Well it does seem like strange timing considering how long they have been shooting themselves in the foot as you mentioned and considering they will be releasing a product that they have been developing for the past 1.5 years in early 2013
It only seems like strange timing to people who haven't been following RIM for years. I am amazed that they've lasted this long. I can't wait to see the turd that they release next year.
Please reread said poster's replay and understand that he used one business as an example, and a tired line(non sequitur) to point out that the list I provided is meaningless.
No, it in fact undermines your entire point. Including RIM on that list, requires that one be completely ignorant of RIM's circumstances, which calls into question every other entry there.
It would be like I made a list of five-star restaurants, and included McDonald's. People would rightly suspect that I had no idea what I was talking about once they got to the Big Mac.
I'd expect the list to be questioned from those looking to make excuses for a failed economic policy.
I'm sure Energizer, Boeing, and Darden are run by complete morons. Yeah that's it, it's not bad policy, it's the business' fault.
I think the point is, you are throwing out a very short list of companies who are laying people off since the election, then trying to say those layoffs are caused by 'bad policy'. So first, there is absolutely no way to demonstrate causation - layoffs happen all the time. Second, it ignores the thousands of other companies that make up the economy - as I mentioned before, many are hiring.
Mind you, this was just 48 hours after the election that these announcements were made. If these large businesses were feeling good about the economy and had a positive forecasts, they wouldn't be laying people off.
You can point to businesses hiring and I can point you to the unemployment rate and number of food stamp recipients.
No, it was 48 hours after the election that you cut and pasted this list. Some - like RIM - havent even announced the alleged cuts. Others - like Husqvarna - are foreign companies, so job cuts in Sweden probably arent indicative of Obama's failed policies. Regardless, show me causation, show me the macro picture.
And if you can point to the unemployment rate to show that the business atmosphere is getting worse since the election I would be happy to look at it and acknowledge if it causes me to revise my opinion, or makes a good point.
It doesn't have to get worse, staying the same isn't exactly great is it.
The companies on that list(which make up a small percentage of the list) that are foreign generate a lot of sales here in the US. Demand has fallen, now why would that be? Could it be people don't have the money to buy their products because it's going to other places like increased energy and food costs?
The majority of employers like Energizer and Boeing on that list announced the cuts on the 7th or 8th. There were a few that did earlier, but they were the minority. It doesn't really matter because these people are out of jobs. I never said that it was only(but I do believe it played a part because these businesses are not seeing good things ahead) due to Obama's reelection, but a culmination of his first term. Strange these large companies are not adding jobs during a "recovery".
You mention Energizer and if you are familiar with the company and their strategies over the past years, you would know that they went all in, promoting the hell out of their products in an effort to grow market share. That worked for a while and hopes were very high. What they didn't see was that by giving away their products, they were growing on borrowed time. It was only a matter of time before they would run out of money to continue to discount their products. It's caught up with them and now their bearing the brunt of it. Without discounting their products they've suffered heavy losses. Hence, poor management and strategy.
Now Boeing has a very limited market. Their market is heavily dominated by military spending and airlines, of course. Everyone and their mother knows that airlines have been struggling mightily for years. If they're not turning a profit, their likely not investing in new planes. If they're not investing in new planes, Boeing is not selling. If they're not selling, well you guessed it... layoffs must come. How is that tied to the election of President Obama?
I have no understanding of what your corporate experience is, but layoffs are something that are considered in excruciating detail. They are planned over the course of extended periods. There is no responsible company that would announce massive layoffs after only considering it for a day. The layoffs announced on the 7th and 8th were undoubtedly a long time in coming.