裁员！转卖！ST-Ericsson放手一搏

为了挽救公司颓势， ST-Ericsson CEO Didier Lamouche 日前公布的一连串新策略在某种层面看来是合理的，但也有点像是走衰运赌徒的孤注一掷；该公司没有──或者说不能──选择出售至少一部份实质业务，并寻求新的后援或支持，使得其计划看来了无新意。 ST-Ericsson打算裁员25%、 约1,700人，似乎有些心狠手辣，对那些即将丢掉饭碗的员工来说也很不幸──此举也透露了该公司所面临问题的严重性。在欧洲，这种裁员计划必须提交工会或是员工代表团进行协商，这可能会是个漫长过程，并从很多方面为公司的退场添加成本。这并不是众家分析师想听到的，与过去有明确果断区隔的策略。 Lamouche 提及，成本削减策略的目标是在2014年让公司达成获利，这看来是颇具耐心且长期性的计划，但在这期间移动市场会怎么发展没人知道；在ST- Ericsson的组织重整计划于2013年底即将显现效果时，市场会继续变动并有众多提供ARM核心SoC的竞争对手冒出头，行动更敏捷、后台更硬，而且在那个时候，移动市场的爆发成长力可能已走下坡。 更重要的是，没有任何出售计划，意味着 ST-Ericsson 的亏损还是会持续拖累母公司意法半导体(STMicroelectronics)的财务表现，这将会让股东与财务分析师们不满，而这代表ST恐怕没有耐心可以等到2014年。 ST-Ericsson 的新策略是做为一家移动设备SoC平台与固件开发商，并以自家或取得授权的IP为基础，创造平台化解决方案。Lamouche所提到的ModApp，是指ST-Ericsson将提供的“数据机+应用处理器平台”；该公司将持续开发专长的调制解调器IP，但ARM核心应用处理器核心以及该部门大约500名员工，将转往ST。 根据ST-Ericsson说法，以上将转往ST任职的500名左右员工也包含在1,700人裁员计划中；但该公司首席营运官Carlo Ferro又说，其应用处理器部门的数百名员工，并非即将裁员的1,700人之中的大多数。 ST-Ericsson与ST合作在某方面来说是唯一明智的选择，因为留住了向来被用以吸引并留住客户的处理器与平台产品蓝图；但在另一方面，与ST合作会为财务报表带来灾难，因为这么做只是把痛处移到另一个地方，并没有创造庞大的附加价值或是财务效益。 Lamouche表示ST-Ericsson是经过考虑，才从四家伙伴中选择与ST合作，但他没说其它人是谁。要建立一个手机平台，其它关键IP包括无线连结、电源管理以及模拟/混合讯号；其它还有一些非关键部分，但看来也需要更多外来资源。 分析师估算，ST-Ericsson若要达成其获利目标，未来每一季的营收运转率(revenue run rate)与毛利率(gross margins)分别需要达到4亿美元与40%；而该公司最新一季的财报(2012第一季)显示，该公司的营收为2.9亿美元，净亏损3.12美元。我们现在所得知的信息可能只是真相的一小部分，而显然会有许多外包交易会陆续浮现，其母公司也确实看起来不太爽。 早就退出与 Sony合资之手机公司的Ericsson，最近把ST-Ericsson 首席技术官召回己用，看来也是对后者失去了兴趣。ST-Ericsson要如何找个愿意出手的买主也是问题，也许Sony会有兴趣，但该公司自己也面临获利危机；无论如何，就像前面所述，ST股东几乎不太可能会认为在接下来两年继续支持ST-Ericsson会是个好策略。 也许我们将会看到的是，ST-Ericsson会释出特定部门以换取技术授权机会，并让仅存的ModApp平台业务得以出售；该公司想拥有任何价值，除了得不断赢得客户青睐，恐怕就是得继续裁员、继续想办法节省成本。 编译：Judith Cheng 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 参考英文原文： Analysis: ST-Ericsson rescue plan underwhelms，by Peter Clarke

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{pagination} Analysis: ST-Ericsson rescue plan underwhelms Peter Clarke LONDON – The plan put together to try and transform the fortunes of struggling mobile chip company ST-Ericsson NV by CEO Didier Lamouche, announced Monday (April 23), at one level makes a kind of sense, but it also looks like the last throw of the dice by an unlucky gambler. The fact the company has not opted to – or not been able to – sell off at least a substantial part of its operation and get new backing and support makes the plan underwhelming. The fact that ST-Ericsson plans to cut 1,700 jobs or about 25 percent of the work force may seem radical – and is certainly unfortunate for those that will be thrown out of work – but it also underlines the size of the problem. And in Europe such plans must be referred to works councils and worker representatives, which is likely to slow down and add cost to the company's exit from a number of sites. It is not the clean and decisive break with the past that many analysts were hoping to hear. Lamouche talked a good game about cost reduction to halve the break-even point with a view to achieving profitability in 2014. That makes it look like a patient and long-term plan. But while Lamouche may have that much patience it is not clear that the mobile device market does. By the time the ST-Ericsson restructuring plans start to yield results, towards the end of 2013, the market will have moved on and plenty of companies, more agile and with more secure backgrounds, will be there offering ARM-based SoCs by then, a time when mobile device growth may have slowed from its present sky-rocket rates. More importantly the lack of a sell-off means that ST-Ericsson's losses will continue to be consolidated within the financial results of parent STMicroelectronics NV and continue to act as a drag on ST's performance. This will cause exasperation among both shareholders and financial analysts, which in turn may mean that ST will not be allowed to have the patience to stick with the plan through 2014. The plan as laid out is for ST-Ericsson to be a developer of mobile device SoCs and firmware to create "platforms" based on a mix of home-grown and licensed-in IP blocks. Lamouche called the strategy ModApp indicating that ST-Ericsson would put together modem-plus-application processor platforms. To that end ST-Ericsson will continue to develop modem IP, which it considers its crown jewels, but the ARM-based application processor cores and about 500 jobs are being passed to STMicroelectronics. These are part of the 1,700 jobs being cut out of ST-Ericsson. We don't know the exact number but Carlo Ferro, chief operating officer, said the application processor group represented several hundred jobs but by no means the majority of the 1,700 jobs being axed. On one hand ST-Ericsson working with ST is the only sensible option because it preserves the processor and platform roadmap with which it has been using to try and attract design wins. On the other hand working with ST is balance sheet disaster because it appears to just be moving the pain around without creating a great deal of added value or financial efficiency. Lamouche said ST-Ericsson had considered four partner companies before deciding to work with ST, without revealing names. However, companies may express interest in a rescue plan just to get a look at the books and the senior management of a struggling competitor to help them execute the final coup do grace later. It is not clear that any other ARM licensees were ever serious contenders to take over ST-Ericsson's app processor activities. Only half the story The other key building blocks are wireless connectivity and power management, analog and mixed-signal. These are also non-critical and it would seem that more outsourcing deals may be on the cards. However, if ST-Ericsson is to reach its targets, analysts reckon the company still needs to increase revenue run rate and gross margins to about $400 million per quarter and 40 percent, respectively. In its most recent financial results for 1Q12 the company made a net loss of $312 million on sales revenue of $290 million. It would seem that what we have been told so far is less than half the story. Clearly there may be more outsourcing deals to come but the parents also look decidedly uncomfortable. Ericsson, which recently took back the ST-Ericsson CTO into its own employ, has disentangled itself from its handset joint-venture with Sony and so looks decidedly less interested in ST-Ericsson. It may be a question of finding a buyer at almost any price. Sony itself might be a contender only it is suffering its own crisis of profitability. And as outlined above it seems inconceivable that STMicroelectronics shareholders could think it a good deal to carry ST-Ericsson for the next two years. Perhaps what we will see is the movement of certain technology development operations out of ST-Ericsson to create licensing opportunities, thereby allowing the remaining ModApp company to be sold off. But to have any value it has to continue to get design wins, must continue to lay off engineers and must continue to drive down cost.