New CEO is coming in to shake things up. Will re-evaluate all of the staff and who is necessary and who to let go and replace. Big politics happening at the upper level to see who survives and who goes. Even more work will be transferred to India and let go of some of the older "dead weight" employees that have been there even longer than Guy himself. Lots of opportunity to save costs, especially in mid-to-upper Fiery management. More to go in Q1 or Q2 2019. You heard it hear first.
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Bill Muir's strength is in manufacturing. What does this mean for EFI? It means that EFI is further transforming into an "industrial equipment manufacturer" vs. being a high tech company in Silicon Valley. And I specifically put "Silicon Valley" here. EFI's margins in its Fiery business (core development in Fremont, CA) don't allow for paying Silicon Valley high tech salaries any longer. They just can't afford it and maintain their target operating margins on Fiery. There's simply no reason for an industrial equipment manufacturer to be headquartered in Silicon Valley. The cost structure is just too high and the Fiery business no longer supports it. Silicon valley salaries and California taxes are simply too much to bear for a company that gets a minority of revenue from this high tech Fiery business that has no growth story. When EFI was centered on high tech digital print servers a decade ago, it made sense. Now the growth story is in building inkjet printers, printers for packaging, etc. So now that it is primarily an equipment manufacturer, it's time to move and Bill Muir is the man to do it. Rumor is that they are looking at Arizona to offload expenses from the Fremont office. EFI already have an office in Phoenix and the tax climate for business in much better than California. The plan will be to offer Fremont, CA employees with a relocation package to Phoenix or a termination package and take their chances finding something else in Silicon Valley. I hear Phoenix is a lovely place and the cost of living is much lower, so it's not all bad news.
Stealth RIFs have already started. EFI management is delusional now thinking that budget cuts here and there will solve the problems internally. Before this is done there will be a 15-20% RIF of the worst performers.
EFI literally cannot afford the business model Guy and Marc have constructed.