Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Odds and ends
Get laid off, give back the iPod says National Semiconductor
Remember a few weeks ago we wrote about National Semiconductor raking in the dough and handing out iPods to all their employees? Well, it looks like those iPods weren't a reward after all, but rather company equipment. National Semiconductor laid off 35 factory workers, which is odd given their huge profits but welcome to the 21st Century I suppose. Anyway, not only did these people lose their jobs but on the way out National Semiconductor said, 'Ah, yes and we'll be needing those iPods back, thanks!'That's right, the iPods, according to the company, weren't gifts but rather company hardware. Sadly, many employees didn't know that and gave the iPods away, or sold them. Worry not laid off folks, you can just pay National Semiconductor $300 and they'll call it even.
Thanks, Anne.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Hubkap said 2:19PM on 7-05-2006
Yeah, that sounds about par for the course. If they remain the property of the company for 2 years, they don't need to pay taxes on them. If they give them out as gifts, they would. Apple does the same thing with the iPods the retail employees receive... it's yours, but if you leave within 2 years, it's ours again. Apple does give them the option to buy them if employees leave before a full two years, at a discount depending on how far along the two years they are.
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tim said 2:25PM on 7-05-2006
my company bought me a brand new macbook fully loaded with parallels and xp pro (so i could stay in their half ass exchange setup - wouldnt work with entourage). it was great! it was my reward for my hours and labor put in (software dev), and i could quit using my debian only laptop, and just use this.
a month later they tell me they are letting me go for 'trying to compete with my boss,' whatever that means... im out of a well paying job, i have aspects lined up, but what hurts the most, is losing the macbook...
at least i still have my powerbook.
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SubGenius said 2:44PM on 7-05-2006
The reason NS gave their employees the ipods was to use them for disseminating information, training videos, corporate updates and podcasts.
I would fire anyone who sold or gave away their iPod.
Perhaps NS didn't do a good job of communicating to their employees the reason they were getting a $300 piece of electronics.
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kevin said 3:18PM on 7-05-2006
tim, how did they think you were competing with your boss? were you upstaging him/her or too vocal on your opinions? i'm genuinely curious
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James M. Jensen II said 3:27PM on 7-05-2006
Considering they're being downsized rather than fired for misbehavior or incompetence, then if they really weren't clear, this seems rather cruel.
If I were NS and there were any doubt about whether employees knew that the iPods were company property, I'd forget about this whole thing. $300 iPods for 35 employees comes to $10,500, which seems not even worth the effort.
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John S. said 4:13PM on 7-05-2006
This post is silly. When you lose you job, you can expect to have to turn in your computer, calculator, company cell phone, and everything else right down to the pencils and pens. Why would an iPod be any different? Because you really really like it, and have your favorite music recorded on it?
The good news is that you can probably keep your Ellen Feiss posters (if you printed them out yourself).
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tim said 4:30PM on 7-05-2006
they said i WAS too vocal, had 'too many competing ideas', was supposed to just 'sit there and stay quiet' in discussions, was 'too social', yet on my final review i got a 1 out of 10 on 'employee interaction', a bunch of other things.
basically (and this has been confirmed by an insider), they let me go because the company is tanking and being that i was one of the highest paid and newest employees, it was my time to go.
but on the bright side, their stock has tanked daily since i left! ;-)
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Mac Diva said 10:12PM on 7-06-2006
I agree with penalizing the employees who sold the iPods. They had no intention of using them for their intended work-related purposes. Under the circumstances, a person should be satisfied with having the iPod to use for both work and play. Only a very greedy person would complain about that deal, or, Lord forbid, sell a 'loaner' iPod.
(Makes one wonder: Are their employees who think their company cars belong to them?)
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