Well, i guess we all knew it was inevitable.
26 replies (most recent on top)
want to know the funny part about all this. the folks that will be joining this site all disgruntled and angry will be the same people who stop returning texts your calls when you were let go. NOW they’ll be looking to reconnect and get a reference. going to be a lot of no’s coming their way
Is anyone else worried about the EA office going down this route in the next 2-3 years too?
I've heard from the folks down there that maybe 1/3rd of the folks in NYC at most were offered relocation to ES, but no one was offered EA (or MEGA for that matter)
Good luck everyone.
i called it 3 months ago and you all called me a troll. No fat holiday barbie for you s---as.
We close NYC but we keep an office open an hour from El Segundo that makes crayons that we lose money on?
amen. a blind man could have seen this coming. NYC is the first casualty of mattel’s incompetence. Guess your reassurances of no layoffs were shot to hell, huh? serves you all right.
www.retaildive.com/news/mattel-to-shutter-new-york-office/521003/
Love or hate him, Neil was the last great toy guy that ran that place with insight and knowledge of the industry. Just as Mattel discarded him ( a toy hall of famer) they did the rest with most everyone else since. Why anyone is surprised at the turn of events and current state of Mattel is beyond me. No surprises here unfortunately. I do feel bad for everyone there, no one deserves this, but to be not be prepared for this inevitable outcome is just ignorant and flat out denial.
Not surprising but sad that the NYC office is going away. It was such a great atmosphere back when Neil Friedman ran it.
I don’t think Mattel will try to relocate FP Core. I think the more likely move is for them to sell it off at this point, which could end up being great for them.
ES will never close unless the company folds. EA is next by end of this year. Mattel will also file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. I warn you now.
No doubt East Aurora will be next .... but only because it would make way TOO much financial sense to move the sinking ship from El Segundo to the ever so much cheaper location!
I specifically asked this in my discussion with HR, and that is not the case here. If you turn down the offer to relocate, you will get the package; at least that’s what I personally heard.
It seems a high percentage of employees were offered relocation, but not all. Those who were have 2 weeks to decide.
Staff will leave at different times, from mid-July to end of August. A few people who are not being relocated may stay on a few months later to support transitions; as I understand, it would not be out of the current NYC office, but possibly a smaller one, or working from home.
Best wishes to all affected by this. You WILL get through this and things WILL be better for you!
Do people offered to transfer who turn it down get no package? (Ie just told they have a few months to find a job while working?). Because then they just got a raw deal compared to those laid off - have to look while working, no outplacement services, possibly less time given when covered , and competing for jobs against everyone else use in same position. Mattel did this to half of marketing a few years ago in east aurora where they told them all their positions were moving to El Segundo and people could move. Only one person did. It resulted in little work getting done as people were technically employed but looking for new work and bitterness as they had to train new people on their jobs. Wishing everyone well.
When is it being shut down?
MGo gotta make her bank is why. Bye bye New York. I think her job is actually to wind the company down.
Seems like just NYC for the time being.
So after all the meetings that took place today, who is being offered roles to stay on?
Is East Aurora impacted? Or just NYC?
grab everything you can that isn’t nailed down from now until august. be smart. get your ebay stash ready because unemployment pays garbage.
ES should be the next to close. They are at fault for this whole mess
My heart absolutely breaks for all of my old friends in NYC. Some cannot re-locate and others are past the age of gainful employment in the marketplace. I do hope they are taken care of though I do not see how in the company dismal state.
Are they keeping any office at all in NYC? There are still active job postings on corporate site!
Sorry to hear guys, really am. There will never be another bunch of creatives in one place like that again. So many wonderful memories, too many to count. End of an era.
Sad to hear...BUT, that was in the making for years. How many great ideas were crushed after months or years of development in that place? Sorry for the creatives that kept that place alive, it stood no chance in the face of marketing’s domination and control. How many meetings with the TRU honcho where marketing S’d his D just to appease him, throwing out months of hard work and crushing the already low morale in the process. We see how much it paid off to bow to ever demand of TRU. Worst of all, SL, how many ideas did she text and do her makeup through that could have made that office thrive? RIP to a great office, with an amazing creative staff, and absolute sh*t for brains management.
Details please! What did RD say? Did anyone ask questions? What did LD say?
It’s ok, guys, MGO got her double digit millions while the NYC office shutters. So many of us out of work...shameful.