Tabcorp yesterday stood down 700+ staff to.....

[LightsOut 486]

limit the impact from the virus. Remember unlike the NZ TAB Tabcorp are still holding race meetings. Tab corp's management have taken the right approach to limit as much financial  damage as they can. The only approach I have seen in the media re the NZ TAB acting in the same vein is some clown saying they have cut managements morning sausage rolls. The place was in financial ruin before the virus and now added with that impact hitting the Industry well its basically f#$@ed, so why hasn't the Industry seen a responsible and proactive approach by the NZ TAB as in Tabcorps press release below ?  Once again sadly its blatantly obvious it's because they have no idea how and where to cut costs which is in sharp contrast to their own ideas where to spend Industry money which more often than not is a bad investment.

I fail to see why the Government would entertain a rescue package when they go cap in hand to them and yet all you read about re their  cost cutting in relation to what they will want monetary wise is sadly is laughable. People I know in the Industry were pissed off pre corona with the RITA's lack of cost cutting and restructuring from day 1 when they were put  in place and now coupled with embarrassing  ''lackluster' efforts to limit the virus impact they all said the same thing in a round about way "why would the Goverment entertain them". I wonder if all RITA Board members like Tabcorp's took a cut in their fees the are paid (don't hold your breath on that one ). Given their efforts to date the Industry should be seeking a  refund of fees paid to them for the last 8 months as pre virus nothing was delivered as expected and promised.  

lackluster (comparative more lackluster, superlative most lackluster) (American spelling)

1. Lacking brilliance or intelligence.
2. Having no shine or lustre; dull. quotations ▼
3. Not exceptional; not worthy of special merit, attention, or interest; having no vitality.

Yes luckluste given the above definition of the word 100% = the NZ TAB 

 

Tabcorp standing down 700+ staff to limit COVID-19  impact

BY Steven Stradbrooke ON April 07, 2020

TAGS: AUSTRALIA, CORONAVIRUS, TABCORP

Australian lottery and betting operator Tabcorp Holdings is laying off over 700 staff to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations.

On Tuesday, Tabcorp announced several measures intended to blunt the impact of COVID-19 on its bottom line, including the “temporary standing down of over 700 Tabcorp employees to 30 June 2020 in businesses of the Group where there is no work as a result of COVID-19 shutdowns.”

Last month, Tabcorp lost the use of many of its TAB betting agencies following the government’s order to close most public entertainment venues. TAB retail operations outside these venues were further impaired by the suspension of most major sports leagues.

Tabcorp says affected employees can access their accrued leave benefits, and the company is exploring its eligibility for the federal government’s Job Keeper Wage Subsidy, which provides AU$750 per week for up to six months for companies that qualify.

Tabcorp is also requiring unaffected full-time staff to take “at least one day of leave per week” from now until June 30. Tabcorp is also making an “initial reduction” of around 40% of its technology contractors.

Tabcorp’s executive ranks aren’t escaping the cuts, with CEO David Attenborough agreeing to cut his remuneration by 20% until June 30. Members of Tabcorp’s board of directors are taking a 10% cut on top of the 10% cut they agreed to last September.

Tabcorp is also taking steps to boost liquidity, including securing an additional AU$226m short-term facility, reviewing its capital expenditure program and deferring payment of certain state payroll, Keno and lotteries taxes that typically amount to AU$40m per month.

Tabcorp’s situation would be even worse were it not for the fact that Australia’s racing industry has bucked the global trend by carrying on with its events, albeit ‘behind closed doors’ with only essential personnel in attendance.

Tabcorp’s lottery operations at newsagents, convenience stores and other outlets are also carrying on more or less as usual. Ditto for its digital wagering channels, although the company likely wishes it had completed the migration of Tatts Group’s UBET customers to a single integrated betting platform ahead of schedule.

TAB’s digital business suffered an own goal this weekend after its Cash Out product offered seriously generous rates ahead of the last leg of some ‘quaddie’ bets (four-leg parlays). After realizing its error, Tabcorp was forced to freeze 1,300 betting accounts in an attempt to prevent more punters from withdrawing their ill-gotten gains. Tabcorp’s Cash Out function was inoperable Sunday while its technicians tried to uncover the source of the glitch

[JJ Flash 2,132]

Your lights are really out today. Clearly you have no knowledge of NZ employment law re employment contracts and redundancies. 

If you have little or no money in the kitty  you can't  get rid of employees because you can't pay them out and have something left to distribute to codes for future stakes.

 

Greg

[LightsOut 486]

Well I have about 5 mates who have been laid off eg their Companys got rid of them, how do you think Air NZ did it come on wake up.  Didn't you read on-course presenters who were on contract eg Guerin and Whale along with Des Coppijns were on contracts and were told 2 weeks ago last gigs so clearly your wrong. Coppins was told on Friday your Sunday show is your last.If a company has no money there is no redundancies  it's pretty simple. The employees can stay but they obviously wont be if they are not getting paid.  

