can't say more at this stage.
Problem is, part of capitalism's life-blood is confidence, which is sagging, as we all know. There is a very good case for "rescues" and pump-priming, although it seems unfair...because of excesses/stupidity in lending. But the alternative is deflation. My Dad lived through the Great Depression...sure glad I didn't...

Just finished reading "The Subprime Solution" by Robert J. Shiller, a US east coast ecomomic academic. Not a long book, and you don't need specialist understanding to "get" it. His term for what happened is "irrational exuberance". There sure was enough of that.

Link here if anyone's interested.

Robert Shiller's book

[beermonster]

yeah it's affecting us. we lost a big customer purely on price. agreed - no necessarily due to current economics - but the knock on will result in redundancies i fear. We are specialists in the product/customer we lost - and we do the lot from concept thru to finishing, storage and delivery - all in house - but its not enough.
directors do seem genuinely concerned about trying to keep people on tho - and us managers are attending training courses during this slack period.
we are also taking tentative steps into lean manufacturing - something that as far as i've seen has never been mentioned on b4p - i'm half and half on the concept, but if it keeps me in a job - i'm all for it.

[LRob]

It affecting us in the way that we don't get the overtime we used to. Was working between 70 to 90 hr weeks now I'm lucky if I get 45 to 50 hr weeks. At least they aren't laying off. We've had some big printing companies close down around here. I guess it's the thinning of the heard. The main problem is it takes the power out of the employee's hand and the owner/s have all the power now. "What you gonna do? Get another  job?" I glad I work for good people. Don't have to deal with crap that other people do.

[G_Town]

My company has been closing plants and we may or may not get the axe.

Always makes it fun not knowing.

I don't see how any company is not being affected unless you contract out to the government