Thread regarding SAP layoffs

This is how dpa (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) ist writing about layoffs and Elliott. Obviously they did not investigate themselves:

"The software company had announced in January, retrain around this year, around 4,400 employees to move to other positions and also with severance payments to send to early retirement so that the company could keep up with the changes in the technology industry. Employees can still apply for the redundancy program by the beginning of May."

Exactly the same wording in most German magazines like faz and manager magazine. No mention of layoffs that already happened.

https://www.zeit.de/news/2019-04/24/sap-schreibt-trotz-zweistelligen-wachstums-verluste-190423-99-932269

So some vulture buys 1 percent of a company and now owns it can calls the shots? Bill McDoormat and Grandpa Hasso have to pander to him? What the heck is happening here.

Ummm...to previous poster of what bad numbers?

1. Earnings per share were negative 10. Negative 10!

2. Elliot would not be involved if the numbers were good. They are Gordon Gekko. Lol. Stupid post.

3. Workday is a small HCM competitor who still beats a giant. Apples to oranges.

4. Restructuring costs have not even hit the books yet.

5. Gordon, I mean Elliot owns you now. Get used to it.

What bad numbers? Other than op loss this quarter due to restructuring and payouts, it's all good with SAP stating future improved margin targets. Hell, Workday is in the red more than this every single quarter...

McDermott finally gets haunted by the ghosts of pure stock-value focussed management (namely Mr. Singer and his sharks).

The Q1 result was very obviously doctored to the taste of the average financial analyst by shifting cost from ops to non-ops results courtesy of the restructuring programme. While thats perfectly legal it smells bad. The effect of the restructuring will also distort Q2.

So basically SAP made a deal with devil because it had no other choice. They could report terrible numbers and watch the stock crash or let Elliot take control of the business in exchange for their purchase.

Seems so far, SAP agreed to Elliot terms, so Elliot rewarded them with a timely announcement.

Looks like Bill and Hasso now work for Paul. So much for getting back to it’s German Roots.

“It remains to be seen if the two companies ( SAP and Elliot) can stay on good terms. Last May a London-based team at Elliott bought a stake in German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp AG with a view to ousting then-chief Heinrich Hiesinger. Several weeks later, Hiesinger resigned.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/sap-may-need-a-massive-buyback-to-sing-elliotts-tune/2019/04/24/accb1ade-6692-11e9-a698-2a8f808c9cfb_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c0b8495772e5

If stock price went up because of expectations of growth through financial engineering, through interventions by Activist Hedge Fund, such as share buy back or more restructure or spin off, it is not good news for employees

The stock price increase is accredited to the Elliot effect. forward looking restructuring expected. Definitely not due to the cloud increase that merely came from acquisition. What is the point of buying so many Clouds when it reduces EPS?

Hmm, I think the market may like the IFRS cloud growth of 45% just a little bit...but what do they know...

If the quarter was so "clearly" bad, why would the stock price be up 10-12% today? (Scratching head)

IFRS results is so bad for Q1. We had negative operating profit and negative EPS. Even if we explain there was the restructuring charges, it is clear results are bad.

Maybe Elliot will spin off the Germany market unit. That will solve some of the cost challenges.

Elliot is the most active and aggressive activist hedge fund of 2018 according to this recent Harvard article.

https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2019/01/25/dealing-with-activist-hedge-funds-and-other-activist-investors-2/