Pacific Brands sackings/executive pay increases

[theasxgorilla]

It strikes me as very strange, giving an obscene pay rise to Execs of a company that is probably going down the gurgler. But I guess thats the way companies are run these days by the execs - short term avarice and greed, and take as much dosh as you can before sticking it up the shareholders.

It used to be that the way to become extraordinarily wealthy was to be an entrepreneur. Probably still is. But I would estimate that the last 10-15 years it has been a lot more efficient (with the exception of dotcom), in terms of effort required, to gain control of a company from the inside and extract wealth from it through extravagant salaries and bonuses. Yes you kill the goose that was laying the golden eggs, but how many golden eggs does one senior management team and board of directors need to be set up for life?

 

[prawn_86]

It used to be that the way to become extraordinarily wealthy was to be an entrepreneur. Probably still is. But I would estimate that the last 10-15 years it has been a lot more efficient (with the exception of dotcom), in terms of effort required, to gain control of a company from the inside and extract wealth from it through extravagant salaries and bonuses. Yes you kill the goose that was laying the golden eggs, but how many golden eggs does one senior management team and board of directors need to be set up for life?

Agree here G. Obviously either route is not 'easy' but to me it seems to have less risk to try and work ones way up a corporate ladder and hopefully get to those massively paid roles, than take a lot of risks starting ones own co, which you have no initial wage etc etc

 

[tigerboi]

Re:gutless politicians is our problem

Here i cropped the tb booties i think its a graphic illustration of how the numnuts we elect do not act in our interests by signing agreements with others who couldnt give a rats about our manufacturing industries,why should our workers go on the dole so overseas workers get a job?.

we the people should be having a referendum on such important matters of so called free trade both sides lib/nat & labour have acted against the national interests.

we cant compete with indentured slavery in these countries & shouldnt have to,the gutless politicians should slap a ban on any company importing anything from overseas such as pac brands intends to do,if we had pollies with balls these companies wouldnt do it.

if the people dont stand up then all we will be left with is us doing each others ironing...my rant over...tb

 

[numbercruncher]

Good to see more and more people recognising Globalisation as the failure that it is ......

Whats even worse in a welfare state like Australia is we are borrowing from the very nations taking our jobs to pay our unemployed ..... if it wasnt so serious you would think its a joke.

 

[tigerboi]

Good to see more and more people recognising Globalisation as the failure that it is ......

Whats even worse in a welfare state like Australia is we are borrowing from the very nations taking our jobs to pay our unemployed ..... if it wasnt so serious you would think its a joke.

yep the rest of the world trying to get here must think,what about those aussies are they dumb or what...welfare is 42% of gubment spending.i reckon we are getting set up for a rise in the gst to 15%.

cant wait for the treason trials...

john button(cancer caught up with this grub) minister in the hawke years took all the tariffs off & a senator to boot...unrepresenative swill a la keating,what happens when we run out of things to sell?

the only way out is to bring home the future fund(national scandal that our money is not used here) build the ord dam & pipe the water to parts of nsw,qld,sa,nt to turn us into the food bowl of the world,build an airport,already got the railway.great for the road transport industry as well,this is what our generation should give to the next .

now just need a politician with backbone & vision??someone like henry parkes or bradfield the harbour bridge builder,well ahead of his time that fellow as he built 10 lanes on the bridge,70 year later we got numbskulls who cant build a 3 lane highway both ways...tragic...TB

 

[theasxgorilla]

Good to see more and more people recognising Globalisation as the failure that it is ......

Failure? Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum. It was inevitable. It's here. It's not going anywhere.

 

[theasxgorilla]

Agree here G. Obviously either route is not 'easy' but to me it seems to have less risk to try and work ones way up a corporate ladder and hopefully get to those massively paid roles, than take a lot of risks starting ones own co, which you have no initial wage etc etc

And what it wreaks of to me isn't just greed but desperation. I think a lot of these old fatcats know that a decent standard of living in retirement, all 20-30 years of it, is going to require a lot more money than most people have. And so they're making desperate grabs for capital where it still exists, while they still can.

The world is frooted.

 

[prawn_86]

Good to see more and more people recognising Globalisation as the failure that it is ......

How has globalisation failed? The banking systems have failed due to greed, but there is a lot wider choice of products for consumers now, if the gov wants to sell of the farm/mine thats their problem. Globalisation would work evewn better if all countries had the same rules/regulations.

