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Web Media Wire Daily
Untitled Document

Germans quench their thirst for Long Island blood

Published: Wednesday, May 23, 2007

So the Germans stormed through the Bookspan offices and left only a few breathing. The Blood Bath has finally come and gone and now the blood spatter on the walls and the floor has now dried to a dark brown crust. Perhaps soon the survivors will all have to put up with the commute to and from the offices of BMG Columbia House at One Penn Plaza? Well to those who perished we say good luck and may you land on your feet when you blow through your severance and your unemployment runs out.

Labels: BERTELSMANN, Bookspan

Comments on "Germans quench their thirst for Long Island blood"

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:43 PM) : 

Yup,

You have reported PHASE I of the blood bath correctly.

Now they have to digest this stuff the next few months before PHASE II when they consolidate clubs.

More to come.....

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (1:22 AM) : 

You are BACK. Thank GOD.

The truth is the BLOODBATH is still happening. Both at BookSpan and BMG Columbia House. The blood hasn't dried YET.


The truth is that they treated us like criminals with hired thug security guards roaming the halls.


The truth is that people were fired, not just laid off.

The truth is that many of us who were laid off have to suffer another month before we can collect severance.

The truth is that IT from BMG Columbia House and BookSpan is moving to GC. Penn Plaza is for the lucky ones.

The truth is there is a town hall tomorrow, where MAYBE we will get some information.

The truth is...BookSpan is dead. Goldfarb killed it...he drove away the brains and laid off anyone who knew anything about anything. Who's left? The underpaid...who BMGCH will work into the ground.

The truth is sad.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:15 AM) : 

Agreed

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:18 AM) : 

Hi

I find it hard to return to work here. I am not happy.

One side of me says let them get the rest of our blood now - why wait. The other side of me doesn't want to see my fellow workers hurt anymore.

It is time to get out and let the place collapse.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:50 AM) : 

So glad you're back.

This is just depressing. And infuriating. I don't know what else to say.

Dying to hear what came out of today's farcical Town Hall.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:31 PM) : 

Leave us alone already.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:56 PM) : 

I wonder how much each of those laid off could have gotten added to their severance if we didn't need to rent out a hotel to spread some B.S.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4:17 PM) : 

About $20

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (7:28 PM) : 

so what happened to all of the previous comments? did bmg get to you, Lenn?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:07 AM) : 

what previous comments? i see everything since this was posted 2 days ago

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:26 PM) : 

There are 2 articles, 2 different threads of comments.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:38 PM) : 

This is a real crime!

blog.newsarama.com/2007/05

Long live SFBC

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:38 PM) : 

Hey Pea Brain,

Stop defending bmg. You are just as stupid!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:39 PM) : 

AGREED!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:40 PM) : 

Pea brain is stupid.

Don't defend them. They are looking to get rid of you.

On second thought, I agree since you are a stupid person.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:44 PM) : 

I feel like this place has sucked the life out of me!

I have to get out of here into a more upbeat job.

This place is depressing.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:45 PM) : 

Agreed!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:18 PM) : 

Goldfarb is a liar. He lied at the first meeting. He lied at the second meeting. He will continue to lie.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:59 AM) : 

Agreed!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:09 PM) : 

I still don't get what you think he lied about. He absoutely said at the first meeting that people would get laid off. What was the lie? Seems that you might be the liar here.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:10 PM) : 

Agreed!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:33 PM) : 

Asshole. He said NO ONE would be let asked to leave on the same day they were let go. Period. Were you even there? Try getting off the drugs and paying attention.

Um, AGREED? Bunch of dopes.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (7:14 PM) : 

We should all stop listening to Pea Brain! He is an asshole.

This person actually thinks more should be let go, not less.

Would you believe he is a GC person? Gives me the creeps.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:59 PM) : 

Maybe you think all the GC people are losers, like the 3 of you, but we are not. At all. And at least we have brains in our heads and understand the realities of our business and any business.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:15 AM) : 

That blog saying sfbc is done is just a person's opinion, don't believe everything you read from people outside the company

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:08 AM) : 

Hey Pea Brain,

You got rid of the editors who made the club work.

