Amazon Terminates iRobot Deal Citing Regulatory Concern; iRobot To Lay Off 31% of Staff (irobot.com) 50
Amazon will not move forward with a planned acquisition of vacuum-maker iRobot, the two said Monday, citing "no path to regulatory approval" as the deal-breaker. Amazon announced its plan to acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion in August 2022.
iRobot said separately that it will lay off about 350 jobs, or 31% of its workforce.
iRobot said separately that it will lay off about 350 jobs, or 31% of its workforce.
Re:Good job regulators (Score:4, Insightful)
Except Amazon would have laid off 1/2 the employees, post merger, as a "cost saving" measure regardless.
A shame for founders though, those with stock.
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Parent should not be modded troll; It's exactly what has happened. Store loss prevention officers are told not to file criminal reports because of (political pressure and) lack of ROI.
If you haven't been in a high-theft big-box store, go. It's eye opening. I went to a one in Florida and was shocked. In a normal Wal-Mart, PCs, mobile phones, jewelry, guns, ammunition, and hunting knives are locked in anti-theft cases. In this store that was extended to *deodorant*, the majority of the cosmetics (which w
In Ron DeSantis' Florida???...home of Trump? (Score:2)
Parent should not be modded troll; It's exactly what has happened. Store loss prevention officers are told not to file criminal reports because of (political pressure and) lack of ROI.
If you haven't been in a high-theft big-box store, go. It's eye opening. I went to a one in Florida and was shocked. In a normal Wal-Mart, PCs, mobile phones, jewelry, guns, ammunition, and hunting knives are locked in anti-theft cases. In this store that was extended to *deodorant*, the majority of the cosmetics (which were also in a walled off and gated area), baby formula, 50% of the meds in the pharmacy, 75% of the electronics section, all of the tools, batteries, and much more I can't recall.
Nothing in my comfortable middle-class existence had prepared me for the experience of being unable to purchase Aloe Vera Gel because it was in a locked case in a closed area of the store.
Well, I guess it's not a liberal problem then is it? FL is very much the future of the Republican Party. Look, conservatives love to shit on SF as a hellish crimescape, but FL far from SF. I know. Half my family is from there and I visit that shithole state 3x a year. Ron DeSantis has been running the state for awhile and it has a long history of Republican Governors. Donald Trump moved there for a reason...and not because of the golf course...because it is becoming the epicenter of the Republican par
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Since you wanted to immediately look at this whole problem from the political angle? Sure.... I'll bite.
The liberal Democrats are EXACTLY the cause of this madness with stores no longer taking any action against theft/shoplifting. If we didn't ever have the situations that unfolded in places like Portland, Baltimore and in California? I'd bet good money you would never have seen stores like Target locking up deodorant and hair gel in Florida.
All of this came about when the corporations owning these nationw
Liberal Democrats in Florida?..where are they? (Score:3)
Since you wanted to immediately look at this whole problem from the political angle? Sure.... I'll bite.
The liberal Democrats are EXACTLY the cause of this madness with stores no longer taking any action against theft/shoplifting. If we didn't ever have the situations that unfolded in places like Portland, Baltimore and in California? I'd bet good money you would never have seen stores like Target locking up deodorant and hair gel in Florida.
All of this came about when the corporations owning these nationwide retail chains decided those moves were a good idea to deter theft while not increasing their insurance liability. It only happened when their upper management realized the rioting and looting in liberal cities allowed them to go forward with the plan without so much push-back as to make it unworkable.
Florida has LONG been full of idiots doing stupid, often drug-induced things. But that really has nothing to do with Trump or conservatives OR liberals. I don't even know quite why Florida has become so bad, it's the butt of jokes nation-wide about "Florida man" and all that? (Just a couple weeks ago, I heard about a Florida woman who was arrested and charged with assault and battery on an elderly person because she got angry with her dad, while he was visiting over Christmas break. She said he needed to turn off his oxygen machine because she was getting too annoyed by it beeping constantly. When he told her he couldn't, she punched him in the head. There's really NOBODY I know on either side of the political spectrum advocating for her behavior.....)
You don't know why FL is the butt of jokes? You must have only lived in FL all your life. For the rest of us, we see it when we visit the state. As much fun as we have in FL, especially when our homes are snowed over and it's pleasant outside in FL, most of us are relieved when we get home and glad to be out of FL. Maybe you're near Miami?...they seem to be the more civilized part...I've been been visiting family in Central FL for a long time and yeah...there's definitely something different about the e
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Regarding crime, I also know from visiting there so often that open carry is quite common.
It's also illegal. [jaxsheriff.org] While Florida did recently legalize constitutional carry, the firearm has to be properly concealed. Problem is, as with people bringing their "emotional support" dogs into stores, there's a real lack of enforcement because the stores just don't want to create a scene.
Your experience also can vary quite a bit depending on what part of Florida you're talking about. I live in central Florida and I've yet to see any idiots walking around with their guns hanging out of their pants. Course,
It was Central Florida. :) (Score:1)
Your experience also can vary quite a bit depending on what part of Florida you're talking about. I live in central Florida and I've yet to see any idiots walking around with their guns hanging out of their pants. Course, this part of Florida is basically just east coast California but with worse weather. About the only really obvious thing that reminds you you're still in a red state is the lack of vehicle inspections.
