Why the piecemeal approach? Can't be very good for morale of those still remaining. Principal Financial Cuts 40 Jobs - Money News Story - KCCI Des Moines
More cuts at Principal
- Thread starter Ms3r4ISU
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'positions for continued strength and growth' = and makes us more attractive to potential buyers.
after cutting 600 jobs, they are now eligible for about 2 billion dollars in federal bailout funds. Cut 600 jobs and get rewarded by the government. I bet those 600 people are excited to have helped their former place of employment with a large sum of bailout money.
I would like to hire approximately 600 CF posters for my business. The pay will not be competitive ($1/annum) and you will be fired after a few days on the job. However, you will also not be required to do much for work. After collecting my bailout funds I will be hosting a large tailgate this fall with free food for all former employees (nominal charge for beverages.)
There must be a bigger story here with the extensive layoffs occurring every week. They are one of only six insurance companies qualified for TARP Trap money. The company must be in worst shape than we thought.
Prudential Among Insurers Cleared for U.S. Bailout (Update2) - Bloomberg.com
Prudential Among Insurers Cleared for U.S. Bailout (Update2) - Bloomberg.com
You don't know what you're talking about. Show me a company that has the money to buy Principal....
600 out of 10,000 is a pretty small percentage when you compare to others in their peer group...
Depends on which department you work in. I know of departments where morale is pretty good....
Thought I heard 40 on the radio in Omaha. They must have said 600. Sorry. For Des Moines, those are high paying jobs, but obviously some investments have gone south for the company. Are they in the derivatives market?
How long have you worked for Principal, mpls? :wink:
I'm with the others that say I don't understand the gradual layoffs. I know some people that work there that are always in fear of losing their jobs. I'm really glad I don't have to deal with the anxiety they do.
I'm with the others that say I don't understand the gradual layoffs. I know some people that work there that are always in fear of losing their jobs. I'm really glad I don't have to deal with the anxiety they do.
While I do not agree with the gradual layoffs either, I think people are jumping the gun in deciding how good or bad of shape the company is in, when really they do not know what they're talking about.
Yes things are down, but they've posted profits (albiet smaller) while others (Aegon, Hartford, etc) have posted losses.
Some people are worried about PFG being sold. The Market Cap is $5.0 billion. I can't think of a single bank or insurance company that has an extra $5.0 billion lying around as they're all needing to raise more capital: either due to government stress tests or pressure from the analysts and shareholders.
Actually, even if the banks raise that extra $60 billion in capital, the opinion of some (including myself) is that it won't be large enough, because we haven't bottomed out yet.
I'm not saying everything is peaches and cream, but when you look at the industry as a whole, and the size (or lack thereof) PFG is doing OK relativley speaking.
As far as people getting worried about being laid off, IMO, people know whether what they are working on is a priority for the company or a luxury.
Some areas who make fees off their AUM have had their AUM cut in half due to economic conditions. You'd be crazy to think they could support that size of staff, and people on those staffs know it, IMO.
Something that doesn't get mentioned is PFG gives generous (compared to the industry) severace and these people do get a 2 week notice.
In comparison, I had a friend in Minneapolis who got laid off last week. They called her in a conference room, told her she was gone, escorted her to her car right then, and she couldn't even say goodbye to her team (she has 9 direct reports). HR grabbed all of her stuff while they were telling her. Also, the company found a way to fire her instead of lay her off (called her insubordinate, which is the only way they can fire someone who doesn't have any written or verbal warnings), so she won't get any kind of severance.
Overall, things are down no doubt. It sucks that people are losing their job. My point is that many other companies in the industry are handling this worse than PFG.
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Two things make little sense when reading this comment.
1 -- the TARP money is a loan, so they wouldn't be approved if they were in such bad shape they couldn’t pay it back.
2 -- if you read the article(s), it clearly states that Principal was eligible for this due to the fact they have a bank (i.e.….Principal Bank). This money is part of the bank related TARP funds and only companies that met the qualification could apply. There was even talk of some insurers looking to buy a bank so the could qualify for these TARP funds.
Anyway, they are "only one of six insurance companies" because the criteria for approval is pretty strict. They had to show they were financially healthy enough to pay it back and they also had to have a banking affiliation to allow them to qualify in the first place.
