I just saw on local TV news (Italy) a protest of Roland workers for the company decision to lay off up to 50 workers (the Italian factory where arrangers and other musical instruments are produced has nearly 210 workers), this isn't a good sign...

[This message has been edited by mrdave (edited 10-07-2008).]

Yep, not a good sign.

Mind you, maybe they are only firing the idiots that screwed up a perfectly good OS from the G1000 and replaced it with some of the bonehead decisions in the G70

Too much to ask for...?

Is there a link to the article?

I'm not surprised really. It was bound to happen. Everyone is taking a hit today..., and companies are having to let workers go to cut costs. It wouldn't surprise me if we see other cut backs from the big three over the next five years given the current state of the economy.

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 10-07-2008).]

It was on TV, however here's an article (in italian, sorry didn't find anything in english)
http://www.sambenedettoggi.it/2008/10/07/61944/roland-europe-nuovo-sciopero-contro-la-mobilita/

The open procedure the 19 september regards the esubero of 50 workers from the company of musical instruments to Acquaviva

ACQUAVIVA PICENA - 7 tuesdays October the workers of the Roland Europe have carried out an ulterior strike with corteo, proclamato jointly from the provincial secretariats Fim/Cisl, Fiom/Cgil and Uilm/Uil of Ascoli and from inner the trade-union representation.

Protest against the procedure of the 19 open mobility september 2008 from the company to happens them Japanese, that it declares a esubero of 50 units (on 210 approximately).

The tuesday protest represents an hour of the altogether proclamato package and wants to reject the lay-offs and to speed up the company to find instruments alternative, in the first instance the extraordinary unemployment compensation gain, accompanied from other solutions in order to reduce the numbers in esubero.

The mayoralties in famous a combined one ask in particular use “it of the Part-Time and plans of accompanyment to the pension whereby of it exist the conditions and on voluntary base. We think the presentation of an industrial plan indispensable in order to acquire the perspectives future times to guarantee the permanence and I throw again of the productive unit”.

The provincial secretariats of Cisl, Cgil and Uil represented respective from Paul Giglielmi, Luciano Biancucci and Alexander D' Isabella, ask local and regional institutions to come down in field against this umpteenth occupational suffering in the Piceno.

You add your Preferred ones:

Keep in mind that when a factory gets new production equipment, they require much less people in the production line to produce even more units.

Next to that much of the high tech programming is nowerdays done much cheaper in countries like India.

All production companies im europe nowerdays produce a lot more with a lot less people..

Don't get to worried.

If Rolands arrangers were made in China, than there may not be a layoff. But the US Dollar is hurting any manufacturer,with production in Italy.... Ketron included.
Korg may be next....

If they were made in China, there would still probably be layoffs... But you wouldn't hear about it, and there wouldn't be protesters on TV, that's for sure!

And if it had happened in the US, they wouldn't have been allowed to unionize, so there wouldn't be any negotiations about layoffs... you'd get your pink slip, and 'so long, you're on your own, sucka!'

Tough to decide which is better, isn't it?