MORE BREAKING NEWS: UD Lays Off More People

For those of you who missed the last post about the plant closing, there is some more supposed bad news from UD. Today I got another email from another UD employee that asked to remain anonymous:

For obvious reasons I ask to be anonymous.

More Upper Deck layoffs on Wednesday March 4, 2009.
Eight gone in production and also heavy hit in creative.
Total persons dispatched are unknown - was told it was another 16% of workforce.
Some long-term, dedicated, good people let go.
Still no management changes in these areas.
Extent of layoff in the rest of the company is unknown
All survivors, pay reduced 10%. 401K match ended.

Why UD may not be sole reason why McWilliam is in trouble, but rather Jetsource, his "Howard Hughes" endeavor:

Jet Source Slows Expansion Plans Amid Downturn

CARLSBAD, CA — Jet Source director of operations Jim Grindrod, Jr. says that charter traffic is off as much 35 percent in recent months, versus one year ago, which has led to cutbacks internally and an ongoing search for ways to cut costs. It has also led to slowing expansion plans, notably at the Henderson Airport outside Las Vegas. It had plans to add a base outside Las Vegas in 2009; however, Grindrod says that may be moved into 2010 as a result of the downturn. Company purchased over $30 million in planes last year. Pilot website says their wages have been frozen.

Guys, despite whatever hatred you may have towards UD, the layoffs of employees are real people with real problems. I wish them them and their families the best, and I definitely hope that things work out for UD.

BREAKING NEWS: Upper Deck Closes Facility?

I got this email from an "Anonymous Upper Deck Employee" today, and Im not quite sure what to make of it. It seems like there may be some layoffs and/or closings, and there may also be problems in getting the company's workload distributed. I have a feeling that this particular person is angry that they have to be a part of the current atmosphere, and is sending this email to show their disappointment. Maybe I am reading too much into this, I have no idea. Here is what I received:

Hey Gellman,

Thought you might like to hear about this news for your blog:

February 17, 2009

To All U.S. Upper Deck employees:

As all of you are aware, the weakening economy and rising costs have produced sharp decreases in consumer spending, including for our products. We, therefore, must implement additional cost reduction measures in order to maintain our financial stability.

The following cost reduction initiatives will be implemented:

The Company will close the Nevada facility no later than September 30, 2009 and will relocate certain functions to Carlsbad. During the next several weeks the Company will finalize departmental transition plans. Some departments will be relocated prior to the facility closure. [...]

[...]
The decision to make cost reductions that directly affect our employees is a very difficult one. We value the commitment and hard work that each of you have dedicated to building this company; however, we believe that these cost reductions are crucial to our overall financial stability.
[...]

Thank you for your continued commitment and hard work.

Sincerely,
Richard McWilliam


It was announced yesterday afternoon. The memo has more to say about future initiatives; interesting yet weird & disapointing.

so if you thought things were bad before, you haven't seen anything yet! Good luck getting anything done while things are being transfered from one state to another and nobody cares in either state. The Nevada guys know they will be laid off and Carlsbad is already overworked and can't handle those new duties on top of it.

Gosh, and none of the 43 VPs are getting laid off, what a surprise! In Vegas, you had customer service, quality assurance, accounting, sales support and warehousing (for everything but cards). Lots of good people going for corporate greed and profit margin.

Sad day

Thank you for safeguarding my anonymity.

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I think this could be a sign of what may be to come, I know I am not surprised. I emailed Gregg for comment, I am sure I will be forced to take this down pretty soon, so be advised.

Still, pretty interesting, and hopefully the employees involved will have luck in finding a new position. Layoffs are always very tough to deal with, and I feel for the people who are affected. Regardless of your feelings for UD, people losing jobs is never something to celebrate.

Topps American Heritage Is Completely Original

So, Topps American Heritage is a set that I would consider the most original, out of the box, great set I have ever previewed. It has everything that has never been done before, and it does not remind me of any other topps product that has ever been produced one bit. Im just saying.



Thanks to AR for the tip, I dont think this has been mentioned anywhere.

Oh, and one last thing, I want to applaud them on creating more non-autoed manufactured letters of people that have never, ever put on a jersey. It is a fucking amazing idea.