Ummm...I hate to contradict you, but....yeah...this was Central Florida...a little outside Orlando. I briefly lived outside Orlando and have been visiting relatives in the area for 25 years now....are you sure you're talking about Florida, USA? :) Drive past the strip malls, outside of the gated communities, you'll see a FUCKTON of confederate flags, especially in poor neighborhoods...not even trailer parks...just the places with smaller, less fancy homes...working class neighborhoods
I was shocked and h
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The skinhead asshole was less than an hour outside Orlando.
I'm talking about mostly the "I-4 corridor" area of central Florida. The only noteworthy things I've seen recent-ish-ly were some Trump supporters hanging out regularly at an intersection near Longwood, protesting the results of the 2020 election, and some Neo-Nazis marching through Altamonte Springs. The political leanings of these areas of Florida tend to be more left-wing, so I'm convinced these are actually just people from nearby red counties (probably Bithlo) who are looking for attention.
I'm not sure what you mean by East Coast California
I should'v
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Class act! (Score:2)
Are you fucking retarded or is it genetic?
You're one classy guy!!!...really articulate too!!! Glad you found a way to insult special needs folks by comparing them to someone who angered you.
Also, when you throw around "Marxist" without any context, explanation or merit, it really dilutes the meaning of the word. Look, you got angered for some reason...presumably because someone insulted FL with a true story?...or an objectively true fact that FL the 2 of the leading presidential primary nominees are based out of FL and the state has a long h
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It's not my data (Score:1)
And can you *please* stop repeating that lie about decriminalizing theft? It's still very much a crime, it's just not a felony if it's under $1000 anymore. We were slapping kids with felony charges over bags of chips. That was excessive and wasteful.
All of this B.S. abo
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If business were bad all around, you'd see stores closing equally often in other cities. Doesn't it strike you as at all odd
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They're losing their jobs because of iRobot not regulators.
If the existing company were healthy it wouldn't be laying people off.
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Par for the course for government intervention. Companies have reasons for agreeing to mergers.
https://www.usnews.com/news/bu... [usnews.com]
government prevented Jet Blue from buying out Spirit and of course Spirit is going bankrupt https://www.wlrn.org/business/... [wlrn.org]
so the number of jobs that will be lost is going to be much more than 350..Sure, Spirit is not a sound airline given everything in the economy (also thanks to government destroying it) but what exactly is the benefit here, preventing a merger that could have
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Spirit wasn't healthy even before the government did in the economy. It was last choice for most people who wanted to fly because no one likes being nickel and dimed. Buying a ticket on Spirit was just harder if you didn't want to do the cattle call thing. It was even hard to expense out in comparison to standard tickets because of all the nickel and dime fees - you'd just prefer to buy a single ticket with the bag and the seat placement bound in. Its bankruptcy is richly deserved. Nice idea, but a big
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that's fine, so riddle me this then, except for government showing off its ability to intervene in business (as if it is something we didn't know already), what was the *real* purpose of blocking the buyout? Because it definitely wasn't about anything to do with 'hurting competition'. Is a bankruptcy better for competition?
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I haven't read the decision but if it follows anything I have seen before, the issue usually turns on "Does it result in a monopoly or near-monopoly in a given airport?"
This isn't a great test for the industry and the airlines as a whole, but it's very local. Usually the health of the airline is not the consideration of the court, and while the judge could set aside the findings of fact, I have this strange feeling they'd be overturned on appeal if they did so.
Good job, uninformed shill (Score:2)
350 people just got regulated out of their jobs. Excellent work!
Companies don't lay off employees simply because a merger failed. They were already on the chopping block or destined to be laid off. While I am less familiar with iRobot, Amazon is pretty merciless about laying off folks. You seem like someone whose worldview revolves around "the government sucks"...and certainly sometimes you're right, but in this case, you don't have enough information to make that call and your observation is counter to typical corporate patterns.
irobot has not done well in the robo-vac war (Score:2)
Roborock is cleaning house
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Agree... I got one last year and it's amazing how much better it is than an iRobot.
How did they get in trouble? (Score:2)
How did iRobot get itself into such trouble that it needs to hire a "restructuring" consultant and fire 31% of its staff? No wonder they were looking to be acquired, but one wonders what kind of PHBs run successful companies into the ground...
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They spent 15 years selling gimmicky toys that had all kinds of reliability issues and you wonder why they aren't successful? If I see the name iRobot, I don't want to buy another. The same kind of thought process wondered why the big 3 US automakers have been in fairly consistent trouble over the past 50 years.
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They did a lot more than sell consumer items.
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I think the issue is less the quality of their products (other manufacturers weren't much better), and more the fact that so many others entered the market and the tech is basically as good as it needs to be.
iRobot has some fancy things like a shit sensor that prevents it smearing faeces over the floor, but most people opt to save hundreds of Euros and just avoid having the pets use the floor as a toilet. The basic floor vacuuming and mopping features are available from reputable manufacturers at a fraction
Re:How did they get in trouble? (Score:4, Informative)
Well... they made lousy "vacuum cleaner" robots that did fun things like eating cat toys and dragging pieces of shit across the floor.
