Siemens seeks damage limitation in collapse of BenQ's German mobile phone ops
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After a public outcry over the collapse of BenQ's German mobile telephone making operations, electronics giant Siemens has sought to repair its reputation by cancelling a generous pay-rise for top managers and using the money saved to help BenQ's German employees instead.
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9.15am: The BBC has closed a Â£2bn deal with Siemens Business Services for the contracting out of its technology wing. The ten-year Technology Framework Contract, approved by the government, will see the corporation save an estimated Â£30m a year.
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Cancelling pay rises Siemens' board voted this weekend to forgo a planned 30 per cent pay rise in order to set up a â¬30m hardship fund for workers affected by the closure of the German handset business it offloaded to BenQ last year.â¦
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Siemens' telecommunications unit will undergo a compliance review, setting back its proposed merger with Nokia's networks group until early next year.
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Siemens has issued a statement warning users of a bug in their 65-series handsets (C65, CX65, M65, S65, SL65 as well as all provider variations such as the CV65, CT65, CXV65 and CXT65).
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Ver.di -- the giant services sector union -- said on Thursday that more than 61,000 employees of Deutsche Telekom could be affected by company plans to spin off some services activities, such as call-centres, many more than originally estimated.
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BenQ Mobile plans to file for bankruptcy protection in Germany after its Taiwanese parent decided to stop investing in the money-losing operation, the mobile phone maker said Thursday.
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Scandal-wracked Germen engineering giant Siemens said Thursday it would extend a limited amnesty for staff that expose illegal practices by one more month.
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German electronics giant Siemens had originally hoped to decide the fate of its mobile phone activities by the time chairman Heinrich von Pierer steps down at the group's annual meeting next week.
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Blaring disconnection melody in some Siemens phones could potentially cause ear damage.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said German electronics giant Siemens must take responsibility for 3,000 of its former workers who are set to lose their jobs.
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(InfoWorld) - Taiwan's BenQ Corp. launched as a new corporate entity on Sept. 1, with plans to focus on digital projectors, computer monitors and other electronics, while its former main business, mobile phones, takes a back seat. It's a big change from a year ago. BenQ has now come full circle from its 2005 takeover of Siemens AG's mobile phone unit. The Taiwanese company was never able to turn the troubled business around, despite Siemens paying BenQ â¬250 million (US$340.8 million) to take the ailing division off its hands. Six money-losing quarters after the acquisition, BenQ called it quits, citing cutthroat competition and an inability to drive down costs at the German unit. By then, it had racked up losses of over â¬840 million. In its new form, BenQ is the branded division of Qisda Corp., which replaced the old name, BenQ, as the legal entity and the company listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Qisda is the manufacturing side of the former BenQ, and the plan is to spin off the new BenQ within the next few years once it's healthy. One of the biggest changes at BenQ is a lighter focus on mobile phones. While BenQ will still market handsets and focus on select markets, it will drop high profile advertising campaigns such as sponsorship of the Real Madrid football club and other big budget programs. Instead, it will target a smaller budget on its strongest products. This year, the company's best products are digital projectors and computer monitors, which it expects to lead it to a break-even year on sales of around NT$60 billion (US$1.82 billion). By 2009, the company forecasts sales to reach NT$100 billion. Hurdles remain. The insolvency administrator of the company's former mobile phone unit in Germany, BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co. OHG, is suing Qisda to recoup over â¬100 million in past account payables and employee bonuses. Qisda is considering filing counterclaims against the lawsuits. Qisda executives also face the prospect of jail time for alleged insider stock trading in Taiwan, related to when the company revealed losses tied to BenQ Mobile. The Taoyuan District Court in Taiwan started court proceedings against some Qisda executives in mid-July, including Chairman K.Y. Lee and Chief Financial Officer Eric Yu. Qisda has denied any wrongdoing on the part of its executives. Â
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(InfoWorld) - BenQ Mobile is closing down a handset facility in Taiwan amid an ongoing restructuring of its operations, calling reported plans to outsource production altogether "speculation." The closure of the facility is part of aÂ massive restructuring effortÂ parent company BenQ announced last month, after it failed to make good on a promise to turn around its financial performance in the second quarter. The company's mobile phone business has struggled ever since itÂ took over Siemens' loss-making mobile phone divisionÂ in a high profile deal last year. It also highlights cutthroat competition in the mobile phone industry as leaders such as Nokia and MotorolaÂ grab market share. The handset business had proved so tough for Siemens that it agreed to pay BenQ â¬250 million ($317 million) to take the ailing division off its hands. BenQ has posted losses for the three quarters that have passed since the deal was finalized. The Taiwanese handset facility will close by the end of this year, affecting over 100 workers. Foreign workers invited to Taiwan to work the factory floor will be sent home, while some Taiwanese workers will retire and others will be relocated to other BenQ factories, said Albert Lin, a communications officer at BenQ. The operation accounts for less than 10 percent of BenQ Mobile's handset production. "This is part of BenQ Mobile's plan to cut costs and increase efficiency," he said. He also called news reports from Germany, which say BenQ Mobile plans to sell or close all of its handset factories and farm production out to a contract manufacturer, "speculation," and refused further comment. It's the second series of layoffs announced by the mobile phone maker so far this year. In July, BenQ Mobile said it planned to cut 277 jobs at its facility in Munich, Germany, in addition to releasing 250 German contract employees that work offsite. BenQ Mobile's parent company, BenQ Corp., also said it planned to restructure its operations in an effort to increase cash available to finance BenQ Mobile as it struggles toward profitability. BenQ last month said it would split its name brand division and manufacturing operations into separate companies, a change that would not affect its mobile phone factories. BenQ Mobile planned to continue producing its own handsets due to the degree of customization required by network operators, among other reasons, Clemens Joos, CEO of BenQ Mobile, said at the time. BenQ Mobile faces an uphill battle to return to profitability, mainly because larger rivals have stepped up the competition and are grabbing market share from smaller companies in the industry. BenQ's share of the handset market dropped to 3.2 percent in the second quarter, from 4.8 percent the same time last year, according to market researcher Gartner. Meanwhile, Nokia's share rose to 33.6 percent from 31.6 percent, and Motorola's increased to 21.9 percent from 17.7 percent. Â
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German electronics giant Siemens said it planned to cut 1,350 jobs in its new Siemens Com division, which covers the group's activities in fixed-line and mobile communications.
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Insolvency administrators for the ex-boss of German phone firm Mobilcom sue France Telecom for $5.74bn (4.26bn euros; Â£2.99bn) in damages.
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After last year&#39;s reports of exploding batteries in Nokia phones and amid growing concern about electromagnetic radiation from wireless devices in general, Siemens warned recently of a software defect in a range of mobile phones that could cause hearing
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Attempts to find an investor for bankrupt German mobile phone maker BenQ Mobile have failed, after the last potential buyer ended negotiations, the company's insolvency administrator said Sunday.