If we have to now rely on your knowledge, the club is dead!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:08 AM) : 

And this is from someone inside the company.

So shut your mouth up!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2:16 PM) : 

Hi

I just saw the press release about the next 290 people let go in Hanover and Mechanicsburg. Sounds like I am going to lose my job as I suspected.

To all my fellow employees, it was a pleasure working with you. I will let you know the last day when they tell me.

Just as well that I look for another job. It is depressing around here.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:34 PM) : 

I just heard from someone in PA that it'll be closer to 4 or 5 hundred. Unreal.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:34 PM) : 

I just heard from someone in PA that it'll be closer to 4 or 5 hundred. Unreal.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:08 PM) : 

Anything is possible at this time.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (7:07 PM) : 

I would like to know how many people in management and office positions are slated to go...the newspapers only refer to on the floor jobs in certain depts. What about us? Is this over or are there more jobs to be lost other than lettershop phasing out?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:30 PM) : 

The answer is that the company is in a mess.

Membership is in decline. You will see less magazines, books and statements.

They will recruit less as they cut advertising costs. People are less inclined also to join a negative option club.

The business model is archaic. This will mean less sales each year.

Shutting and combining clubs will mean less work and people needs.

The buildings will be in question as you cut staff. If you add what went the first week with 280 GC and 290 plants, you have a net reduction of over 600 people with more to come as they combine operations.

Music is a different business from books. The BMG staff I predict will mess it further. They don't have a clue what to do.

All of this means yes, there will be more cuts at all levels. How can you think otherwise?

This is why I am actively looking for another job. Management (former and current) really let this place slip. Shame on one and all of them. There is no exception.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:17 PM) : 

I posted the previous comment to which you responded, are you from Garden City or part of the debacle in PA?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:17 PM) : 

GC

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:04 AM) : 

Can someone explain to me the logic in getting rid of Andy, Ellen and Jay?

My brain can't figure this one out.

BMG: please explain why.

Thank you.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:05 AM) : 

I just saw a TV news video clip about the loss of jobs here. I am devastated. I have worked in this plant a lot of years.

Why?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:13 PM) : 

Ha ha. Good luck geting any answers as to "Why" or "Who." No one who actually knows anything about the decisions is talking, and those who are doing the laying off are seemingly clueless. It may be the worst handled mass layoff ever. Maybe it will get better for those of us left standing, but so far it is not looking too good.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:31 PM) : 

I think I will be one of the few "lucky" ones left standing here in PA however, for how long is anyone's guess. I don't know much about how Bookspan is operated but cutting jobs is the easy way out. It's much more difficult to go in and reinvigorate this business and build it back up. Yet this company refuses to man up to the challenge and instead chop, cut, and slash until the numbers are back in the black. It looks much better in the Powerpoint presentation to the board, but nine out of ten times the long term impact is disastrous. But most corporate CEOs don't care about the long term. As long as they turn out the profits for a few years, they can take their bonus checks and move on to the next company.
May they all rot in hell...

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:34 PM) : 

Agreed!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:33 AM) : 

Step right up, folks! Sell your souls for the chance to keep your jobs--and get canned 6 months later at half the price!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:00 AM) : 

Anyone who thinks the company has a future is kidding themselves. The company doesn't at all resemble how it was before this all began. I don't think you could kill the business faster if you tried.

The lucky ones are those who've already been released and got a decent severance. Good luck everyone...

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:50 AM) : 

There is nothing in this business that suggests it has a future. The business model is archaic! The function of management is to adjust and retool to changes in the market place.

The former AND current management are failures at this. Get out while you can before they close the lights.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:10 AM) : 

Agreed!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4:13 PM) : 

This website has come to be as morbid and as lifeless as the halls of Bookspan.

