In a message dated 6/28/08 3:28:36 A.M. Central Daylight Time, News@JobDestruction.info writes:
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1882 -- 6/28/2008 >>>>>
The Nielsen Company in Oldsmar, Florida is replacing some of its workers
with H-1Bs that contract with the bodyshop Tata (TCS). Nielsen employees
who lose their jobs are required to train their Indian replacements in
order to retain their severance and pension payments.
All of this got the attention of city council members, but not in the way
we would hope. Mayor Ronecker makes no distinction between the citizens who
are losing their jobs and the foreigners who are replacing them -- he only
cares that more workers are coming to Oldsmar to increase the tax base.
His [Ronecker] hope is that as Nielsen consolidates its global
workload, it will bring more jobs to Oldsmar -- whether they are
filled by contractors or not. "At the end of the day, in a couple
of short years, we're going to have a lot more workers than we
could ever have envisioned in Oldsmar," he said.
Ronecker showed his true colors here, and it's not red, white, and blue!
"It's a global company. It's not all about America anymore, and
we're right in the middle of it."
Eric Seidel's main concern is that Oldsmar doesn't appear racist, so he
wants to roll out the welcome mat to the Indians who work for Tata.
"We probably should be very mindful of giving the perception that
here in Oldsmar, if you don't look like us, we don't welcome you,"
he said.
The only city council member to speak against Nielsen was Janice Miller who
said: ""That is just unacceptable!"
One of the perplexing things about this story is that Nielsen has been
given $3.1-million in incentives to create new jobs in Pinellas County.
Because of the uproar this controversy has caused, Nielsen has agreed to
forgo receiving an additional $463,372. Apparently Nielsen thinks the
company is coming out ahead by hiring the H-1Bs even without the cash
handout by the city.
The St. Petersburg Times seems to be the only newspaper that is covering
the story. Perhaps it's my imagination, but the first story was very hard
hitting while each one after that got a little softer.
*******************
Materials Included
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article456721.ece
Nielsen layoffs raise concern
April 14, 2008
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article631841.ece
A softer tone on Nielsen
June 18, 2008
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article636103.ece
Nielsen gives up incentives from Oldsmar, county
June 20, 2008
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article642316.ece
Nielsen begins more layoffs
June 24, 2008
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article456721.ece
Nielsen layoffs raise concern
By Theresa Blackwell, Times Staff Writer
Published Monday, April 14, 2008 10:36 PM
OLDSMAR -- Over the past seven years, the Nielsen Company has received at
least $3.1-million in state and local subsidies to consolidate its Pinellas
operations in a showcase facility in Oldsmar.
Much of that money was for creating high-wage local jobs.
Yet last year, Nielsen let go 240 Tampa-area employees, including many in
Oldsmar. Now the company -- formerly known as Nielsen Media Research --
says the Oldsmar location is losing another 110 positions.
That work has been outsourced to India-based Tata Consultancy Services.
Tata, one of the world's largest providers of consulting and outsourcing
services, has brought in its own workers from India.
In the past few weeks, Tata workers have been spotted about town.
And Oldsmar, population 14,000, is buzzing.
"That is just unacceptable," Oldsmar City Council member Janice Miller said
Monday when told of the job losses.
Miller said she plans to bring up the incentives Nielsen has received, like
the qualified target industry tax refund at tonight's City Council meeting.
"The City Council is going to have to address this QTI (refund)," she said.
Officials agreed to provide Nielsen the incentives in an effort to keep the
company from moving its operations out of Pinellas.
In 2003, the company consolidated many of its North Pinellas operations
into a new, 475,000-square-foot, $80.2-million Global Technology and
Information Center.
State officials say Nielsen moved 1,200 existing jobs to Oldsmar and agreed
to maintain 1,883 jobs at its 39-acre campus. With an onsite work force of
1,600, Nielsen already is nearly 300 positions below the agreed-upon total.
And more employees will be leaving eliminated positions this year.
