Thread regarding Micron Technology Inc. layoffs

This company needs to make some money so we can get a raise.

With every year that passes the more likely we will be out of a job with this company. I see it in so many ways every day. Look back just a few short years. Has anything changed in your area of work? Has it changed for the better? Even with this last layoff there is such uneasiness that still lingers in our work area. This is not good.

To all who lost their jobs I am very sorry it has happened.

With that said, was this really a surprise to anyone? I agree some of the decisions made were grossly unfair. But what this really a surprise? I had a chat with a friend the day before the Layoff sent to all of us in that chilling email. I predicted it for weeks and called it happening the day before. Does anyone read industry news or follow the stock of the company (even if you are not into stock or don't care about semiconductors outside of your paycheck). Not reading industry news and following the company's stock is a lethal mistake:

1. The stock hit rock bottom and was at the same at is was in 2013 (last layoff)

2. It's the end of a fiscal Q3

Do you think it was pure coincidence that CEO Mark sent his email announcing layoffs a split second after the Q3 earning report went public? Do you think he did this to give us a warning. No, there are angry investors demanding answers, the press rumoring about layoffs before it is announced by a CEO looks really bad, and people want answers for what the company is going to do about a terrible Q3.

We all know that semiconductor industry is extremely market driven, at least most of us do. But I just nod my head with other co-workers, both young and old (especially engineers- you should know better) who say they don't read industry news. Do you know that Intel, Cisco Systems, HP, and IBM took huge hits with layoffs this year? Wake up people. This was no surprise.

I saw a variety of people lets go

Super-performers in headcount heavy departments (which is a section lead's fault or fault of low attrition)

People in roles that aren't essential to fab production (HR, Purchasing, Training etc)

Managers that have direct reports who are autonomous skilled engineers (your direct reports are super skilled and you can't do their job, they need little to no supervision)

New hires with lackluster performance

Experienced 15-20+ year vets (the fact of the matter is if you aren't very well connected with Upper level Boise management or literally irreplaceable due to your skill set, experience and working at multiple Micron fabs you are not safe)

We all learn lessons here. One is to be learned here.

Moore's Law is ending (The size of a transistor shrinks by half every 2 year, quantum effects do no allow it after a certain point) 3D Crosspoint, and Hybrid memory Cube will not save us in my opinion they will not mature fast enough and Samsung will beat us to the mark.

Rock's Law is in affect (The price of building a new semiconductor fab doubles every 2 years, and note fabs cost billions to build - yes billions not millions) So we need cheap labor. And that why is everything going to Asia?

Take is from our industry leader Intel.....building a fab in make 3D memory (since Moore's law is over)....and where? China. Google it.

I survived this layoff and the last one from not just getting 4s and 5s but from doing my homework, outside of work. I will be leaving the industry soon.

I just got laid off, but I feel sorry for those that are left. Every day will be more rumors a small raise, if any. lack of work, more new process to learn with no positive results, more testing. larger shared cost of benefits, little work and on and on. Get out while you can. Don't let Micron make you a victim in the next round of lay offs. Take control of your own financial future before Micron cuts your legs out from under you with the next lay off. Oh they're done with lay offs? You must be kidding......

If you are a Micron employee, I would suggest in the strongest way to really understand how the company is doing with all of their projects and their immediate plans for the direction they feel the company needs to move in. Their future is very shaky. The stock may go up, but your pay won't and your job security won't. If or when they do finally give a raise, what do you think it will be? A dollar an hour? Two dollars? Yeah Right!!!!! Make plans now to prepare yourself for life without Micron. Next time it will be YOU!!!!!

I was walked out yesterday. All three operators that were let go make about $13.00 an hour. The eight or nine planners that were spared any lay off in their dept. average about $50,000. So now the dept. has about nine planners making $50,000 with very, very, little work and when they release orders for the operators to do there is even less operators to process them.So now there will be planners coming to work getting paid to really do nothing and that financial drain will result in another lay off again in a reasonably short time; and around and around we go. I am so happy to have left now, because things are going to get significantly worse. Laying off people produces no more work for the others to do. It just keeps less people around to do nothing. Is that"forward " thinking?

If they can make it through the next fiscal year I will be surprised. I worked in emerging memory (I won't be specific so as to not put myself) until I took the recent severance package. All of the new architecture is for the most part a complete bust. SXP will be a complete disaster and will never make it to market. Add on top of that the complete and utter patent infringement the PE (product engineering) team committed, that alone could cost Micron 250+ million. I think Harvard filed the lawsuit last month, I'm not sure though I know it's been a concern for a while with people scrambling to tweak processes. I will say with a 100% confirmation the original concept and idea came from the Harvard research. If I had been devious I would have forwarded the internal email chains to Harvard before I quit. This isn't the only time it's happened, it happens all the time in PE.

I'm not sure they make it 5 more years. The next downturn will do them in.