Friday, February 17, 2012

Kinetic Concepts Inc. to Lay Off 114 in San Antonio After Leveraged Buyout


This story caught my attention because the scenario is very similar to the one that caused my father to be laid off for six months back in 1986: a leveraged buyout attempt by a UK based equity firm. My dad was eventually rehired. These folks may not be so lucky, as reported My SA.com:
San Antonio-based medical devices and biotechnology firm Kinetic Concepts Inc. announced 127 layoffs on Tuesday, 114 of them in San Antonio, most involving administrative positions, as the company realigns its three business units.

The company employs about 7,100 globally, 2,100 in San Antonio. The layoffs account for a little more than 5 percent of the San Antonio workforce and less than 2 percent companywide. The 13 layoffs outside of San Antonio involved positions within the United States.

The layoffs mainly eliminated positions in finance, human resources, information technology and corporate communications. To a lesser degree, layoffs occurred in marketing and research and development, a corporate spokesman said.
Okay, lay some corporate FlackSpeak on me:
“Throughout our 35-year history, we've been a stable employer and provided good jobs to thousands of employees — even during the global economic challenges of the past few years. With the changing landscape in healthcare, and with an eye toward the future, we need to match our workforce to the needs of the business and our customers.

“We will continue to maintain a significant employee base in San Antonio and look forward to opening our new global headquarters here this summer,” the statement concluded.

KCI last year acquired 8.3 acres at 12930 Interstate 10 West, south of Hausman Road, where a three-story, 100,000-square-foot building is being built for its new headquarters.

The layoffs follow the November leveraged buyout of KCI by a group led by London-based private equity firm Apax Partners. The deal was valued at $6.1 billion.
So typical...the billionaires play their buyout games and the workers get the shaft. That's how it is in our crony capitalist system these days.


Bonus: "Games people play...you take it or you leave it. The things that they say don't make it right"

7 comments:

  1. Sometimes things just change, and businesses go bankrupt. I was surprised today to talk to some fellow travelers and find out how many of them eat, not at restaurants, but in their rooms. Most hotels now provide refrigerators and microwaves in their rooms, and it is so much easier to just get something in the supermarket and heat it than to go out. So, it's not always the economy that smashes businesses, sometimes it's just that people's habits change.

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    1. Easier? Or less expensive? Because I have travelled on business plenty of times and received reimbursement for meals. Why would I cook my own food on a business trip if the company was still paying?

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    2. Why? Because it's so simple and quick. All of the travelers I was talking to were going to be reimbursed for food costs, no matter where they got it. My point was that people are making different choices now than they did 10-20 years ago. Back then, you were weird if you ate in your room.

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    3. Sorry, but I'm not buying it. I don't know anyone who wouldn't rather go out to a nice restaurant on the company's dime than sit in a lonely hotel room eating something they cooked themselves.

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    4. Most people that don't spend 25 weeks on the road don't understand. It's funny, I can eat out with my wife at home and it's enjoyable,while traveling it sucks

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    5. KCI especially in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a lousy company and deserves everything it gets....I work at one of the downtown hospitals in Pittsburgh and their service sucks and is downright dangerous...They are continuously bringing contaminated equipment into our hospital and god only knows how many staff infections they have caused...Their workers in PA. are stressed out and way over worked...KCI is a joke at UPMC

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  2. I too sometimes choose to buy fast food or make microwave stuff and relax in peace and privacy instead of eating in some overpriced restaurant. Even if the company is paying, who wants a 2000 calorie meal after getting to the room at 9:00 at night. I think it is prudent once in awhile to NOT spend every dime of your per diem. W.C.C.

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