The state evaluates qualified target industry contracts every year, said
Page Bass, a spokeswoman for the Florida Governor's Office of Tourism,
Trade and Economic Development. It would end the incentives if a company
did not meet the requirements of its contract.
Some of the 110 employees in eliminated positions have already left
Nielsen, and about 50 have taken jobs with Tata at Nielsen's Oldsmar
location.
Around town, people talk about how Nielsen employees have been asked to
train their replacements. But that's not how the company describes it.
Some Nielsen employees remain to "transfer technical knowledge" to
consultants, said Nielsen spokesman Gary Holmes. Those employees will get
extra severance pay, he said.
"The world is a lot more global -- and every company needs to become more
productive if they want to grow, attract new business and create jobs,"
said Holmes. "At Nielsen, this means that we have to be constantly
re-engineering our business."
One recent morning, about a dozen Tata employees waited at Forest Lakes
Road to catch a bus to work.
Three of the consultants -- Vythe Chalaka, 27, Digamber Rawat, 24, and
Amarnath Kollu, 25 -- said they had been in Oldsmar for about two weeks.
"We've had previous experience in India, and we are trying to utilize it
here at Nielsen," Rawat said.
Others arrived from India months ago, they said.
Chalaka estimated about 150 to 200 consultants from India with degrees in
computer engineering or computer technology now work at Nielsen.
Holmes said the layoffs are a continuation of a restructuring that took
place in 2007, but the effort to find a more efficient working structure
will continue.
"This is an ongoing process, an ongoing forever process," he said.
Jerry Custin, president of the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of
Commerce, has no concern about job loss at present. Nielsen, a trustee of
the chamber, is active in Oldsmar, supports chamber events and opens its
doors for meetings, he said.
"They've really been an excellent community partner, not only to the
chamber, but I think to the city, too," he said.
Times staff writer Theresa Blackwell can be reached at
tblackwell@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4170.
>>FAST FACTS
About the Nielsen Co.
The Nielsen Co. is a descendent of the A.C. Nielsen Co., founded in 1923.
Headquartered in New York, and Haarlem, The Netherlands, it is a worldwide
provider of marketing information, audience measurement and business media
products and services. It operates in more than 100 countries. Its
customers include the St. Petersburg Times, which buys online data from
Nielsen.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article631841.ece
A softer tone on Nielsen
By Theresa Blackwell, Times Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, June 18, 2008 8:31 PM
OLDSMAR -- In the wake of recent layoffs, Oldsmar officials continue to
meet with top executives of the Nielsen Co. to make sure the city gets its
money's worth for the incentives it has paid to create high-wage jobs.
But there's a new tone to the City Council's discussions.
Gone are statements like, "to think they have the gall to take taxpayers'
money and then lay people off," as council member Suzanne Vale said in
April.
And in their place is a spoken appreciation of the company's place in the
global economy -- and Oldsmar's.
"It's a global company," Mayor Jim Ronecker said last week at a city
workshop. "It's not all about America anymore, and we're right in the
middle of it."
At a City Council meeting Tuesday night, Ronecker said the city is
negotiating an agreement with Nielsen that could be completed within seven
to 10 days. But Nielsen has asked that the terms remain confidential in the
meantime, he said.
Oldsmar has paid $554,000 of the $3.1-million the Nielsen Co. has received
over the past six years to create new jobs in Pinellas County.
In the past, Ronecker has said he would seek to remove some of the
ambiguities in the city's incentive contracts with Nielsen.
One item of concern has been the company's use of contract employees.
Nielsen executives have said contracted employees, like those from
India-based Tata Consultancy Services working in Oldsmar now, were included
in Nielsen's application for a 2007 tax refund under Florida's Qualified
Target Industry program. When approved, that refund will be Oldsmar's last
payment under the contract.
But the city's obligations under a second grant, from the Pinellas County
Job Creation Incentive program, will continue through 2013. And that grant
allows positions filled by outside contractors to be counted toward job
creation goals.
County officials and Nielsen say contracted workers have not been included
in the count of high-wage jobs that the county grant supports. A payment of
$144,712 -- half the real estate taxes Nielsen paid to Oldsmar in 2007 --
is being processed for payment through the county grant.
