14 DAY TRIAL // SGI has gone bankrupt! In a press-release entitled "SGI takes action to reduce debt", the ex-graphics giant has announced that its US subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code. The company said its non-US subsidiaries, including European, Canadian, Mexican, South American and Asia Pacific subsidiaries were not included in the filing and will continue their business operations without supervision from the US courts, and will not be subject to requirements of chapter 11. They expect to emerge from Chapter 11 within six months.
"This is a necessary and responsible step that will strengthen the company and foster a sustained turnaround at SGI. The milestone marks a fundamental and comprehensive change," said Dennis McKenna, CEO. "I am confident in SGI's future. The new direction I have set is comprehensive, the product portfolio we will unveil is expansive and our dedication to customer satisfaction is unwavering," he added, briefly pulling his head out of the sand.
The announcement came as a surprise to no one, as most press releases in the past years came with bleak news. Late last year, SGI was kicked off the New York Stock Exchange, and in March they said that "approximately 12% of the workforce or 250 positions in specific areas will be eliminated", in a desperate attempt to save some cash - "restructuring", as SGI's PR people call it.
It's truly sad to see one of the true innovators succumb to stupidity of management. The company whose engineering department was envied by all still seems to ignore the changes that have happened in the market since management last looked out the window - circa 1986. The press release announcing the layoffs spoke of revolutionary changes such as "consolidating our server and visualization product lines into one." Good luck with that.