Micron Technology announced a net loss of $225 million ($0.29 per diluted share) on net sales of $1.3 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2007, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. The company also announced that Mark Durcan, chief operating officer, has been appointed president and COO. Durcan, 46, was appointed Micron’s COO in early 2006.
16 Comments
This from another website:
"The company is pursuing a number of initiatives to drive greater cost efficiencies and revenue growth across its operations," the release continues later. "These initiatives include developing production cost efficiencies closer in location to Micron’s global customers, evaluating functions more efficiently performed through partnerships or other outside relationships and reducing the company’s overhead costs to meet or exceed industry benchmarks. Micron is also exploring opportunities to leverage the company’s industry-leading technology and diversified product portfolio to accelerate revenue growth and increase shareholder value. While some elements of these initiatives will be effected immediately, others will take multiple quarters to implement."
Doesn't take a genius to read between these lines.
Comment By Ryan Thursday, June 28, 2007 @ 2:37 PM
Wow! Zilog, Jabil, SCP, Albertson's, and WGI gone in the past 7 years. MPC, HP and Boise Cascade having serious reductions in workforce. Looks like Micron is next. All we have left are Simplot, Idaho Power, St. Lukes and St. Als. Is anyone scared yet?
Anyway, thank god we had Rodger Madsen running the Department of Commerce and Labor. I can't even imagine where we'd be without all the "wonderful" work he did promoting our State. I mean, can you imagine what we'd be like without all these $10/hr call centers?!?! Note to future Governors: Don't put a career politician in charge of your business development arm.
Comment By Alex Thursday, June 28, 2007 @ 3:23 PM
Roger Madsen doesn't know how to use e-mail, and has never seen a low-wage job he didn't love (or an uppity female he didn't want to boot).
Alex, the first 5 companies you cited are just the warm-up act for Idaho's coming decade.
Comment By Tom P Thursday, June 28, 2007 @ 3:50 PM
Tom P, do you think it is too late? Have we, as a community, taken for granted the success of our private sector? What can be done? Does BVEP have enough funds and the right staff to help promote our valley? Is 2.8% unemployment a sign that we can't attract people to our city? I won't even ask about the legislature or the Governor stepping up to be progressive thinking. Somehow they they think supporting the agriculture industry will help keep this state in the black.
Comment By Alex Thursday, June 28, 2007 @ 3:56 PM
Our problems are political. An ag-centric, commodity-centric legislature that's written massive tax subsidies for themselves at the expense of everyone else. A state where education, the #1 metric for a healthy 21st century economy, is routinely on the verge of starvation. Where no town or city can wipe its ass without permission of the legislature...the list goes on & on. You can't hide this stuff, the world will find out...has found out.
Comment By Tom P Thursday, June 28, 2007 @ 4:36 PM
It's not all doom and gloom. We have some great small and mid-sized companies making progress. I think recruiting companies is great to do, but more importantly we need to support our current companies as much as possible. The community college was a big victory and might go along way to creating a more educated high-tech work-force. We have the incubator starting up. We have Tech Boise which is a fabulous idea with major potential. We need to grow companies here and I see real progress being made.
Keep in mind that call-centers do have higher paying jobs. It's not all 10 bucks an hour. A lot of them become business transaction centers with IT employees and managers... I know a lot of local small companies do well servicing the centers. Food service, construction firms, etc. Plus they provide entry level jobs for young people. It’s a good place to learn basic professional business skills.
I don't know how we clean up the backwards legislature with all the rural communities in this state voting on the 'moral issues' that don't really matter. Check out the book ‘What’s The Matter With Kansas?’ for a peek into that dynamic. It seems impossible to fix. We as a ‘progressive city’ need to take matters into our own hands and I think we’re starting to do that.
Comment By Ray Thursday, June 28, 2007 @ 5:13 PM
Ray, thanks for the complement. TechBoise's just getting going. I agree with Alex's sentiment to. Our support is going to have to come from the private sector. We don't have time to wait for our legislative body (the oldest in the country BTW) to figure out what's paying their salaries (even the rural ones) it's not ag.
Part of the problem is that means small businesses have to learn to give even more of their scarce time to helping each other and working together.
We have to learn to pitch in, DO SOMETHING, besides just talking and complaining. That's the politicians job.
Comment By Tac Anderson Thursday, June 28, 2007 @ 5:56 PM
Alrighty then, we are making progress. Tac, congratulations, you are straddling the chasm. Talking, complaining, bad mouthing people and organizations are not positive move forward activities. Every morning ask yourself "what is the one thing I could do today that will move things forward?" and DO IT. Don't whine that it is hard or wait for someone to give you permission, DO IT. Those who DO IT will make a difference, those who talk won't. Let's focus on what we can do not on what THEY can't or won't do. Again,"what is the one thing I can do today that will make a difference?" What if ten or fifty or 100 people did this everyday? DO IT!!!!
