Thread regarding Mattel Inc. layoffs

FP is likely done

Phase one of the full FP campus dismantling is apparently underway. Rumor has it that the hill has been sold, likely the houses and cabin on Girard as well to go with it. Ynot comes to town October 7th and just added an M&A/ private equity leader. Buckle up this nasty ride is no where near over.

by
| 2604 views | | 24 replies (last October 12, 2024) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1utna1lM

24 replies (most recent on top)

Injury to a child is a “bottom line” issue , not a statistical game. Mr. Fisher and Mr. Price would not approve of this bottom line or how their company got there. Leave it up to 5th floor, 12th floor and 15th to achieve this bottom line. I’m sure shareholders are not ok with this outcome.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @uvyk+1utna1lM

@sfnz+1utna1lM

It's actually probably much lower than a 0.000002% chance considering these swings are large, expensive items that are much more likely to be sold or given to a friend or donated to a thrift store.

That means many of these swings, maybe even the majority, are used by several babies before ultimately ending up in a landfill. So, you're probably looking at a risk factor closer to 1 in 100 million.

Plus, if @tpbd+1utna1lM is right, that means there were zero issues with these swings when used properly. FP should have fought this and refused to do a recall.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @ueoz+1utna1lM

Message stated all deaths were due to misuse. People adding extra blankets and not buckling the children in. Same as the rock and play. And yet FP will be raked for it.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @tpbd+1utna1lM

Not to be insensitive, but is it really fair to call these swings that are being recalled unsafe?

They recalled 2,000,000 swings due to 5 deaths. If you do the math, even if each swing was only used a single time, that's a 0.00025% chance of it causing a death.

But when you consider each time a swing was used that resulted in a death, let's say the average swing is used twice a day over a two-month period on average, you're looking at a 0.000002% chance of a baby dying in a swing.

That corresponds to a probability of about 1 in 50 million. A baby is more likely to be ki-led from a meteorite strike than in one of these swings.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @sfnz+1utna1lM

2 million more infant products recalled. Sounds like the 5th floor is continuing to mess things up.” Churn” is what this is called .

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @smkw+1utna1lM

@mboj+1utna1lM there was a company email sent out saying the houses will be put up for sale.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @nfjt+1utna1lM

No homes on Girard are for sale on any real estate sites I saw.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @mboj+1utna1lM

The houses on Girard are going up for sale! OP clearly has insider info!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @kgxo+1utna1lM

I don’t know, but presumably the baby/toddler/preschool space is doing better than toys for older kids, seeing as how preschoolers aren’t asking their parents for Fortnite V-Bucks or Robux as Christmas gifts.

Do kids over the age of 6 even play with toys these days?

Seems as though most would rather spend their free time watching an endless stream of 30 second brain-rot videos or play sh**ty mobile games on their iPads.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @idpi+1utna1lM

serious questions. in general, how's the preschool toy industry doing? how are FP competitors doing in the same preschool/toddler space?

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @hgbw+1utna1lM

This posters comments are utter bullsh-t;

“ You mean the EA FP culture where they work on two items a year and where no one can be found after 3:00 when it is hockey season. Where half day Fridays means 3-day weekend. It was this FP culture that sc--wed up year-round half day Fridays for all of us. The toy industry is very familiar with the EA FP culture that is why so few of them find jobs in other toy companies when they are laid off.”
This type of comment is typical of what you would expect from a delusional Mattel employee unwilling to accept blame for how Mattel destroyed FP. I won’t even start to get into the slackers that design products at Mattel…because there are no real designers there, but project managers that delegate work to china. That was the opposite of how product was designed at FP. Then the same process for the most part was imposed at FP. But the true talent still remains there and many are the most talented within the industry with a far greater work ethic and dedication than anyone working at Mattel!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @hiek+1utna1lM

They did the exact same thing to American Girl a once premium quality brand destroyed by incompetence and greed. Both companies were flourishing before Mattel acquired them. It’s awful how a piranha like Mattel can blame its subsidiaries for underperforming when they in fact are to blame!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @gjfu+1utna1lM

To all you know it alls out there, Mattel designers haven’t put out any product of real significance in years, so get off of your high horse and show some consideration before bashing your fellow designers at FP. Let’s get back to the real issue here and that is how the mismanaged business model at Mattel slowly but surely destroyed FP’s ability to be competitive. Simply put, Mattel turned a quality and value producing toy company into one selling absolute cr-p.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @gvks+1utna1lM

When was the last time FP could claim to have put out a bona fide hit product?

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fynd+1utna1lM

Be honest with yourselves; if there was a hit design coming out of FP, something new and fresh, we all know that Mattel would be behind it and would push it hard. EA just doesn't have it anymore and needs to be shut down. The old girl isn't what she was, and the industry has evolved well beyond what they are putting out.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fzfi+1utna1lM

And the saddest thing of all is that very young children (and infants) are Mattel's most consistent customers.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @8ysr+1utna1lM

As much as I'd love to blame Mattel, FP designers haven't churned out anything of note other than recall items in the past 5-10 years. Previous management has invested in ridiculous celebrity collaborations that have yielded so little in the results that it's pitiful. People don't move on from EA because where else can they go in that area? Yes, Mattels cost reductions and leadership cronies haven't helped, but the designers in Buffalo are just subpar at best.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @8qmh+1utna1lM

You mean the EA FP culture where they work on two items a year and where no one can be found after 3:00 when it is hockey season. Where half day Fridays means 3-day weekend. It was this FP culture that sc--wed up year-round half day Fridays for all of us. The toy industry is very familiar with the EA FP culture that is why so few of them find jobs in other toy companies when they are laid off.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @7akg+1utna1lM

@6bab+1utna1lM I get what you're saying about FP culture. I worked at FP for many years but left for greener pastures about a decade ago. Even back then, the writing was on the wall.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @6icz+1utna1lM

Last poster, if you understood the culture at FP you would understand why employees are deciding to stay. It is what separates FP from the bullsh-t that has always existed since Mattel acquired them. FP’s culture has always endured the infestation that is Mattel…unfortunately there is little that can be done if Mattel decides to shut her down.
At the very least FP will always be known as an amazing toy company, incompetently mismanaged by its parasite Mattel.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @6bab+1utna1lM

So why does Mattel get a new IT, HR, Chief Strategist and Investor Relations EVP’s….. maybe the old one weren’t so a very good job. Stock is mired in a sh!th@le almost a decade now. Gave CEO new grants for 15 million, Revenue goes down, promote and give bonuses to underachievers…. Institutional investors being taken to the cleaners. Employees getting the shaft.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @4nak+1utna1lM

The meeting on the 7th is for pod structure and those buildings are not being used enough to justify keeping them. But by all means spread rumors and fear for no reason. I’ll be back on the 8th to call you out.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @xwk+1utna1lM

Serious question for any folks still working at FP, why haven't you found a new job somewhere else by now? Why remain on a sinking ship? Do you feel like the frog in the pot of water that's slowly being brought to a boil? Are you committed to sticking it out in hopes of having a hand in righting the ship? Have you just endured so many rounds of layoffs that you've become numb to it all?

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @szq+1utna1lM

It’s so sad how mattel has destroyed such a good company

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @gtg+1utna1lM

Post a reply

: