By ERIC BARTON
Hallmark’s announcement this week that it's laying off another 335 workers isn’t big news for a company that has already laid off a quarter of its workforce since 1999. What’s unique about this announcement is Hallmark's candor: The company admitted that it’s sending some of the work to Asia and Mexico.
Current and former Hallmark workers say the company has often masked its layoffs by giving employees bad reviews and then firing them for performance. Hallmarkers say such deceptive layoffs have been common since the late 1990s.
But with this week’s news, which will mostly affect 195 workers at Hallmark's plant in Toronto, was more honest. Hallmark spokeswoman Julie O'Dell told The Toronto Star
: "It has nothing to do with the people or the quality of their work or anything like that. This is just simply a move that we are making to make more efficient use of the production capacity that we have here at our Kansas facilities."
Such honesty is probably of little consolation to employees who’ll be out of work. But at least they won’t be standing in the unemployment line believing it's because they couldn't do their jobs.
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I recently resigned from HMK after a few years and all I can say is whatever you believe/think about Hallmark before working there is not true. Once I had access to the financial #s as an employee it was rapidly apprent that the company is going downhill a lot quicker than even I thought possible. The sad facts are below:
1) Revenues have been flat for the past 20-or-so years at $4B.
2) Net Profits have dropped 10-15% each year since 1998. $ will be less than $50M in 2009 and majority of this will come from Crayola. HMK NA profit $ stood at $500M in 1998. Same revenue is generating significantly less $.
3) A few hundred Gold Crown stores have closed each year since 1998.
4) The only profitable channel is Gold Crown. In 3-5 yrs there will not be any GC stores...
5) Short interest on Crown Media is unusually high. The professionals seem to think this is a dying brand, as well.
Oh well, it was decent $ while it lasted. "It's only Gift Wrap!!!"
As a former employee, I can say that they have "layed off" by poor performance reports, and putting pressure on employees for many years. Hallmark has tryed to keep these things out of the public eye for years. They have used unfair labor pratices since before Don Hall started as CEO. Hallmark has some of the best employees. It is to bad Hallmark does relize this. Coporate greed is so strong in this third generation company.
If the public only knew the true Hallmark. There wholesome image is just old fashion PR.
My only wish is that the true Hallmark is brought to the public eye.
It is not only the factory workers who are effected but lots and lots of mom and pop stores. We are the ones that the orginal mission statment of Hallmark was based on, now Hallmark sells chaper to wallmart and phases us out.......over 10 stores within a 90 mile radius in NH alone...so you tell me is he gold crown tarnished ? Is this the beginning of the end of what once was a wondeful company
It is not only the factory workers who are effected but lots and lots of mom and pop stores. We are the ones that the orginal mission statment of Hallmark was based on, now Hallmark sells chaper to wallmart and phases us out.......over 10 stores within a 90 mile radius in NH alone...so you tell me is he gold crown tarnished ? Is this the beginning of the end of what once was a wondeful company
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