Jul 9, 2009

22 More Go

Off they go, 22 more souls leaving ePrize today. And it sounds like the message that they need to remember is to stay away from PrizeLogic. Good luck folks. With Chrysler and GM coming out of bankruptcy, there should be some positions opening up at agencies that deal with them. Otherwise, there's still a list of job posting places on the blog.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll admit it was fun working with most of the people there, but once I was on the outside I realized they are only the industry leaders in one thing. Promotions.

The other places doing promotions handle everything from that to TV commercials to print ads. These other companies offer more flavors. To claim to be the industry leader is akin to saying they are the leader in vanilla.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the actual head count is down to these days?

Anonymous said...

Based on last years bragging rights of over 300+ employees , we know of close to 50 , so my guess is around 250, unless there have been other layoffs we are not aware of.

Anonymous said...

This is round 5 or 6 of layoffs since the first round in July 08. The total of layoffs is close to 100...

Anonymous said...

"325+" is what it says in that movie on the homepage. We also do promotions in over a million countries.

Anonymous said...

they shut down the Dallas office completely

Anonymous said...

How do people let Josh get away with lying like this? Check out this quote from http://www.detnews.com/article/20090713/BIZ/907130361/Michigan-factory-jobs-shrink.

"We've bottomed out, I do believe that," said Linkner, whose company develops and manages interactive promotions for the likes of General Motors Co., Domino's Pizza and HBO.
Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize, which employs 275 Michigan workers, grew by 25 percent last year. It may not grow so much this year, but jobs have stayed steady, and he is gearing up for growth again in 2010."

The emphasis is added, but how the fuck does Josh get to lie and lie and lie and still be quoted? Fucking unbelievable.

Anonymous said...

My favorite is how the last four rounds he has said, "I don't anticipate there being more." See a psychic or something dude and get it right.

And you gotta love the cutting edge journalists that ask the tough questions around here....

Anonymous said...

The reporter's e-mail address is on the article, and they do have a comment section. If we've got credible proof to dispute his quote, why not publicly dispute it? Or at the very least e-mail this reporter and tell him to do a little homework next time.

Anonymous said...

Joshie gets away with lying becuase he always has lied, always has been a sneaky lowlife.

There's a reason why ePrize is the "common enemy" of the Promotions biz and the day the place is shuttered, the ENTIRE promotions industry...from the newer shops to the old horses who have competed against each other for decades...will throw a huge keg party and use Linkner's hollowed out skull as a punch bowl. And its NOTHING to do with them being #1. Its got everything to do with their shady business practices.

Anonymous said...

Can someone please elabourate on these "shady business practices"? I don't have any vested interest in how ethically they may or may not run their company, but I love controversy and gossip.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I'm not sure I would agree with 'shady business practices'. Aside from how they treat their employees and ex employees; they run their business really no differently than any other.

Anonymous said...

Say all you want, but Josh is a hero in our community. Sure times are tough now, but he's created hundreds of jobs over the last ten years. All you bitchers and complainers fed your familes and learned a tremendous amount at ePrize. He's helped elevate the metro area, donates a bunch of money, serves on charity boards, and helped create hope in Detroit. What the hell have you done other than complained? Have you created any jobs or helped anyone, or do you just enjoy pointing fingers?

The economy sucks, and ePrize is fighting thru it just like every other agency. Their clients cut budgets, so ePrize cut expenses. Wow - how evil they must be! Jobs aren't guaranteed for life. Get over it. ePrize / Josh don't owe you anything.

Dayton said...

I'm continually amazed by this blog. The passion that comes out about this company is just amazing. Are there any other (ex)employee blogs out there with so many posts both positive and negative? If there are, I’d love to read them. The question I have is, why? Why is everyone up in arms about ePrize? I’ve been gone close to 3 years now, but I still read the blog on a regular basis. Although it is more for entertainment value now.

My personal opinion is that we all drank the Kool Aid, (some more than others, me included) and feel like ePrize should be better, faster, cooler than it is. It seems like executive management just didn’t do the hard things they needed to do.

I have to admit though, I’d love to be able to get so many people to feel that strongly about any company.

Best of luck to the latest crop of layoffs. You’ll find that it was one of the better things to happen to you.

Anonymous said...

@hero boy

Josh is a hero because of lies. Your spouting bullshit. How many people have been let go over the last 12 months? You can't tout adding hundred's of jobs when another 100 or so have been scrubbed in the last year. Hero is a bit overstating it, there are plenty of companies that are adding jobs to the MI and Metro detroit economy. You're at a marketing company so they're spinning hardcore and getting the lies out to the paper. These reporters and our governor aren't checking facts at all when they boast about ePrize. What are the employment numbers now, what were they say 3 years ago???

'What have you done'. What the hell have YOU done? You stand up and cheer for the 'hero' in your world because he signs your check... shut up and get some integrity.

We aren't saying that ePrize is evil because it cuts jobs... we're saying you and everyone else who is public facing at that company is a sham and a liar. Job growth is not quite as fantastic as you claim it to be and the dumb-asses in the media still buy your brand of bullshit. They need to be honest with the press to get any respect. You didn't see Josh mentioning the 50+ people who have been fired this year in his most recent interview do you?

Anonymous said...

There are still around 275 people who have good jobs and who feed their families thanks to ePrize. They pay dozens of vendors, pay taxes, helps clients, train employees. Even if they lost 50 or so jobs over the last year due to the worst economy since the Great Depression, they are still helping this area tremendously.

As an ePrizer, I follow this blog in disbelief. You people are whinny children. Easier to "blame the man" than to take responsiblity for your own situation. I've personally learned a ton from Josh and have been inspired to be a better person.

I keep getting back to my question - what the hell have any of you done other than bitch? How many jobs have you created? I am personally happy to work at ePrize. My wife and kids are happy I work here too. While you keep pointing-fingers, I'm enjoying a great job.

Anonymous said...

This sure sounds like Josh admonishing himself in the "third person".

Anonymous said...

Really 275? Do you hire back as many people as you lay off?

I'm not really blaming ePrize for anything, I quit, didn't get fired, and have a great job somewhere else now. How do you measure an individual's contribution in terms of 'creating jobs' unless that individual is the owner of a company really... How is that even a fair comparison? I'm still waiting for an answer to my question, how many jobs did YOU create personally?

IE6 Rocks! said...

Hey, Anonymous, go wash my car!

Look! I just created a job!

Anonymous said...

THE BUMS WILL ALWAYS LOSE! DO YOU HEAR ME LEBOWSKI?! THE BUMS WILL ALWAYS LOSE!

Anonymous said...

@ie6

Ok one job down, now you go wash my car, we're even. Hell, clean my gutters.

@Lebowski
Yeah well, that's just like, your opinion man.

Anonymous said...

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090713/FREE/907139981#

Josh says that 50 have been laid off since last summer.

Unknown said...

Sorry about the lack of moderation these last few days, guys. The offensive comment has been removed and the comments about the offensive comment as well.

Anonymous said...

@louis friend

Have the people responsible for the comments been sacked? ;)