Once you get the experience the "fun" of cleaning up the aftermath of an event like that in person, you're not exactly eager to become a repeat customer.
I'd imagine that they fixed these issues in the later models, but only on the more expensive versions.
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Well... they made lousy "vacuum cleaner" robots that did fun things like eating cat toys and dragging pieces of shit across the floor.
Maybe don't let your dog shit on the floor? How is that the fault of the robot?
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Well... they made lousy "vacuum cleaner" robots that did fun things like eating cat toys and dragging pieces of shit across the floor.
Once you get the experience the "fun" of cleaning up the aftermath of an event like that in person, you're not exactly eager to become a repeat customer.
I'd imagine that they fixed these issues in the later models, but only on the more expensive versions.
Since iRobot is still in business after many many years of dragging their customers through the shit, I'd imagine you're underestimating the value of marketing to lazy people who never want to vacuum.
Underestimating by a metric shit-ton or seven.
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How did iRobot get itself into such trouble that it needs to hire a "restructuring" consultant and fire 31% of its staff? No wonder they were looking to be acquired, but one wonders what kind of PHBs run successful companies into the ground...
Simple, the competition just got "good enough".
Cheap chinese robotic vacuum cleaners and mops came into the scene, some, like my trusty ecovacs, does a completely random walk, and used every other day will do the deed, others, matched the lidar and automaping prowess of iRobot for dimes on the dollar.
So now, iRobot got disrupted.
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Not only did they get undercut but I think a lot of the brand recognition eroded away. If I search "robot vacuum" on Amazon, the first Roomba is the 13th result, and it's 2-3 times as expensive as the virtually indistinguishable offerings of other "brands" like Lefant, Laresar, and HONITURE. It's hard to put a premium on brand recognition when the product has become so generic. Maybe they should've went all in on pumping up the brand into a premium name like Dyson. Then they could at least turn their produc
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Amazon doesn't care about the company. All modern business is based on buying a smaller company, gutting it for the IP, and selling off the remainder. Years ago people cared about growing a company long term but now it's all about how fast a profit can be turned.
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Ironic that you make that complaint about Amazon, a company that has been around for thirty years and didn't have a profitable year for almost a decade.
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/\/\/\ This! Ditto!
I am very impressed with Roborock - mapping, navigating and planning capabilities are impressive. It's vacuuming is not perfect but alas it's still going strong after 3+ years.
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I went pretty deep into the application process for a PM role at iRobot maybe 10 years ago. As a company, they had the vacuum bot - they had sold about 30 million of those - and they had the Swiffer bot and a mopping bot that had both sold about 100x fewer units. They had an attendance robot (I think that's what they're called - essentially an ipad on a scooter that a kid in a hospital room can roll around school remotely so they can "attend" school). iRobot's was far and away the most expensive with the l
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iRobot is more than robotic vacuum cleaners. They actually started as a supplier of military robots. They make bomb disposal robots, rapid deployable robots (i.e., robots you throw over a wall and control) and such. Their whole consumer division was started as an offshoo
Well ... (Score:3)
Memory and Opinion (Score:4, Informative)
Robot uprising jokes aside, we have to be able to trust our home appliances. Violating that trust is a red line. iRobot is the company that leaked pictures, taken by a home cleaning robot, of a customer sitting on the toilet. That is unacceptable. I understand that those customers were testers that had agreed to data sharing, but leaking that data is not ok.
I am glad the merger didn't go through and will not shed a single tear if the company ceases to exist. I say this as a person with two Roombas in the closet, replaced by Uefy units.
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The problem with Amazon. (Score:3)
So, Amazon pulled out of a proposed merger with a large corporation that probably fell apart right after plenty of documents heavily seasoned with NDA were sprinkled around, so let's talk about actual intentions for a moment.
Amazon proposed a merger to get access to IP to develop their own line of hardware, which they can sell at a loss until the competition is struggling to barely stay alive...THEN they'll look to buy out the competition at a fraction of current market price. The new "merger" should dispel any and all legal issues that may arise.
Yeah. They DO have that kind of power.
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That's why proposed acquisitions have a breakup fee where you have to pay even if you don't go through with it. In this case it is $94 million.
No long term support for expensive bots (Score:3)
~15 years ago, I spent almost a Kilobuck on an iRobot Scooba floor-washing robot.
It was awesome. For about a year and a half. The rubber nozzle tore & I replaced it. And replaced it again about a year later. Then the pump died, and I replaced it. Unfortunately, by the third time the rubber nozzle tore, iRobot quit selling replacement parts for it.
I'll never buy another iRobot product. I can deal with tearing it down once or twice a year to replace de-facto consumable parts. I can not, and will not, spend another thousand bucks on an expensive robot with proprietary consumable parts that becomes unobtainable & effectively condemn it to a junk box a couple of years later.