Comment By Rick Ritter Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 5:55 AM
Listen to Reverend Rick, folks- there are things each one of us can do. Today. Maybe start with just having one conversation about how we can grow businesses. Not start businesses [we're good at that] but starting ventures that will grow (or growing existing ones). What is one little thing that *I* can do?
And Tac - maybe time for a shameless* plug for "your" magazine issue (or at least posting the article drafts on TechBoise.com?)
* shameless only because I wrote a couple prospective 'hand grenades' (preprints available, LOL)
Comment By Norris Krueger Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 10:36 AM
p.s.
Now is the time for optimism - realistic optimism, yes, but the glass is just as half-full as it was yesterday.
And maybe now we have a galvanizing event like Wild Bill talks about - something that catalyzes us, just like North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, et al.
There are plenty of things that can be done that we know how to do, don’t cost much at all - we just need to choose to do them. Little things, even.
I've seen these practices work across the US and across the globe (just saw this in that well-known capitalist paradise, Sweden. Even they get it.)
Again, there is a set of best practices that we can draw on... if we choose to.
How can I help?
nk
Comment By Norris Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 1:13 PM
What can you do is the question?
One thing I've been trying to consciously do is provide free consulting to friends and acquaintances who have started businesses. While I don’t claim absolute expertise I am strong in certain areas that are essential to growing a business. I’ve helped individuals, small businesses and even several bigger companies make decisions that have and will wrangle in more business. A couple hours of your time once a week or month can make a BIG difference.
In my own business life I have projects that currently bring money into Boise and potentially more jobs. I’m straddling between several businesses with different partners and each one is growing. I personally don’t like the idea of managing employees and offices, so without going into details, I plan to spin these projects off and staff them with local people. It’s win-win. I make money from my ideas and provide jobs and money for the community I care about.
I’ve said on here before, but I think one of the big solutions is getting creative entrepreneurial people together and focused on a higher mission of making Boise a better, deeper and more diverse economy (which is starting to happen). However, while personal enrichment is always the top end-goal (let’s not lie to ourselves, we’re in this to make money), it’d be nice if we could place the health of the community equal or near it… Business seems to lack ethics anymore… I realize there are many external pressures which create uncontrollable dynamics and it’s technically illegal, at least with public companies, not to put profibility first…. But we need to return to business ethics in this country, not rhetoric, but real ethics that are applied in all decision making processes. The old legacy companies here in Boise were founded in values, and ethics and larger missions and we’ve lost these companies because we’ve fallen away from true values and rendered it all to Caesar. (Albertson's comes to mind) I realize it’s a complex, grey and wide-spread, not just localized, issue, but regardless, we should still inject ethics into these discussions. I know it can seem tangential to this discussion, but I see it as related… higher minded missions and shared community ethics drive solidarity and progress… strong ethics ALWAYS seem to lead to positive results.
Comment By Ray Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 3:31 PM
Ray and others, when and where. Let's get started or continue. Let's start with all the ideas we can muster in about an hour. No complaints, whining, pointing fingers just ideas. Then let's all sign on to one thing each and roll up our sleeves and DO IT. Use the group to discover how and when. Who is in????
Comment By Rick Ritter Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 3:34 PM
In. (Old Boy Scout lesson: when the tinder gets sparked, don't wait to bring in the kindling, LOL)
Will bring best practices list. (Or post it, if Tac will permit)
If necessary, will bring beer.
NK norris.krueger@gmail.com; 440-3747
Comment By Norris Krueger Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 3:52 PM
Count me in. Who should I e-mail?
Comment By Ray Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 1:47 AM
I have no life, Ray - LOL - email me, if you like. A couple people already have.
Unclear about schedules with lots of folks out of town this weekend, others next weekend - but we can start, eh?
Let's start with coffee after work (Monday, 5:30, Dawson-Taylor, downtown?) In fact, simply getting people together every week is a good place to start - one of Rick's "little things" to just do.
A parallel thread going at www.techboise.com - you might keep an eye on that. Info is likely to be posted over there.
norris.krueger@gmail.com
Comment By Norris Krueger Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 8:31 AM
Here comes the tough love… it needs to be voiced.
Business in Boise will continue to be average unless there is a serious commitment at the individual level for excellence.
Get to work people!
It is a very nice Saturday to be off work. However, the few of us who have made the commitment and bring passion and results to our business are at work today, right now. Those of you who complained the loudest yesterday… where are you today? Floating the river? Your actions speak loudly about your priorities. What you do now makes all the difference between ordinary and outstanding.
I’ve heard that doing average work is really tiring, and requires a couple of days off every week to recuperate. I’m reading about time-off in the posts above, and this tells me a lot about heart and sacrifice in times of need and action. Pick up the pace folks, you can do better, and you will have to do better to win the battles you are talking about winning -dig deeper within yourself to strive for excellence- and do it today.
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