I would rather live in a globalised worl than have to rely on everything been produced (at probably a worse quality) more expensively in Aus

 

[tigerboi]

Re:Australian made goods are some of the best in the world

I would rather live in a globalised worl than have to rely on everything been produced (at probably a worse quality) more expensively in Aus

How do you arrive at that assumption?i would like to see this probably worse quality.what australian made product is worse quality than the imported cheap variety?the reason to go off shore is to cut labour costs & use inferior products to lower the price.

the reason goods manufactured in austraila are more expensive are because the quality is second to none & the workers get paid real wages.not indentured slavery.

maybe you should conduct your own globalisation survey by buying aussie made goods & the cheap imported brands give them a thrashing & see which one lasts the longest.

whats better a $5 chinese made hi vis work shirt that lasts 6 months or a $20 aussie made shirt that lasts for years?

costs 3/4 less lasts 10 times less...work it out

im going out to find this outrageous less australian quality!

 

[sinner]

Hi guys,

Here is your 4am update.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25150808-2702,00.html

Pacific in push for $7m grant

PACIFIC Brands is pressing ahead with a contentious plea for millions of dollars in extra taxpayer assistance, and the Rudd Government appears largely powerless to stop the company from getting most of the funding despite the loss of 1850 jobs.

In a move branded as "shameless" by unions, Pacific Brands yesterday offered to provide at least $1 million to help retrain its redundant workers, while confirming it was pursuing about $7 million in government grants.

Kevin Rudd said yesterday the company's decision to cut local jobs and shift its clothing manufacturing operations to China was "frankly, in so many respects, beyond the pale".

"In terms of the monies that they have got from the Government, we'll go through all of that in terms of what can be extracted back from them," the Prime Minister told Melbourne radio.

Pacific Brands responded by detailing its offer of a "seven-figure sum" to help retrain the redundant employees, while confirming it was pursuing its application for about $7 million in taxpayer grants.

The application seeks to have taxpayers reimburse the company's investment for research and development under the industry's Strategic Investment Program Scheme.

Under the scheme, companies are entitled to a proportion of what they invested in the previous financial year. Pacific Brands has already received $14.5 million from the two previous years.

"Yes, we have an application for funding," a company spokesman said.

"It's for money spent on Australian-based research and development."

A spokeswoman for Industry Minister Kim Carr said the grants process was "not a process the Government controls" and was "done at arm's length".

The spokeswoman said the only way the Government could claw back funding from Pacific Brands was if the company moved any factories or equipment offshore before 2015.

The company has said it does not intend to move any equipment offshore.

The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union said the company's strategy of offering to fund retraining while seeking more taxpayers funds would "only deepen the level of public anger and cynicism" towards the company.

"I think this company is absolutely shameless," said the union's national secretary, Michele O'Neil.

She said she had been approached by a number of businessmen about buying out either whole or parts of the business to keep manufacturing in Australia.

Ms O'Neil said the Government should continue to press the company to reverse its decision and, if that failed, broker serious discussions about selling it off to a local interest.

Workers from the Bonds factory at Wentworthville in Sydney yesterday held a rally to protest against the jobs cuts.

Union organiser Jim Owen said the workers wanted their entitlements protected.

"We've asked the company to put money into a trust fund so we know the entitlements are protected fully," he said.

Union officials restated their commitment not to allow machinery from the factories to be moved overseas by either rail, road, ship or air.

But a threatened product boycott has not been activated while officials work through options to try to save the jobs.

 

[Aussiejeff]

Hi guys,

Here is your 4am update.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25150808-2702,00.html

Pacific in push for $7m grant

Re: PacBrands pushing for a further $7 Million and the apparent impotence of the gummint to stop it, this response by the said impotent gummint says it all - how utterly PATHETIC our Oz gummint laws and controls are when it comes to accountability for public money spent ...

A spokeswoman for Industry Minister Kim Carr said the grants process was "not a process the Government controls" and was "done at arm's length".

Cheeses wept.... :angry:

 

[Aussiejeff]

[SIZE=+2]IT'S ALL OUR FAULT!!![/SIZE]

Apparently, according to head honcho Ms Morphet, Oz consumers are a snivelling bunch of tightwads.

AUSTRALIAN consumers are partly to blame for the demise of 1850 jobs at Pacific Brands, the company's chief executive says.

Sue Morphet last month announced the job cuts at the clothing company, which makes iconic brands Bonds, Berlei and King Gee, and the shift of some local manufacturing to China.

While she says she endured "sleepless nights'' and "anxiety'' before announcing the loss of so many jobs, a hard-nosed Ms Morphet says the rest of Pacific Brands was "propping up'' local clothing manufacture.