At a City Council workshop June 10, Ronecker, City Manager Bruce Haddock, a
chamber of commerce official and other council members discussed in general
terms recent talks they have had with Nielsen representatives.
"They haven't done anything wrong as far as we're concerned," Ronecker
said. "I'm trying to protect us in the future."
He said discussions have been candid, and he's optimistic about the
outcome. But he asked council members to be careful about how they speak to
reporters.
"They are very sensitive about what's going on right now," he said of
Nielsen. "They are getting abuse from their customers when they see it in
the papers."
Haddock said Nielsen is the biggest employer in Oldsmar and one of the
city's biggest taxpayers.
"I don't think they have any intention of leaving Oldsmar at this point,"
he said, but the company is consolidating operations all over the world and
might expand in Oldsmar if they feel welcome.
Haddock said Nielsen doesn't operate with an American perspective and never
will. His advice for Oldsmar is to accept that fact and say:
"We welcome multinational and global operations, too. If you come here,
you're welcome."
Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce president Jerry Custin also
has met with Nielsen executives. He said they admit that Nielsen needs to
do a better job of explaining its actions to the local community.
"They are directing their staff to get out in the community even more than
they have," said Custin, and the chamber will help with that.
Another plea for caution came from council member Eric Seidel, who is
concerned that members of any particular ethnic group, like the TCS
employees from India, feel welcome in Oldsmar.
"We probably should be very mindful of giving the perception that here in
Oldsmar, if you don't look like us, we don't welcome you," he said.
"I don't believe that's the way any of us feel -- it's very small-townish."
"But we are small-town," Council member Janice Miller said.
"We're a small community," Seidel said. But he maintained Oldsmar is
different from other small towns, "in part because of where we are located
and in part because of the amount of business we have here."
Theresa Blackwell can be reached at tblackwell@sptimes.com or (727)
445-4170.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article636103.ece
Nielsen gives up incentives from Oldsmar, county
By Theresa Blackwell, Times Staff Writer
Published Friday, June 20, 2008 7:58 PM
OLDSMAR -- The Nielsen Co. notified Oldsmar and Pinellas County officials
this week that it will forgo up to $3.1-million in future Oldsmar and
county incentives for creating high-wage jobs.
After several meetings with Oldsmar's mayor and other officials, Nielsen
opted to end its participation in the county's Job Creation Incentive
program and won't file another claim.
The company has already received $3.1-million in incentives and is
scheduled to receive an additional $463,372 for 2007.
"We believe it has become a distraction for our employees, an unnecessary
source of conflict with the city and an impediment to our ability to manage
our business and workforce globally," Nielsen spokesman Gary Holmes wrote
in an e-mail Friday.
If the number of new jobs claimed at Nielsen's Oldsmar location were to
continue at the 2007 level, the company could have claimed up to
$3.1-million more in incentive grants over the next 11 years.
The incentives created friction earlier this year among Oldsmar officials.
They voiced concerns that Nielsen could be receiving government money for
creating jobs filled with contractors from India-based Tata Consultancy
Services.
Tuesday, Mayor Jim Ronecker had said he was close to an agreement with
Nielsen regarding the incentives.
He said he was pleased with Nielsen's willingness to talk to city
officials.
"I look forward to a new beginning with the new management," Ronecker said
Friday.
His hope is that as Nielsen consolidates its global workload, it will bring
more jobs to Oldsmar -- whether they are filled by contractors or not. "At
the end of the day, in a couple of short years, we're going to have a lot
more workers than we could ever have envisioned in Oldsmar," he said.
Other Oldsmar council members were less optimistic about Nielsen's reasons
for forgoing incentives.
"You have to ask yourself why they are doing it," said council member Greg
Rublee, who teaches global issues at the University of Tampa.
He said the motivation is probably rooted in the company's long-term
financial outlook.
"Bad publicity equals loss in profitability," he said, especially if the
company is only interested in streamlining costs to make it more attractive
for a potential buyer.
