Monday, March 19, 2007

Hodgepodge of Netshops layoff related info today

A little fun for all you Netshoppers reading right now, because I know you aren't doing anything job related....

Take this quiz

Duluth News Tribune picks up on the impending layoffs.

Thralow employees offered jobs in Omaha
Jane Brissett Duluth News TribunePublished Friday, March 16, 2007

NetShops, the Omaha, Neb., company that that bought Web sites from Proctor-based Thralow Inc., has begun offering jobs in Omaha to employees of the local e-commerce firm. Those who aren’t hired will be given a severance package, said NetShops’ human resources director.


All operations from Proctor are moving to Omaha, said Dana Coonce, human
resources director at NetShops. Dan Thralow, who founded Thralow Inc. and now
works for NetShops, said that 35 of the 39 employees who work in Proctor elected
to go to Omaha at NetShops’ expense to see the headquarters and learn about the
company.

NetShops is just beginning to assess how many people it needs and to make offers to workers in Proctor, Coonce said. If Proctor employees aren’t hired to work in Omaha and aren’t retained by Thralow Inc., they will be cut from the payroll and given a severance package, she said. NetShops, which has more than $100 million in annual sales, bought 40 of Thralow Inc.’s Web sites — but not the company itself — in November. The sites include Binoculars.com, Telescopes.com, Peepers
.com and others.

Thralow said the company named for him will remain in Proctor at 9803 Westgate Boulevard in the JOBZ tax-free zone where the company’s warehouse building was recently completed. Thralow said he “can’t answer” what Thralow Inc. will do or how many people it will employ. “There will be a payroll,” he said.

Thralow said he has no plans to move to Omaha.

When the sale was announced, NetShops said it would keep all of Thralow Inc.’s employees. NetShops is a private firm that owned about 120 retail specialty sites — such as PatioUmbrellas.com, Hammocks.com and Dartboards.com — at the time of the acquisition. It was named Inc. magazine’s 13th fastest-growing company in America in 2006.


Thralow Inc. started as a retail outlet called Peepers in downtown Duluth’s Holiday Center. The company began selling sunglasses online in 1996 at Peepers.com and expanded to binoculars and other optical products with various Web sites. Thralow sold the business to Eye City Inc. in 1999, then bought it back at a fraction of the
original sale price when EyeCity folded in 2001. Thralow Inc. was named the
203rd fastest-growing company in America in 2006 by Inc. magazine.

The Omaha World Herald reported on Feb. 7 that NetShops laid off about 50 people to achieve efficiencies and didn’t plan more cuts. Coonce said that was due to a
reorganization unrelated to the current transition.


The integration of the Proctor and Omaha work forces probably will take several months, she said.


Read the comments on the article here.
On a positive note, Laura Erickson's new blog appears to have been pulled. Maybe she's getting Birderblog.com back? Right now, Birderblog.com goes to Binoculars.com, so I have to assume something's going on with the two sites. Laura, if you can, please give us details.


Another person not happy with how they were treated by Netshops.

Amanda Collier's blog

As always, feel free to email me or post a comment.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

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John

Anonymous said...

BTW, there are now a couple of seriously nasty comments on Collier's sole blog post...

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Amanda's blog is a bandwagon-hopping cry for attention. She was laid off MONTHS ago and is just now deciding to make this blog? I guess all of her MySpace bulletins didn't have the affect she was hoping for.

And while this blog offers insightful information about the layoffs, the legalities behind the NetShops layoffs and others, and just general interesting banter, Amanda's blog is an unwarranted bitch-fest hoping for sympathy that is not coming.

Anonymous said...

Leigh,
Seriously you have issues. For you to sit there and try to down talk me shows your maturity level. I was a damn good supervisor at that place. My team was second highest in all of the percentages. But like you would have any idea! Talking your trash must be a turn on for you! God only knows about your smoke and lunch breaks out in the parking lot. At least I came to work sober and didn't have to try my hardest for people to like me. I got along with a lot of ppl at that place, and I treated everyone with respect. Ya I will admitt that there was ppl there that I didnt get along with but thats common in the workplace. For you to say that I took a lot of smoke breaks, SHIT you could never be found, because you were always outside smoking. Everyone knew the type of person that you were. At least I wasn't sleeping with one of my friends boyfriends at work. And I didnt fuck over another one of my friends rental history! You are a very selfish person who only cares about satisfying yourself, even if it means hurting everyone that comes in your path! Ya I did get along with you, you put up a front at Netshops that you were a nice person. BUT everyone saw right through you TRUST ME!! And this shit about the clocks, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??? Get out of your make believe land. I knew that once I posted my blog on here that this immature bander was going to start. Funny that it happens to be you! Bad Mistake on your Part. You can talk your shit from here to god knows where else but I could give a shit! For your information I have had jobs since Netshops, but they weren't the field that I was interested in. You have no idea what has gone in my life since I was laid off, so shut your mouth!!! You know when you kissed ass and begged upper management to hire you for the position in drop ship before it even was posted was pretty pathetic! BUT THANK YOU FOR THE LAUGH, THAT KEPT THE HUMOR ON THE FLOOR FOR AWHILE!!

Unknown said...

Amanda ~

You would do best not to enter a battle of wits with me. You don't have the required equipment. I will not respond to your comment in full as this blog is not intended for personal battles.

My problems with you and your obvious problems with me are irrelevant in this forum. And no one here is interested. But, if you would like to have a one-on-one conversation, that can be arranged. Since you decided to air not only your dirty laundry but mine as well, why not take the next step?? Why don’t you tell the class about Eric Sheid?? At least my indiscretions were kept private until after I left.

I will respond to your comment about my promotion to the Drop Ship Team. I did not beg and I damn sure didn’t kiss any ass. Dale Weyer had asked me to apply for both the Resolutions Team and the Drop Ship position. My work spoke for itself. As did yours. And, THAT is why you were laid off and I had the luxury of leaving by choice.

Why don’t you go back to your job hunt and let the intelligent kids play here uninterrupted??

Anonymous said...

Leigh,

Do you not remember how you blatantly started the argument or should I say down grading on me? I simply posted my blog on here on here on how Netshops treated me and you were the one who took matters into your own hands and starting critizing me. So do not sit there and try to act innocent. I simply put you in your place after you tried to be Mrs. Barney Bad Ass and insult me. Which everything that you had to say was a lie!

Unknown said...

Amanda ~

Your continued efforts to not look like a loser are desperate and futile. And, if you hadn't noticed, the opinions expressed on your blog are not mine alone.

Say what you like. Everyone that reads this and knows you and me will recognize the truth.

Unknown said...

Hey Amanda - do the rest of us that read this blog a favor and try to argue with Leigh on your own blog. As I previously mentioned, this blog has some good information on it, and for the most part has some intelligent comments, and you continue to use this page for your rebuttals, to posts made on YOUR blog, when you should use your own private blog. Posting them here just makes you seem even more attention starved.