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Wed, Jul 5th 2006 4:07am

National Semiconductor Takes Back Gift iPods

from the not-such-a-gracious-gift-giver dept

We've heard of plenty of companies giving out iPods as gifts to employees recently. It's a nice enough gift -- but apparently the gift giving only goes so far at National Semiconductor. Someone who prefers to remain anonymous sent in the news that Nat Semi decided its "gifts" were actually loaners. Yes, that's right, when they laid off a bunch of people, the company demanded the iPods back. This, despite the fact that the company claimed it gave the devices out to employees as a reward for its "best fiscal year" -- and even the press described the iPods as gifts. Some of the laid off employees claim they sold their iPods or gave them to others as gifts. Perhaps they need to go back to those they gave the iPods to and explain that it, too, was only a temporary gift.

56 Comments | Leave a Comment..

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Reader Comments (rss)

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Nice One
Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 4:23am

Thanks for all your hard work. Here's a token of our appreciation.................
Your fired! We want our token back.

Nice one assclowns!

Oh, btw. Frist psot!!
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
RWeed, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 4:52am

I really feel bad for the poor bastard in middle management that was forced to take them back. Getting fired is one thing but having to fire someone and then having to look like an even bigger jerk by taking back a gift that the suits handed out must have been awful.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
This is a basic Judge Judy...., Jul 5th, 2006 @ 4:54am

Common, how many times have we watched judge judy and said 'She's gonna call this one a gift because there is no payment made for it nor do they have any doccument saying it was a loan..."

I think this is cut and dry, I'd love to see them take legal action just so they crash and burn...

Big Companys waste money all the time, I was with one electronic firm that threw out older PC's and TV's after physically smashing them with a hammer because it cost them to much more if they were given away rather then taken off the books as obsolete/scrap... (the hammering was so no-one took them out of the dumpster they were thrown into) Now this was the same company who's own employees were Usinging Pent 2 333's while they were throwing out Pent 3 1GHtz+... insanity (While I worked there I actually converted a few digital recording units with 4 harddrives into workable machiens for the staff.... idiots... my supervisors were like 'wow you can do that?')
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
thecaptain, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 4:54am

Who the hell makes these bonehead decisions and how the hell do they get to be in a position to make them?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Scott, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 5:24am

>>"how the hell do they get to be in a position to make them?"
The Peter Principle
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Three letters
ed, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 5:35am

The reason for this kind of decision: three letters - IRS
The Tax code has created tons of screwy situations. Have you noticed how hard it is to get out-of-print books now when it used to be easy (publishers used to hold stock, now they have to destroy it or they can't deduct it).
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Miss Manners and the Spelling Bee Queen, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 5:38am

Gawd, luv Ur ablility 2 spel. Mebbe nxt tyme yoo shud tayk a hammur 2 yur hed.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Miss Manners and the Spelling Bee Queen, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 5:38am

Gawd, luv Ur ablility 2 spel. Mebbe nxt tyme yoo shud tayk a hammur 2 yur hed.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Nothing is free
Just Me, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 5:42am

Africans have a saying that goes

"In life, there is nothing free, only scorpions will give it to you for free".

I guess I don't need to say more.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Junyo, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 5:45am

Okay, what's the gain in asking for them back? You get back a bunch of used iPods; what're you gonna do with 'em? Put them on eBay? Regift new hires? Pay to warehouse or crush them? Almost anything you do will have bigger cost implications than just eating the gift this time, or adding the price onto the employee's final check as pay. And next time, just give out pens/cash.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
dataguy, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 5:52am

"even the press described the iPods as gifts."

Since when is the "press" a standard for accuracy?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Keep the iPods
Comboman, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 5:57am

NatSemi doesn't have a leg to stand on with this one. I've seen people argue (successfully) that they should keep "their" laptop the company "gave" them after they were laid off. Personally I don't agree with that, since the laptop is obviously company property assigned to an employee for work purposes, but the the iPod "gift" is not really in the same category at all. At the very least, there was an expectation that this was a gift and I think most courts would agree if NatSemi pushed the issue that far.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Reasonable Doubt
Too Bad, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 6:22am

I found N.S.s press release about the iPods nowhere in the article does it say they are gifts. It does make several references to how good the company is doing which usually means hookin' a brutha up. I'm thinking the article was structured that way to setup plausible deniability or has been revised recently. ;-)

http://www.national.com/news/item/0,1735,1172,00.html
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Greg, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 6:27am

Classy.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Wry spelling post
Miss whose type of manners?, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 6:32am

Wow how lucky we are that an actual editor with perfect elocution, sentence structure, and spelliing abilities has enough time to correct language usage on the web.

Thank you so very much. And good luck finding an actual job!
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Three letters
Ian Lee, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 6:35am

For a fix to this problem, visit: http://www.fairtax.org
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
And if they don't give them back...
Ian, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 6:40am

...are they going to fire them? ;)
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Keep the iPods
lar3ry, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 6:40am

Actually, my company stamps each laptop with a tag that says "Leased." There's no doubt whatsoever that the laptop is not a gift, and I doubt that even in the event the laptops had no tag there would be no difficulty in the company recovering them.

The iPods, on the other hand, were distributed as gifts. I think it's pretty slimy to do such things, especially to departing employees.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Reasonable Doubt
Michael, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:02am

i agree - the press release doesn't say that the iPods were a gift. of course, individual managers may have left a very different impression as they handed the iPods to their employees.

whatever the company's intention, it's both bad form and needless bad publicity to demand that laid off employees return the iPods mere weeks after crowing about a record fiscal year.and we are talking about only 35 employees, or approx $10,500 worth of iPods.

if the company had any sense, it would call a press conference, apologize for any misunderstanding, make it clear that the laid off employees do NOT have to return the iPods (because of the misunderstanding), and set a clear policy for the future for remaining employees. (as a rule for the future, it wouldn't be the worst thing ever for laid off employees to keep their iPods, while resigning employees have to return theirs.)

(plus you know the net cost of the iPods to the company wasn't $300 - heck, the iPods use the company's analog chips!)
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
IPods
WhooTAZ, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:03am

I guess National Semicondutor wanted to retain their Assets ratio, that all important ROI that every wetback scumball Suit so desires even to the pit of HELL.

Damn, National Semicondutor must of gotten screwed by Apple for the IPODS. They probably paid 50 times the going street rate for them to be an Indian Giver in the end....
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Lawsuit
Jeremy, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:17am

This company is going beyond the norm and asking for gifts back. This action needs to be punished. A lawsuit is in order for causing mental anguish. Any normal person would know you don't ask for a gift back and then to do it when you fire goes beyond the pale.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Literacy?
Rob, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:20am

did you even graduate from primary school?

"companies" rather than "companys". "too" rather than "to". "no one" rather than "no-one". "cut and dried" rather than "cut and dry". "document" rather than "doccument". "whose" rather than "who's". "using" rather than "usinging". "machines" rather than "machiens".
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
a simple question?
Tyshaun, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:28am

If the company was doing so well, why the lay offs?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Bullshit!
lay man, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:30am

N.S. is lame, if this story is true.

Clearly ipods are not some sort of special tool required to do their jobs.

These must have been gifts and I mean real gifts.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Scoundrels
Mike Mixer, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:31am

Here's a gift, Yours for a limited time only, It's a good
long look straight into the eyes of evil. You can't find it in stores .You can only get it through our offer here. What's the deal you say,Here it is, You give us
your blood, sweat, and tears for several years. Then accept a token of our gratitude for all the money we made on your backs. Hold on, We're not through yet.
After all that ,You get fired and have to give us back
our token of gratitude. That's your deal. One to a customer please. No discounts and no dealers .
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Literacy?
Lame, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:34am

Who cares?

As long as he got the message across.

Maybe he's dyslexic. Besides there are much worse spellers out there.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
How do they get in position to do this?
John Redpath, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 7:43am

Easy. Like about 90% of so-called "management" types, or "suits", they fake it 'til they make it. Blood sucking and leaching off the unsuspecting and ignorant.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Unbelievable
SkiOne, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:17am

They need to show where they stated that they were loaners prior to those people getting laid off.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
3 letter explanation
Chief Elf, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:29am

>>Who the hell makes these bonehead decisions and how the hell do they get to be in a position to make them? >The reason for this kind of decision: three letters - MBA: Mindless Business [idiots]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
New Hire
anonymous coward, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:30am

Welcome to the National Semiconductor team Bob, here's your iPod.

Well, gee thanks but what's this piece of tape on the back and why is it engraved to some guy named Steve?

[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Leave your toys here.
Thomason, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:34am

Reminds me of that employee who heard that her employer was awarding her a "toyota" but what she got was a small figurine, a "toy yoda." She sued.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Whatever!!!
Anon, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:35am

I work for National. In our internal documents at National, we were informed that the company would be using the ipods for training and other company information. We had to sign a release that we would keep information on our ipods confidential. You don't sign a release for gifts! The idiots that sold their ipods are just greedy especially since we've only had them for two weeks! The ipods are meant for corporate training and can also be used for personal use.

And by the way, we have not had any layoffs. They must have been fired! (probably for stealing!) We are in the process of adding hundreds of people.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
STINKS!!!!
JIMMY HEARTLEIN, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:36am

I AM A PROMISE KEEPER AND THIS STINKS!!!!
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: STINKS!!!!
Bill McCartney, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:39am

WELCOME TO THE PROMISE KEEPERS!!!!
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Pity the fired employees :p
Jay, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:55am

Read the press release.
While designed for personal entertainment, the popular Apple MP3 player will be used as a new training and communications tool at National, providing a convenient real-time method for employees to download National podcasts and other employee communications.
Yeah, that's definitely a "gift" not something the company provides to employees as a tool. If you are a framer, and you get fired, or quit, try taking your bosses tools that he "gave" you while you were working for him. See how that works out.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Literacy?
Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:55am

Seems this is something that has been happening a lot. Get a damn life. Most of us don't care that it bothers any of you and would much prefer reading an intelligent post rather than squabbling about spelling.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Scottitude, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 8:59am

Another non-story brought to you by Techdirt Corporate Intelligence.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
???
Sanguine Dream, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 9:13am

How does one use an iPod for training? Instructional mp3s? And why allow them personal use of company property? Even with a release form to agree to confidentiality there is still the risk of the data on it being lost or stolen. i find it hard to believe that this company paid the usual $300 for those iPods. I'm sure they got some kind of deal from Apple for buying so many at once. Kinda like the time I rented VHS from Blockbuster and held it past the deadline by about 3 weeks and they wanted me to either turn it in or pay $70.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Literacy?
The Spelling Police, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 9:54am

We are tracking youse guise.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Whatever!!!
Paying consumer, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 9:54am

Well I for one will not be purchasing any products associated with this company
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Wow...
SailorAlphaCentauri, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 10:19am

who snuffed out the fires of hell? Because it sure is cold in here.

If the iPods were gifts to their employees, then that is some dirty dealing to want them back. If, however, they are instructional tools for the workplace, there will be documents that every employee had to sign which would prove the company's case. If those documents do not exist, it seems phony that the iPods were not gifts and the company looks callous as well as cold.

Anyway out, you would think there would be other ways for people to get their training from...oh, I don't know...the computers they have to hook up the iPods to in order to get the information in the first place!
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Wry spelling post
Prissy Spellers are LAME, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 10:29am

Spelling whiners are the bane of the internet.

Shame on you! You want to correct spelling?

Go teach elementary school...

Spelling corrections are the SPAM of Feedback posts
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Spelling
Cober, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 10:53am

Proper spelling is important - sorry to rain on your parade, but poor spelling undercuts any message you are trying to deliver. Poor spelling implies either you are uneducated or too lazy to properly present your message. How are you going to impress anyone when you're saying "I are ignorent[sic]"?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 10:57am

HAHA, good way to treat your employees.... Lot of morale there I bet?

Good thing to keep in mind when looking at stocks to invest in. Afterall happy employees (usually) = happy investors.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
NatSemi and slaves
Anon-i-mouse, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 11:01am

Well, it is no surprise that many employees (now mostly ex-employees) euphemistically call the company by it's name-by-behavior - Nazi Semiconductor... I see that this hasn't changed any over the past 25 years or so.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Wow...
smellygirl, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 11:11am

"If, however, they are instructional tools for the workplace, there will be documents that every employee had to sign which would prove the company's case."

That is not true. I have worked for several large corporations and have had their laptops, blackberries, etc. I never signed anything stating they were not gifts or whatever it is you imagine might be signed. Obviously these tools are property of the company.

But with the iPods, this is does seem pretty slimy. iPods are a very hot gift item for corporations and sales conferences, etc. It is hard to think of them as business equipment and not primarily for personal use.

The NS article mentions the business purpose of the iPods in the same way that a boondoggle in Hawaii has a business purpose. You may have to attend a meeting or something so that the company can write it off as a business expense, but everybody knows that if you got to go on the trip it is as a reward.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
MIKE - You're dropping the ball again!
Irritated Regular, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 11:12am

Mike,

What the hell is up with the fluff you've been posting as news lately?

This is the second week in a row that things have been pretty lame around here.

Strike two.

If you guys don't get back to some real stories soon, I'm going to have to drop you from my RSS feeds.

(Yes, I'm sure it'll hurt your feelings. :-P )
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Used to work for National...
Slackerman, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 11:38am

...glad I don't any longer.

Halla is all-go, no-show, and his company shows it. I'm more than a bit surprised by its "success" of late. Success is in quotes because I have a hard time defining flat revenue growth (from when I was with the company...circa 1998) and head count reductions as "success".

To me, this is just more of the same from a company that just doesn't "get it".
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Whatever!!!
Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 12:07pm

I doubt you have the ability to anyway!
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Three letters
Celes, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 4:39pm

The Fair Tax Act seems to have much to offer, but I did notice that it does not abolish excise taxes on things like alcohol and cigarettes; isn't that unfair to those addicted to these substances?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
iPODS
John, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 6:02pm

I would bet that it was an isolated incident in which a manager figured he would force his former employees to give back the iPODS so that he could then give them to his friends and family members. That is assuming he/she has friends.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
What I'm wondering is
ebrke, Jul 6th, 2006 @ 8:40am

if they just had their best fiscal year ever (reason for gifting iPODS), why the heck are they laying off workers?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
How typical of bloggers
media hater, Jul 13th, 2006 @ 11:39pm

Everything is hyped up for no reason. The reason any of this even happened is that John Doe decided to give his work utility to close acquaintance X.

Look at the inherent bias here:
1. These are ex-employees (read people intended on distancing themselves from National Semiconductor / bashing National Semiconductor as much as possible)
2. This is a tech oriented blog that routinely gets the crap that digg / slashdot / cnet / et al doesn't manage to hype and delivers the matter a liberal dose of marketing fluff itself.

Shame on you Techdirt for not actually getting to the heart of the matter.

The result is a wanking session of idiots posting the same "interesting" ideas in the comments session in different permutations of words and phrases.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Whatever!!!
FAYE, Jul 14th, 2006 @ 7:35pm

I WORK AT THE ARLINGTON SITE AND I DON'T REMEMBER NO CONFIDENTIAL NOTHING WRITTEN...AND THOSE IDIOTS YOU MENTIONED I KNOW THEM AND THEY HAD GOOD REASONS FOR SELLING THEM, AND YOU CARE Y...THEY SAID THEY WERE FOR TRAINING TO THE MEDIA, NOT TO US...NO ONE IS GOING TO USE IT FOR THAT,NOBODY...YES THERE WAS A VOLUNTEER LAYOFF...THESE PEOPLE WANTED TO GET THE HELL OUT, WHICH I DON'T BLAME THEM, NOBODY DOES...THE ONLY GOOD THING NATIONAL DID FOR THEM WAS LET THEM HAVE TIME TO SAY GOODBYE TO THEIR FRIENDS AND EVERYBODY APPRECIATED THAT...I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU ARE LYING ABOUT THE HUNDRED PEOPLE,, SO BASICALLY THEY LAID OFF 35 TO HIRE HUNDREDS, MAKE SENSE TO ANYONE ELSE....ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE TAKING TOOLS OUT...WHAT ARE THESE HUNDREDS GOING TO RUN..THEY ARE SLOWLY MAKING IT INTO MAINE.WHERE THE TOOLS QUAL THEMSELVES AND THERE ARE WHAT 10 PEOPLE PER SHIFT...YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.....YOU'RE PROBABLY UPSTAIRS WITH THE HEADS, SO I CAN SEE WHY YOU'RE SAYING SUCH B.S...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Whatever!!!
FAYE, Jul 14th, 2006 @ 7:40pm

I WORK AT THE ARLINGTON SITE AND I DON'T REMEMBER NO CONFIDENTIAL NOTHING WRITTEN...AND THOSE IDIOTS YOU MENTIONED I KNOW THEM AND THEY HAD GOOD REASONS FOR SELLING THEM, AND YOU CARE Y...THEY SAID THEY WERE FOR TRAINING TO THE MEDIA, NOT TO US...NO ONE IS GOING TO USE IT FOR THAT,NOBODY...YES THERE WAS A VOLUNTEER LAYOFF...THESE PEOPLE WANTED TO GET THE HELL OUT, WHICH I DON'T BLAME THEM, NOBODY DOES...THE ONLY GOOD THING NATIONAL DID FOR THEM WAS LET THEM HAVE TIME TO SAY GOODBYE TO THEIR FRIENDS AND EVERYBODY APPRECIATED THAT...I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU ARE LYING ABOUT THE HUNDRED PEOPLE,, SO BASICALLY THEY LAID OFF 35 TO HIRE HUNDREDS, MAKE SENSE TO ANYONE ELSE....ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE TAKING TOOLS OUT...WHAT ARE THESE HUNDREDS GOING TO RUN..THEY ARE SLOWLY MAKING IT INTO MAINE.WHERE THE TOOLS QUAL THEMSELVES AND THERE ARE WHAT 10 PEOPLE PER SHIFT...YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.....YOU'RE PROBABLY UPSTAIRS WITH THE HEADS, SO I CAN SEE WHY YOU'RE SAYING SUCH B.S...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
business with russia
000amannik200609, Sep 26th, 2006 @ 8:04am

On this site you can find a lot of the interesting information about business in [b]Russia[/b].
Here you can find new partners and customers for enjoy profit !
http://computers-9.ru-company.ru/computers
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

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National Semiconductor Takes Back Gift iPods

from the not-such-a-gracious-gift-giver dept

Reader Comments (rss)

Nice One

Re:

Re: Three letters

Re:

Re:

Nothing is free

Keep the iPods

Reasonable Doubt

Re: Wry spelling post

Re: Re: Three letters

And if they don't give them back...

Re: Keep the iPods

Re: Reasonable Doubt

IPods

Lawsuit

Literacy?

a simple question?

Bullshit!

Scoundrels

Re: Literacy?

How do they get in position to do this?

Unbelievable

3 letter explanation

New Hire

Leave your toys here.

Whatever!!!

STINKS!!!!

Re: STINKS!!!!

Pity the fired employees :p

Re: Literacy?

???

Re: Re: Literacy?

Re: Whatever!!!

Wow...

Re: Re: Wry spelling post

Spelling

NatSemi and slaves

Re: Wow...

MIKE - You're dropping the ball again!

Used to work for National...

Re: Re: Whatever!!!

Re: Re: Re: Three letters

iPODS

What I'm wondering is

How typical of bloggers

Re: Whatever!!!

Re: Whatever!!!

business with russia

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