Kein Wunder, daß den Dot.coms Spitzenleute davonlaufen...
Stelios gives staff a lesson in capitalism
Julia Finch
Thursday September 27, 2001
The Guardian
A number of staff at Stelios Haji-Ioannou's private EasyGroup company have seen their life savings wiped out after the millionaire low-cost airline founder slashed the value of shares they had bought from £1 to 1p.
The devaluation involves staff working for the easyEverything internet cafes. The group also includes EasyRentacar and the EasyMoney personal finance operation.
Internet staff were offered free shares, which many saw as reward for salaries they claim are lower than market rates, and could invest up to £10,000 to buy additional shares in a scheme devised by the EasyJet founder to generate loyalty ahead of a float.
A successful initial public offering would have allowed staff to realise the value of free shares and presented them with bumper bonuses.
Mr Haji-Ioannou is now devaluing the shares purchased and those he gifted. Staff given what they thought was a £20,000 bonus will instead have shares worth £200. Staff who paid£10,000 will be left with a holding of £100.
The devaluation will be rubber-stamped tomorrow, at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders, when Mr Haji-Ioannou will use the weight of his 75% stake in the company to force through the change.
Mr Haji-Ioannou, reckoned to be worth more than £800m and the son of a billionaire Greek shipowner, admitted the value of the shares was being cut. "That's capitalism," he said. "They still have the shares. They are just a lot less valuable. This is an internet company. We used to think they were valuable. Now they are not."
Many staff affected by the price cut feel they have been badly treated by a boss who has built a reputation as a new generation Richard Branson, who dislikes hierarchies and prefers staff to use his first name. One said: "Stelios just said: 'I've lost money. You are going to lose it, too. That's business'."
Mr Haji-Ioannou said the devalution was the result of a financing exercise last year, when he raised cash for the business from computer group Hewlett-Packard and a venture capital group.
The loan was convertible into shares but, as the value of dot.coms fell, the two lenders demanded a cash repayment.
Mr Haji-Ioannou said he had to put more cash into the firm. "The result is that the employee options have become less valuable. Unfortunately, that's capitalism."
Devaluation of the EasyEverything staff share options comes amid a management shake-up. Maurice Kelly, the chain's chief executive, departed abruptly on Tuesday, along with at least one other senior executive. Mr Haji-Ioannou has installed himself as Mr Kelly's replacement. "I want to run it myself," he said. "This is my next big thing."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
Meine Prognose: NM hat um 30% weniger Unternehmen innerhalb eines Jahres, weil sie
1)schlichtweg kein qualifiziertes Personal haben, ihre derzeitige Krise zu meistern
2)pleite sind
3)das Geschäftsmodell sich als unverkäuflich erwiesen hat
4)gerade noch die Kurve gekratzt haben und ihre Klitsche verkaufen konnten.
mfg, airest
PS.: Ich will auch einmal eines GRÜNEN STERN!
Stelios gives staff a lesson in capitalism
Julia Finch
Thursday September 27, 2001
The Guardian
A number of staff at Stelios Haji-Ioannou's private EasyGroup company have seen their life savings wiped out after the millionaire low-cost airline founder slashed the value of shares they had bought from £1 to 1p.
The devaluation involves staff working for the easyEverything internet cafes. The group also includes EasyRentacar and the EasyMoney personal finance operation.
Internet staff were offered free shares, which many saw as reward for salaries they claim are lower than market rates, and could invest up to £10,000 to buy additional shares in a scheme devised by the EasyJet founder to generate loyalty ahead of a float.
A successful initial public offering would have allowed staff to realise the value of free shares and presented them with bumper bonuses.
Mr Haji-Ioannou is now devaluing the shares purchased and those he gifted. Staff given what they thought was a £20,000 bonus will instead have shares worth £200. Staff who paid£10,000 will be left with a holding of £100.
The devaluation will be rubber-stamped tomorrow, at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders, when Mr Haji-Ioannou will use the weight of his 75% stake in the company to force through the change.
Mr Haji-Ioannou, reckoned to be worth more than £800m and the son of a billionaire Greek shipowner, admitted the value of the shares was being cut. "That's capitalism," he said. "They still have the shares. They are just a lot less valuable. This is an internet company. We used to think they were valuable. Now they are not."
Many staff affected by the price cut feel they have been badly treated by a boss who has built a reputation as a new generation Richard Branson, who dislikes hierarchies and prefers staff to use his first name. One said: "Stelios just said: 'I've lost money. You are going to lose it, too. That's business'."
Mr Haji-Ioannou said the devalution was the result of a financing exercise last year, when he raised cash for the business from computer group Hewlett-Packard and a venture capital group.
The loan was convertible into shares but, as the value of dot.coms fell, the two lenders demanded a cash repayment.
Mr Haji-Ioannou said he had to put more cash into the firm. "The result is that the employee options have become less valuable. Unfortunately, that's capitalism."
Devaluation of the EasyEverything staff share options comes amid a management shake-up. Maurice Kelly, the chain's chief executive, departed abruptly on Tuesday, along with at least one other senior executive. Mr Haji-Ioannou has installed himself as Mr Kelly's replacement. "I want to run it myself," he said. "This is my next big thing."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
Meine Prognose: NM hat um 30% weniger Unternehmen innerhalb eines Jahres, weil sie
1)schlichtweg kein qualifiziertes Personal haben, ihre derzeitige Krise zu meistern
2)pleite sind
3)das Geschäftsmodell sich als unverkäuflich erwiesen hat
4)gerade noch die Kurve gekratzt haben und ihre Klitsche verkaufen konnten.
mfg, airest
PS.: Ich will auch einmal eines GRÜNEN STERN!
