Think piece from The Pitch regarding "news" that's literally two months old . . . Check hipsters fearing real life economic disparity despite so much local hype regarding the "creative class" and the power of the Internets economy that mostly benefits Southeast Asia slave labor camps:
The gutting of DST Systems and what it means for Kansas City
It wasn't so much a question of if the layoffs were coming. It was a question of when. DST Systems, one of the largest private employers in Kansas City - indeed, one of the great business success stories in the history of the city - had been acquired, in January, for $5.4 billion.
This will open up a lot of square footage for rent in the downtown area. Space that may be empty for some time.
ReplyDeleteWhen ya make something ya cannot sit on or put in a box ya got to keep your resume up to date.
ReplyDeleteGood article. A little heavy handed on the "I hate capitalism" shit, but, a good article.
ReplyDeleteEurope's economic growth bounded after they outlawed what they termed "asset stripping", and what the US calls "Leveraged buyouts".
ReplyDeleteThe practitioners of this "asset stripping" have thrived in the US since Ronald Reagan, by Executive order, repealed regulations restricting Banks from funding "leveraged buyouts". The Great Depr...Recession of 1987 was mostly a result of the M&A frenzy brought about by these "buyouts", and that practice still is in practice today.
We have no idea what the "deregulation" coming about through the ongoing flow of "Executive Orders" today will cause, but this DST situation may well be a harbinger of things to come.
Deregulation certainly has its place, but should be open, above board and considered.
I worked at dst starting in 1982. It was a sweatshop then. The United office workers tried to unionize. Dst was against Tefra, the required tax id, needed to prevent tax evasion. Managers sexually used women at the office. Dst went public in 1986 for $10 per share. Hallmarks pension bought alot. Then dst bought it back for $5 a share a year later. Dst employees had to pay 60 a month to park in the company lot. Managers were hostile and unqualified. Even with a business degree in finance, I left the firm 6 years later with only 10k in my pension account. The hr director made over 50 million on stock options. The company existed to enrich it's executived. People said that dst stood for "don't stay there".
ReplyDeleteI used to work at DST too during the mid 90's for 12 years. The funny thing is my old manager said it stood for "Don't stay there". I totally agree about the Management there. Usually they were managers because they were the last one standing. That or they perfected the art of throwing under the bus. I may have worked for 1 of 6 while there that had a degree. They actually frowned when I had to leave on time for my evening classes. They didn't pay squat either and always went on and on about how much vacation they gave out per year. What good was having 5 weeks when they paid in the 30's. After I got my degree (that they paid for mind you) I went to HR to see if there were any opportunities for me. You'd have thought I'd asked to girl if I could piss on her shoes by her reaction. Of course my downfall was because I didn't get my degree from Rockhurst like the CEO and COO had. It will be interesting to see how Kansas City handles this. Will Cerner move offices downtown now??
DeleteFormer dst staff like bill barloon got degrees from rockhurt and was still not able to get advancement. Dst kinda disliked everyone. Equally.
DeleteBill Barloon became a senior vp at sprint in the governmental lobby area in DC. And Dst said he was a nobody. How wrong they were
DeleteWhen I worked there a few years ago I received a $25 plaza gift card every year as a Christmas bonus. It really was more of an insult to me, as I had an MBA and 10 years of career experience. Was not valued.
ReplyDeleteReally? Let's eat the rich, really.
ReplyDeleteDat is not privately held as stated. Their stock was traded on the exchange. It never paid a dividend. But they sure paid the top brass well. Shareholders came last. George soros was a shareholder and I think he was quite angry over that. Dst tried to sell itself, only 1 suitor in the world bit. That tells you something.
ReplyDeleteMore layoffs are scheduled for October, so this is not a two month old story.
ReplyDelete^^^^Damn you're dumb, wake up and try to keep up with the adults here.
ReplyDeleteMoney
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KCMO
7:20: Thanks for using "you're" instead of "your" for a change.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that @ 9:11 mentioned Cerner, they've quietly been up for sale since the founders left (or died), so get ready for a REAL shock in the next couple of years.
ReplyDeleteI worked at dst. If you joined prior to 1980 you were treated well. I hate to bring religion into this, but staff were treated in a very unchristian way, there was no shame in belittling people and cussing at them. And the hr manager Joan Horan was a former nun.
ReplyDeleteSuch a well-written article, until the last few paragraphs, where the author goes so leftist that the powers in control (i.e. the Right) have an excuse to write this article off as drivel. Such a shame. Could have been somethin!
ReplyDeleteThe article should have identified Marion labs, yellow, or Waddell and reed as the biggest companies that were success stories, maybe Garmin too. Dst isn't a household name
ReplyDeleteInquire about the janitor who threw himself off the top floor of 301 w. 11th when he was layer off in 1980. They couldn't afford to pay him $6 per hour??? Really. His wife and kids were in a car on the other side of the building, waiting to give him a ride home. DCO heartless
ReplyDeleteDst was a hostile work environment. Hostility was imo dictated from the top management like Tom McDonnell down. Many like him were single most of their career life and expected others to put in 55 hr weeks, on a salary basis, not hourly. Tom married a woman at Dst in charge of the mutual funds area, so did Bob tritt, and so did Charlie mcbride.odd they could only find wives in their workplace, seeing they are worth millions. Or were their wives on a hunt to find rich husbands?
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