Depressing!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:45 PM) : 

Pea Brain here. So it looks like that guy's blog that SFBC is closing really was just his opinion. I am not saying it won't die because the good editors are gone, I am saying not to believe what you read on a person's blog, and what you read was that the club is closing. Andy himself links to this article (not from a blog) about what is really happening for now

http://sfscope.com/2007/05/new-editor-for-the-sfbc.html

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:15 AM) : 

Workers passed over for first choice of jobs
By BRENDAN WEST
Evening Sun Reporter
Article Launched: 06/02/2007 12:21:58 PM EDT


Workers who will be laid off from jobs in Yes Solutions' letter-shop in Penn Township will not get first dibs at the jobs being moved to the Penn Township plant from Mechanicsburg, a company spokeswoman said.

Those 100 warehousing and returns jobs are different from the 152 being cut from the plant, and company spokeswoman Paula Batson said employees of the company's Mechanicsburg-based warehouse division will be offered the opportunity to keep their jobs and move to Hanover.

Batson said she could not comment on whether local employees will be able to transition between departments.

Yes Solutions' parent company, Bookspan, on Thursday announced it would lay off the letter-shop department at its 501 Ridge Ave. facility and cut 244 jobs in Mechanicsburg

http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_6046941

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4:37 PM) : 

I heard everone from planning and scheduling is gone come Aug./Sept. @ the Hanover facility...true??? They were not offered an option to stay. Anyone from upper manangement in shipping getting the axe? They should...there are way too many supervisors and managers out there...and none of them know what the hell they are doing except maybe 1 or 2.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:34 PM) : 

Agreed!

Pea Brain.

You are a jetk!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:21 AM) : 

You never know, they may come crawling back to you and offer you your job back after they realize they have laid off too many people.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:52 AM) : 

Even Pea brain?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:01 PM) : 

My theory is that they called this round Phase I of the staff reduction.

I think they will do more after they combine Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club into Book of the Month Club.

They are thirsty for overhead cuts.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:47 PM) : 

Does anybody agree with this thoery?

Pea Brain - you are not permited to anser.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:15 PM) : 

I think it's fairly obvious that as more club cuts and amalgamations happen, they won't need as much staff.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2:41 PM) : 

i have been let go. and i'm 99% happy about it. that said, i will be leaving here with a sour taste in my mouth. I can't help but remember goldfarb's "respect" speech at the initial town hall meeting at the marriott.

he said something to the effect of "those who are being let go will be treated with respect."

i'm curious how he defines "respect."

letting us go, but making us stay on for 2 months to clean up the mess only to hand off our work to someone else: respectful?

making some of us schlep into the office and slog through the work for those 2 months, while others got to leave on the day the news broke - AND THEY ARE STILL GETTING PAID FOR THE 2 MONTHS AS IF THEY WERE HERE. respectful?

if we find a new job during the 2 month period and need to go, it's considered a resignation and the severance offer is "off the table." respectful?

not counting TOTAL years of service to this company when calculating severance pay. for example, a person worked here for 6 years, then left for a year, then came back for 2 years, then got let go. this person will only get severance pay based on 2 years of service, rather than 8 TOTAL years of service. they are cheating this person out of 12 weeks of severance pay. respectful?

an almost total lack of communication between managers and those who are being let go. respectful?

i think you get what i mean.

just fucking let us leave and clean up your own damn mess. thanks.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:57 AM) : 

I happen to agree with your thoughts 100%.

The former management screwed this place and the current managers are adding to the mess!

Bet the former management got great severance packages.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:37 PM) : 

Did anybody else get hit this week?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (1:16 PM) : 

Boo!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (8:35 PM) : 

A good friend was let go. When is enougn enough?

"Blood Bath" is the proper name for this company and website.

Are they telling us that the book club market is no longer there?

Should I leave?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:27 PM) : 

We were told recently that the name of the company has changed. It is something like Direct Group NA.

Same shity, depressing place.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:01 PM) : 

Did I just hear a pin fall on the rug?