"They are going to flip it, just like somebody flips their home," Rublee
predicted. "This is a way of cutting the strings so nobody can be peeking
over their shoulders and questioning their practices."
Nielsen's Holmes said Friday that the government incentives have "become an
impediment to our ability to manage our contractors and our employees on a
global basis.
"We figured it would be better to just terminate (the incentives) so we
could proceed without having to discuss and explain every time we wanted to
reallocate our resources with TCS."
And the media coverage, Holmes said, had brought comments from the public
that distracted employees.
Does the relinquishing of incentives portend more layoffs?
"We continue to evaluate the best way to get the work done and maximize our
resources," said Holmes. "When we have something to announce, we will make
it known publicly."
In the meantime, Holmes said Nielsen will be working to increase its
profile in the Oldsmar community "in a way that establishes us as good
neighbors."
Incentives given to Nielsen so far has been money well spent, Mike Meidel,
director of the county's economic development department, said Friday.
"It kept Nielsen's operation in Pinellas County and encouraged over
$100-million in new capital investment and supported the creation of 342
jobs with wages above 150 percent of the local average," he said.
The company needs the flexibility to make changes, Meidel said, if it is to
survive and employ anyone.
Theresa Blackwell can be reached at tblackwell@sptimes.com or (727)
445-4170.
Fast fact
$3.1-million
Incentives Nielsen Co. is forgoing through the next 11 years.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article642316.ece
Nielsen begins more layoffs
By Theresa Blackwell, Times Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, June 24, 2008 10:06 PM
Nielsen Co. announced 170 more layoffs at its Oldsmar facility Tuesday.
This will bring the total number of reductions at the company to 402 since
2007.
Nielsen is also planning a staff realignment in Dunedin that will lead to
more layoffs there, too.
In Oldsmar, Nielsen is outsourcing more work to India-based Tata
Consultancy Services, company spokesman Gary Holmes said Tuesday. Some of
the work formerly done in Oldsmar will now be transferred to India.
Nearly 40 employees were told Tuesday that they will lose their jobs in 30
days. The rest will be phased out by early 2009.
"We are transferring some of our data processing and software testing to
TCS," Holmes said. "This is part of our companywide effort to integrate and
simplify our systems, improve quality, strengthen our market position and
create investment funding for future growth."
Just four days ago, Nielsen gave up $3.1-million in future incentives for
creating new jobs in Oldsmar, saying the controversy over the government
money had become a distraction for employees and a source of conflict with
the city.
Nielsen brought 1,233 employees with it from Dunedin to Oldsmar in a
company relocation that started in 2003. At its height, the Oldsmar site
had about 1,800 employees. But when the layoffs are completed, 1,300 will
remain.
So the millions in incentives that Florida, Pinellas County and Oldsmar
have paid to Nielsen to create new high-wage jobs in Oldsmar will amount to
67 additional local Nielsen employees on the payroll in 2009.
Oldsmar Mayor Jim Ronecker said he hates to see local workers lose their
jobs but that Nielsen also has invested $130-million in its headquarters
and pays taxes that benefit the city.
At Nielsen's call center in Dunedin, Holmes said, the company is creating
100 more full-time positions to provide custom research services by
September. There are 190 full-time workers there now. The 840 part-time and
temporary employees there may apply for the new positions, but an
undetermined number will lose their jobs.
For many Nielsen employees and their families, anxiety is growing.
A man who asked that his name not be used called a Times reporter Tuesday
to say that his wife was waiting to hear whether she will be laid off.
"I'll know when I pick up the phone -- whether she's crying or not," he
said.
Theresa Blackwell can be reached at tblackwell@sptimes.com or (727)
445-4170.
>>FAST FACTS
Nielsen's reductions
117: Jobs lost in 2007 to company restructuring
115: Jobs outsourced to India's TCS in late 2007 and in 2008
170: Additional jobs going to TCS in 2008/early 2009
15 : Percentage of Nielsen's Oldsmar work to be outsourced by 2009
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