Thread regarding Ricoh layoffs

Here it is as I see it. Been here thru the IKON/Ricoh route a very long time. That being said Ricoh is much better at keeping their strategy plans from leaking than IKON ever was. Anyway here are my observations and opinion why they are splitting into different companies.

I did some reading on the internet and found this is a strategy corporations use to structure units for sell off or to shutter them while insulating the parent company as much as possible.

Martin Brodigan was a very nice man but he adopted a strategy sold to him by consultants. That strategy didn't result in the growth promised. Implementing it k–led the companies most profitable income stream TS service revenue.
Ricoh is a manufacture so to stay profitable they need to sell machines constantly. They can't have them piling up in warehouse and loading docks. Honestly they don't care if it sold by Ricoh direct or a dealer. Although if dealer sells they lower their costs of getting it to end customer.
The "Services Led" strategy was intended to lock in the customer to Ricoh by selling them services other than hardware. The thinking was if a single customer had MS, PS, MPS contracts with Ricoh it would be too difficult for the customer to take on a different partner for hardware. As part of this strategy they allowed sales to discount service price without any consent from service. The promise was that hardware sales would grow and cover the service revenue loss. About 40% of deals sold below or near service costs. The equipment sales increases never materialized, so overall revenues / profits were greatly reduced.
Now with COVID shut downs it is predicted that a large percentage of print volume will never come back the traditional office environment.

By splitting off service it would create a situation where Sales is a customer of service. It could create a possibility for them to set up a reimbursement similar to how dealer are paid to service Ricoh accounts.

Super dealers are on the rise again. If Ricoh has a current dealer being bought up by these large dealers they risk their base being converted to other manufacture brands favored by the large dealer. Moving base to dealers they can set conditions and head off some of this from happening.

While other companies were starting to realize there was no margin in MS business Ricoh stepped on the gas as part of the "Services Led" strategy. These services have very low margins except for back file conversion which was what kept them afloat. A typical MS deal is well below 10% margin before management cost are added.
Splitting MS off it will create a sell off position or it could be shuttered like other companies have done.

Although I we haven't seen the pattern where I work. Production and commercial printing is expected to keep increasing. During COVID shut down and the furloughs in our area most of the production techs don't even have a single call to do each day. It's been that way since April. Surely someone higher up has to see this pattern as well. The question is since these are the highest paid service employees will they be spared by the next round of layoffs.

PS is very profitable business but Ricoh is a small player compared to others. I would expect to see some acquisitions to increase the presence in this segment. Solution sales and license fees are very profitable.

Didn't mean to right a book, but to summarize I expect Ricoh to go back to more traditional manufacture / dealer structure. Create a Commercial Print business like infoprint, cast off the less profitable unit by selling or closing them and grow the PS / Solutions unit by acquisition.

I'm along for ride as long as they have a spot for me

Ricoh is following a broken plan. There’s zero point in asking if you will be downsized because in all honesty at some point you probably will. They don’t tend to shed light on very much and they force managers to know but shut up and not say anything. If you are caught saying anything you are fired. Best decision I ever made was to get out of this toxic sh– hole.

I know two things for sure:

1. When they started the original layoffs (lols) or the sales ‘pocalyse as I call it. Ricoh set aside something like so many billions in mergers and acquisitions. Now we know this company broke. Who tf they gonna buy? So that is specifically for merging with another company.

2. In Louisiana home of the unfair and favoritism. RJ Young has started to move in which is Ricoh’s prime time selling buddy. Typically they wait a few years once they move in and then sell off the techs.

They will still sell their sh–ty equipment but they sell the four to six techs they got left to RJ Young which is so nice of them. This is the reason that some of their techs are finding other jobs.

Company is stupid. They want to offer something like 14 bucks and hour to work in a plant meanwhile the plants are closing due to COVID. Their brain is fried.

Walk don’t run away from this sh–ty company and avoid the favoritism that is so ramp bluntly out there.

I’ll end this just like my Area manager ended the conversation with an FSR who put in his two weeks notice.

Blah, blah, blah...

I still have that email. I’ve never seen such disregard for employees.

Why are you asking so many questions about salary, down-sizing and furloughing for technical trainers?

Before I left Ricoh, there were 9 weeks of furlough total for 2020. Has that changed?

So there were ‘technical trainers’ laid off , NOT furloughed in the state of Connecticut in the past 6 to 8 months of 2020 for Ricoh? Do you believe Ricoh will have a mass layoff come early 2021? Any idea what the average salary of a Ricoh employee with 10years working as a ‘technical trainer’ might make? Did you say most of these ‘technical trainers’ were pushed to work from home? Thank you

There were technician, service management and other support position lay off all over the country last August. There have been constant furloughs since March, it is up to 12 weeks now I believe. Furloughs are temporary, but layoffs are permanent. Technical Trainers tech new products to Ricoh technicians in a formal classroom setting. I understand there were some of these positions impacted by layoffs in August.
General feeling is that we will see another round of layoffs as the new structure is rolled out.

We’re there layoffs in Rocky Hill, Springfield or Glastonbury? Or was this strictly furloughs where all were hired back at this time?? To your knowledge what do ‘technical trainers’ do for Ricoh?
Thank you

There were company wide furloughs at ricoh during this time period, i believe they were up to 9 weeks for the year at last count. I know several techs in the western part of the state left.