seems they do some laying off every summer

That's too bad, I wonder how their tour staff roster will change in the coming months. Maybe they should stop making lavish commercials and paying celebrities to be on their staff!

Tough talk for sure but they have a big uphill lie ahead of them...curious to see if they can steal some thunder from TM et al

This is unfortunate to hear. Maybe as Callaway continues to rebuild they can hire some of these people back on board.

ya never know, or maybe some "trimming of the fat"

I worked for Honeywell when I got out of college and every quarter, there was a 5% reduction in the workforce. As soon as the earnings were announced for the quarter, they would hire "fresh outs" to fill those jobs. Tough on morale, especially when long time employees were being let go.

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$886 million in sales, and a $172 million loss....ur not doing something right

Pretty strong words from the new Callaway CEO in an interview here: http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equip...#ixzz20PrQifdC

These were the quotes that caught my eye:

Brewer talked about how that change in attitude can pay off in the golf market's current competitive landscape. "The team here is really passionate and has a lot of commitment to this company and the business," he said. "They have hated losing. They are smart people. Getting your ass kicked in the golf business is no fun.

"Getting this behind us and getting focused on kicking a little ass of our own is going to be energizing, and that's the next step for us."

Golf equipment is a highly advertising and endorsement driven industry. Significant cuts to that budget will reduce sales.

The Golf Channel report I heard mentioned that Callaway lost just over $100m last year. Since you can't cut R&D without jeopardizing your future and you can't cut endorsements, advertising, etc. without a hit in sales, unless there are massive process inefficiencies (the optimization of which would itself result in labor reductions) there is little else Callaway can cut except its labor costs. It's very sad and I hope they give those employees good severance and outplacement assistance.

They sold the Top-Flite ball division not long ago I thought?

cutting payroll is bad for the employees who get laid off, but it's better for the companies bottom line

a good financial move by Callaway

Edited the title to correct spelling of Callaway. I know the two Calloway guys on this site are famous, but who knew they made clubs too. http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...es/biggrin.png

I hate to see this happen, I think Callaway has some of the best equipment going right now and I am proud to be representing them in the Morgan Cup!

And I am sure they have relatives they are too fond of...we all do right...but I doubt they would be laying them off...LOL

I haven't looked into Callaway's numbers, but I'd guess that after headcount, marketing is the highest percentage of their budget. They're trimming staff, but $50M in savings there (and probably less after packages), still isn't going to cover that gap.

I realize golf sales are all about marketing, but I question the value of the money spent when everyone is seemingly doing the exact same things. I don't necessarily agree that marketing can't be cut without hurting the company.

If I were Callaway, I'd really look into whether there's value in Tour player sponsorship. Is it better to have an advertisment at every break on a major tournament, or 1/2 the players in the field with your logo stitched onto them somewhere? Would 1/2 of the televised ads actually produce the same results? Would cross platform advertising (say advertising Callaway equipment on ESPN) get better results? Is more money to be made by Tour players actually doing anything to drive golf sales?

I'd also look at potentially splitting lines. This would allow the Callaway brand to move a bit more up market and some lower line (made by Callaway) to go for the more novice players at lower price points. This is an industry where people don't really know who is linked to whom. There's an opportunity to potentially capture more market space and more revenue per club sale by doing this.

convienient enough, the marketing numbers for the past few years have not been disclosed

Doesn't sound like they have much of a choice. Rebuilding a brand comes with some painful decisions. I wish those departing employees well, it's a scary time to be out of work.

That's what happens when Phil tries to buy a share of the Padres. He's probably spending more time working the Padres deal out than making Callaway commercials. Bad Phil!

~Rock

Callaway to layoff 10% of it workforce today! sad!
 

Golf Channel just announced Calloway is laying off approximately 10% of its workforce worldwide.

seems to be happening everywhere. those of us in the defense industry are looking at 30-40% reductions if the government doesn't get its act together.

I have heard Callaway has been in trouble for a few years now.
I did my part however, I purchased a set of RAZR HL a few months ago. I never thought I would own Callaway clubs, but I have to say I love these things. They really make me feel like I can play this crazy game. I hope they bounce back. Did't they just hire the TM marketing guy?