Micron Technology: Leveraged Buyout Announcement Seems Imminent

[GoneFromMicron]

I know that the group I was in will lose people in May and June. It is definately not over yet. Many more heads will roll, just not in the numbers from last July. As far as I know, still no management gone, just the hard working employees that made management look good.

[Moved On]

Until "Applebees" understands that he is running the ship into the reef and makes wide and sweeping changes with management Micron will continue to lose money every quarter. It appears to me that Micron is not interested in making money, they seem to want to limit the amount they lose by doing joint venture after joint venture to make Intel and other partners pay them basically. They appear to be in the joint venture market to me.

[GoneFromMicron]

The ABC affiliate here in Boise just reported that Mike Sadler turned over information on how Micron forced price fixing with other companies in exchange for not going to jail. And Apleton said he knew nothing about it. Wow, driving the ship without knowing anything about your crew...how incredibly stupid can one person be!

[Even more]

Today was the last day for most of the SAP folks in IS. Where is the media coverage of this? Somebody is paying somebody.

[claneplay]

http://www.kivitv.com/global/story.asp...

[Miles Away]

GoneFromMicron wrote:

The ABC affiliate here in Boise just reported that Mike Sadler turned over information on how Micron forced price fixing with other companies in exchange for not going to jail. And Apleton said he knew nothing about it. Wow, driving the ship without knowing anything about your crew...how incredibly stupid can one person be!

Definitely a reflection of Appleton's leadership - proves either he is a liar or incredibly stupid and uniformed ... either way not the kind of person you want running your company. Though he does appear to be good at running it into the ground!

[GoneFromMicron]

Things have been pretty quiet around here. I know that recently the BASIS team and others have been let go. They are dropping people quietly and in small numbers, but consistantly...probably to stay under the radar.
Also, they are still holding "new employee orientation" for temps...bring em in, let em go.

[number nine]

Here's something that somebody might find interesting. Look who made it to #50:

http://h1bfacts.com/

[ACDC]

At the end of May, it was reported that Micron dropped Blue Cross. I was told this only affects people in Ada/Canyon counties. They are going live with a new provider July 1st, but don't know yet what the charge will be for those people on COBRA. I was told they will send out letters regarding the change the last week of June. I guess they don't have everything set up yet. Sounds like a big mess to me....

Has anyone else heard about this?

[now what------]

Blue Cross has been dropped as of July 1st. The new carrier is Dakota Care and I believe they are not on St. lukes provider list but only St. Al's...shouldn't affect dental but will affect other things such as vision...not sure about Flexible spending accts either.

[Miles Away]

number nine wrote:

Here's something that somebody might find interesting. Look who made it to #50:
http://h1bfacts.com/

Very interesting website! I'd like to be the foreigner making the $740,000.00 a year!

[StillBitter]

So according to the H1B numbers, while Micron was laying off 1200 people last year they were getting 149 H1B visas approved. My feeling is any company that is having to downsize should NOT be granted any foreign worker visas PERIOD.

If I were writing the tax and labor laws, I would order that employers with out of country workers pay the equivalent payroll tax on those workers at the rate a US worker would make. This would apply to call centers, software development and things like payroll and finance service (like Supervalu just outsourced). Plus a tariff on the work to make the "savings" to the company less.

[Miles Away]

StillBitter wrote:

So according to the H1B numbers, while Micron was laying off 1200 people last year they were getting 149 H1B visas approved. My feeling is any company that is having to downsize should NOT be granted any foreign worker visas PERIOD.
If I were writing the tax and labor laws, I would order that employers with out of country workers pay the equivalent payroll tax on those workers at the rate a US worker would make. This would apply to call centers, software development and things like payroll and finance service (like Supervalu just outsourced). Plus a tariff on the work to make the "savings" to the company less.

I agree - you have my vote!

[Happy To Be Gone]

Miles Away wrote:

<quoted text>
I agree - you have my vote!

The problem is that the internet allows people to trade over the internet without physical presence so isn't the H1B thing just a formality?

[Micron slave]

I just received my new insurance plan yesterday in the mail..What a crock of shit.. Pat Otte starts off by saying that this plan is gong to save the employee and Micron a lot of money, yet Micron's rate may of decreased but the weekly employee contribution did not. Where is the savings for the employee? I read through the prescription drug coverage and I still don't understand it.. They point you to a web site that is suppose to have all of the providers and the web site isn't available yet.. http://saintalphonsus.org/micron ..

They provide a link that requires a password.. No documentation on how to log into the site..Most of the doctors that my family uses are PPO and the benefits for PPO are outrages compared to the old plan.. The plan may be more flexible but I don't want to change my kids pediatrician that we have had for 10 years or my wife's doctor that she has been going to for several years. That is BS.

The employees keep getting ear holed. I wonder when MGT is going to take a hit. I'm one of the last ones left in my group that has the technical skills to get things done and mgt doesn't have a clue. There will be no way that I can take a new position in the new IS re-org because I would have nobody to do the work.. I bet I'll have four managers telling me what to do though..

I would like to know what other Micron employees think about the new insurance plan.

[Viper]

I'm not impressed. I got the package in the mail today as well. What about the folks that live in outlying areas? At the price of gas these days I cant afford to run my ass to St Alphonsus for care and need to utilize the facilities here in my locale!

I think Micron is crapping on its remaining people by the boat loads with little to no concern or care about the people that have made Micron what it was!

And, how many of the higher paid non useful management types have been let go?

Where is the corporate PLAN? Seems to me there is a bunch of assholes running around making all sorts of decissions because they have been "Empowered" but there is no one that is "Checking" what all the so called managers, etc are doing.

In short.. no one is being held responsible or accountable. The company sucks canal water now!

[StillBitter]

I see Stevie was performing in his Hawker Hunter at an airshow in Nampa this weekend. How clueless do you have to be to trot out your million $$ jet fighter in front of families you screwed over?

Too bad, no one showed up with a shoulder-launched SAM

[FiredUp]

Okay, I know this is only barely related, but did anyone notice that the Idaho Statesman, which reported and reported and reported on Micron layoffs, to the point of quoting this blog, is now laying employees off too, but has buried that fact deep inside a story about a "historic" agreement with the Press-Tribune in Nampa to share a printing press? While I appreciated the Statesman telling me what my own company wouldn't, I fear I must conclude that all managers are power-hungry liars, even when the pose as government watchdogs of the fourth estate.

[StillBitter]

Idaho Statesman reports Micron spent $310K on lobbying efforts in the first quarter, among the bills was raising the H1B visa limit.

YOU DON'T NEED H1Bs WHEN YOU ARE LAYING OFF THOUSANDS OF SKILLED WORKERS!!!!!

[ACDC]

I finally got to see the brochures for health insurance in the mail. It is confusing, to say the least and does seem to be lacking in some details. I am looking forward to seeing which doctors are going to be in their different networks. Looks like everyone is going to be paying more whether you are going in the network or not.
At least the COBRA premiums are staying the same for now. I also like it that they didn't drop Blue Cross Dental or Davis Vision.