What is going on here?

Is there someone else in this building?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:29 PM) : 

The name may change, but will it really make any difference?

The company is bleeding a slow death, and the poor people who, for some unknown reason, think that they are the LUCKY ones to be staying around, are in for a rude awakening when they are tossed aside within two years!

Those remaining can be compared to the band playing on the Titanic ... and we all know what happened to them ...

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (1:01 PM) : 

Another name change...the 3rd in 5 years...how pathetic! I wonder when the doors will officially close...and put us all out of our misery. And can someone please tell me why we still have the same incompetant shitty management/supervisors? When will they get their heads chopped...they are part of the reason we are a sinking vessel and they are the ones making the bigger money...not us little peon factory workers whose jobs they keep eliminating. We have way too many chiefs and not enough indians. The left hand does not know what the right is doing when it comes to management in this dump. This will be our ultimate downfall and oh yes another fiscal quarter too, nothing like cooking the books every 3 months to make it appear as though we are turning somewaht of a profit. I remember the days when we had one fiscal a year and now we have one every other week practically...again this place is so pathetic!!!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:12 PM) : 

Good point about the management and supervisors especially the asst directors. I know there are certain ones there that have convinced themselves that there are way to valuable to get the axe, they've devoted the better part of their lives being minions to bookspan and forgot what its to be human beings. Considering how callous they were when other people were being laid off Id love to see the day when the tables finally turn on them. When are those heads going to roll?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:21 AM) : 

At the rate that Bookspan is tumbling, it will be soon!

Fun to watch the BMG goons helping to take it down. They are idiots.

Only good thing they have done so far is to eliminate the previous SMG.

I just calculated the 401k increase. It is actually less money for me since they eliminated the 1.5% I got from the pension contribution. Another benefit gone.

And that wopping pay increase. It was less than inflation! Thanks to Goldfarb and goons.

This is a fun place to "USE TO" work for.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:03 PM) : 

Are any of these above comments from people in the Hanover or Mechanicsburg facilities? I too can remember the good ole' days of Doubleday when it was a pleasant place to work at in PA.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:52 PM) : 

YES!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:52 PM) : 

It no longer is a nice place to work.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2:08 PM) : 

Any news on the Garden City office? I was in the neighborhood the other day and the parking lot is still pretty full, was anyone laid off over there?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (7:52 AM) : 

Come back in a few months.

You will see a different picture.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:37 PM) : 

Are we looking at the same parking lot?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:07 AM) : 

It's Friday.

That could only mean one thing......

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:31 AM) : 

Well... the parking lot is not really that full. But don't forget that there are other tenants in the GC buildings. There is a large law firm on the 2nd floor of 401 and JetBlue has offices in 501 - it's their data center I think.

But to answer your question succintly: YES! Almost 300 people were laid off at Garden City.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:33 AM) : 

We are not getting summer fridays this year.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:30 PM) : 

Yup!

Eventually we will have all of Friday (and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday) off.

We can all thank Markus and his top guns for doing this to us.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2:10 PM) : 

Star...you still there?
Anything I can do to help?
Email me!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:53 PM) : 

Why do you spend your time reading this crap?

Try doing something new like work.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4:13 PM) : 

Not sure your talking to, but its pretty hypocritical for you to tell someone to do their work when your sitting there posting comments as well

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:59 PM) : 

Uncle!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (12:04 PM) : 

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09042007/business/bertelsmanns_clubs_go_to_rando.htm

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2:15 PM) : 

Well Petere is taking over.

This means the end for stuart Goldfarb.

Peter is a sly cat!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (11:07 PM) : 

I think I hear Karma laughing...(or is that me?)

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (3:39 PM) : 

It is Peter.

Stuart Goldfarb and his stupid ideas will pay the price.

It is futile.

Peter will run the clubs down for his own advantages.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (5:47 PM) : 

This is a depressing place to work.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6:18 PM) : 

Bertelmannn loves this stuff.

 

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