Speaking on the Nine Network's 60 Minutes program last night, Ms Morphet blamed clothing buyers in part for the decision.

"Long, long gone are the days when Australians are actually prepared to pay more for Australian-made goods,'' Ms Morphet said.

"The only time that we'll pay for Australian goods is if they are giving us something that buying elsewhere or cheaper isn't giving us.''

Stupid me. I could have helped save all those jobs if only I had rushed out and bought another 1,000,000 pairs of Jocks!

So, jail me....

 

[MrBurns]

I reckon she's right, those jobs would still be there if all the whingers bought Pacific Brands instead of the cheaper Chinese product, the only reason they're still in Australia at all is the Govt grants, otherwise why on earth would you produce a T shirt for $3 when you can get it done in China for
20c ?

Same goes for GMH it will happen one day.

The Media calling her the most hated woman in Australia what a bunch of absolute pimps and liars, most people know why this has happened, I mean they buy Chinese products dont they ?

 

[nomore4s]

She does have a point though.

What amuses me is the lady on 60min last whinging she had been betrayed most probably buys other brands that have moved production overseas without a thought to the Australian jobs lost.

 

[MrBurns]

She does have a point though.

What amuses me is the lady on 60min last whinging she had been betrayed most probably buys other brands that have moved production overseas without a thought to the Australian jobs lost.

Precisely.

 

[GumbyLearner]

[SIZE=+2]IT'S ALL OUR FAULT!!![/SIZE]

Apparently, according to head honcho Ms Morphet, Oz consumers are a snivelling bunch of tightwads.



Stupid me. I could have helped save all those jobs if only I had rushed out and bought another 1,000,000 pairs of Jocks!

So, jail me....

I have been buying chesty bonds singlets and jocks for decades.
So have have others in my family for generations.

Sue Morphett is an arrogant retard.

 

[nomore4s]

Sue Morphett is an arrogant retard.

Why? Because she made a hard decision for the benefit of her company?

What's she meant to do, let the company lose profitability and risk losing more Aussie jobs? She also has share holders to answer to as well.

It's easy to critise from this side of the fence, but to me at least it looks like they explored every avenue to try to keep production here in Aus but the numbers just didn't stack up.

 

[MrBurns]

Sue Morphett is an arrogant retard.

No ...no, you're confused.

Keven Rudd is an arrogant retard.

Sue Morphett on the other hand is a very smart woman running a huge company and has to protect it.

If all her competitors are off shore what is she supposed to do ?, sorry Gumby but you just dont use enough jocks to make up for the losses they incur by staying in Australia.

To expect any company to set up shop simply to give Australians jobs is naive and stupid.

If it can be done better elsewhere tough..........they don't run a charity.

 

[GumbyLearner]

Why? Because she made a hard decision for the benefit of her company?

What's she meant to do, let the company lose profitability and risk losing more Aussie jobs? She also has share holders to answer to as well.

It's easy to critise from this side of the fence, but to me at least it looks like they explored every avenue to try to keep production here in Aus but the numbers just didn't stack up.

She is an arrogant retard because it is her responsibility to market the products of the company. Consumers are a pretty fickle bunch these days and unless you market something and introduce new products or novel ways to adapt your products, Consumers will simply not buy them.

That arrogant retard should take some responsibility for the demise of her own company including the years of assistance it received from the taxpayer.

I stand by what I said earlier.
Sue Morphett is an arrogant retard!

http://business.theage.com.au/business/goodman-learns-tough-lessons-20090322-95pa.html

FOR Peter Margin, managing director of food group Goodman Fielder, there are lessons to be learnt from Pacific Brands. The clothing manufacturer and retailer got itself into a position where several brands had low sales and a few main brands brought in most of the revenue.

For Mr Margin, managing brands is crucial. "You can't afford to have sub-scale brand equity out there," he said. "In two years, you should have 20-25 per cent of revenue from new products. You have to turn over the products pretty rapidly. Consumer tastes change pretty quickly. You've got to be able to respond."

 

[MrBurns]

She is an arrogant retard because it is her responsibility to market the products of the company. Consumers are a pretty fickle bunch these days and unless you market something and introduce new products or novel ways to adapt your products, Consumers will simply not buy them.

That arrogant retard should take some responsibility for the demise of her own company including the years of assistance it received from the taxpayer.

I stand by what I said earlier.
Sue Morphett is an arrogant retard!

ROFL............hahahahaha ok buy these jocks at $8 and dont buy the exact same ones next to them made in China for $5, wow market your way out of that one smarty pants.

The only reason they are in Australia at all is Govt grants, wake up.