Kodak Layoffs !

I'm totally tired of the American way of doing business.

I say the company which has the most heart and passion in the medium will be the winner, in the long run.

Altough I love Kodak's plus-x, I won't have a problem in changing films. I just hope Ilford stands still through the storm... Because if they do, they'll earn big in the end, IMO!
 
NB23 said:
I'm totally tired of the American way of doing business.

I say the company which has the most heart and passion in the medium will be the winner, in the long run.
Click to expand...

Boy, I'm glad you not one the board of directors of any of the firms of which I own stock.


I do love film (complete wet darkroom) but commercially, film is dead. I hope Ilford hangs one for a long time and I support them. But frankly I don't think anything will be left except B+W in my lifetime and I'm already 61. I'm particullary worried about paper since the new injets have finally got that wired too.

Rex
 
Imagine you're in a small boat in the middle of a storm sea and pumping out water like mad to try to keep it floating, and then suddenly you see the fattest and coward guy from the crew jumping off board, not being able to face the situation.

I don't know what you'd be doing, but for sure I'd applaud him, wish him good luck with the digital sharks out there, and then of course, resume my pumping.

If we had to hold our breath each time Kodak's CEO opens his mouth, we'd pretty much all be in hospital with tubes all around by now ;)
 
I don't know if anybody noticed but it seems that Fuji is ending production in March of several different developers and stopping to sell B&W for bulk loading, the notice was in Japanese so I'm a little hazy on the details.
 
There will always be film and it may even get better. Whether Kodak will keep a token portion of the market remains to be seen. They are still setting up new photo labs throughout Thailand and I wonder how they plan to support them in the future when they have more less abandoned film from what I and others see. When you think about it, How much would it cost Kodak to hire some kids to run a fantastic Black and White film website and sponsor some events seperate of their new found direction? I believe they somehow view their roots as embarrising and tend to hope the new generation of consumers somehow forget that Kodak would not be **** if it were not for simple film cameras using black and white films. Like some have pointed out, when you go to their website it is plain as day that black and white film is their red headed step child.

Like I was saying, there will always be film but it is hard to predict the future. Im looking to the smaller companies in France, Germany, formerly Russia, India and China. Illford seems to already be well established but we just watched the downfall of Forte which was a big player in black and white. If you like you could even call Forte a part of Kodak since it was established by George in 1922. I just dont see any new chemical related film business being built up in the United States and who knows what the bill is going to be for Kodak when they try and shut down their old chemical plants as they are now doing. It could well become some kind of environmental nightmare or superfund site with a big bill.

I recently found some Kodak film that is marked made in USA and packaged in Mexico. Its a plain and simple box that is export only, not for sale in the US from what I understand. I will give it a go and I just had used some Kodak service to scan a few rolls of film for me in the last 24 hours so Im supporting them for now, I plan to buy up a few hundred bucks worth of Forte paper and 4x5 sheet film the next time im in Bangkok. I will also track down some Lucky black and white film, Who knows I may get Lucky in Bangkok:D


I will be keeping all options open concerning film, Im well beyond the worry of corperations doing what is in their best intrests. If they make somthing I want and of a qaulity that I can use I will buy it. If Kodak gives me a free t-shirt I will wear it but that goes for any flm maker. If they all go down the tubes I will use glass in 8x10 and mix my own chemistry.
 
Kodak's declining film sales aren't its only worry. Last year its number of digital cameras sold fell 31% from 2005. Its market share declined from 25% to 16% and instead of being the market leader in digital cameras, it is now in 3rd place. (See http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/02/05/cameras/index.php) This is a company that has severely lost its way, in my opinion. There is no longer any compelling reason to buy most of the products it makes.
 
It's my understanding that the film sales at Kodak are still profitable. Yes, the profits have slid...from $500 mil to $300 mil. The digital side is just now barely ecking out a 3% profit. All of this is happening in the structure of a very large corporate environment. My guess is that there are alot of Overhead and Home Office (G&A) expenses charged off to the most profitable portions of the company. "Profit" is a point of view.

Bob
 
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