[TurnyTom 1,534]

In a nutshell LO and that is the big worry in a few weeks as expectation is many employers will fold their businesses - very sad situation for all

[JJ Flash 2,132]

4 hours ago, LightsOut said:

Didn't you read on-course presenters who were on contract eg Guerin and Whale along with Des Coppijns were on contracts and were told 2 weeks ago last gigs so clearly your wrong.

You really are a right plonker and im being generous. Contracts  are for fixed periods and contain any number of escape clauses for both parties. The rest are employees on employment contracts which are compulsory in NZ To get rid of such employees you  have to either make them redundant, ie. pay them out of high salaried positions or get rid of them any other way possible and face the possibility of massive costs at employment court or option 3 go into liquidation.

Air NZ has a Billion of cash  in the bank, after paying for all the redundancies they are about to make the Billion will be reduced accordingly. So your comparison is meaningless.

Now to help you out , if you dont have any money in the bank/balance sheet which is clearly the case that RITA inherited and your income has been destroyed by a lack of income due to a pandemic i cant see any obvious way to reduce staff costs bar making them take leave owing, natural attrition and not employing any new staff

Tabcorp, a listed company have solid assets, a healthy balance sheet and they  actually have  racing in Australia to bet on..  So your comparison with NZ is meaningless.

 

Greg

[tasman man 11 979]

Hard to benchmark RITA with Australia's TABCORP which is publicly listed company.

Quite a be bigger since it joined with TATTS meaning LOTTO also under the umbrella....there's an idea !

It had over 5000 employees and 900 retail outlets so naturally those stood down cos closed and no work...Aussie labour laws ,as has been pointed out ,somewhat different than NZ.

In Sydney ,Air NZ had 67 workers ,all but 7 stood down , I'm told. Bye,bye no work , no pay sit by your phone we may call you back sometime.

Maybe we should head-hunt from TAB Corp.....the CEO has a package of over $5 mill , the next 4 between $1.4 and $1.8.

Chairman of Board gets over $600k, other board $200k plus ...more for the lice,extra for the mice and a little for looking out the window twice !

[cherry_bomb 89]

3 hours ago, JJ Flash said:

You really are a right plonker and im being generous. Contracts  are for fixed periods and contain any number of escape clauses for both parties. The rest are employees on employment contracts which are compulsory in NZ To get rid of such employees you  have to either make them redundant, ie. pay them out of high salaried positions or get rid of them any other way possible and face the possibility of massive costs at employment court or option 3 go into liquidation.

Air NZ has a Billion of cash  in the bank, after paying for all the redundancies they are about to make the Billion will be reduced accordingly. So your comparison is meaningless.

Now to help you out , if you dont have any money in the bank/balance sheet which is clearly the case that RITA inherited and your income has been destroyed by a lack of income due to a pandemic i cant see any obvious way to reduce staff costs bar making them take leave owing, natural attrition and not employing any new staff

Tabcorp, a listed company have solid assets, a healthy balance sheet and they  actually have  racing in Australia to bet on..  So your comparison with NZ is meaningless.

 

Greg

Redundancies are not expensive (compared to paying wages the business cant justify for further months). Are you saying TAB cant even get a bridging loan to pay people out? If they can blow 50 mil plus 20 mil p.a. on a website Im sure they can unfurl a few parachutes.

[JJ Flash 2,132]

11 hours ago, Sandpiper said:

Redundancies are not expensive (

They are if you have little or no money and even more so when the departing are overpaid, not much good and just milking inept NZ employment laws.

I suspect that the options in front of current management and board are - do we pay out redundancies or use what little  money  we do have to pay out the codes for future stakes funding. What would you and others do Sandpiper?

11 hours ago, Sandpiper said:

Are you saying TAB cant even get a bridging loan

Highly likely although im sure they will be trying every avenue to secure funding of some type

 

11 hours ago, Sandpiper said:

If they can blow 50 mil plus 20 mil p.a. on a website Im sure they can unfurl a few parachutes.

Historical issue which RITA inherited, BTW i stand to be corrected but its not 20mio but rather an annual license fee of 17 mio. Again the stupidity of such a fee was negotiated if that's the right word by the former  NZRB board  under the astute guidance of Glenda and the 3 code reps. Oh dear

 

Greg

[Trump 2,741]

18 hours ago, tasman man 11 said:

Hard to benchmark RITA with Australia's TABCORP which is publicly listed company.

Quite a be bigger since it joined with TATTS meaning LOTTO also under the umbrella....there's an idea !

It had over 5000 employees and 900 retail outlets so naturally those stood down cos closed and no work...Aussie labour laws ,as has been pointed out ,somewhat different than NZ.

In Sydney ,Air NZ had 67 workers ,all but 7 stood down , I'm told. Bye,bye no work , no pay sit by your phone we may call you back sometime.

Maybe we should head-hunt from TAB Corp.....the CEO has a package of over $5 mill , the next 4 between $1.4 and $1.8.

Chairman of Board gets over $600k, other board $200k plus ...more for the lice,extra for the mice and a little for looking out the window twice !

To headhunt you have to have something to offer. I’m not sure NZ TAB would be that attractive.

[tasman man 11 979]

46 minutes ago, Trump said:

To headhunt you have to have something to offer. I’m not sure NZ TAB would be that attractive.

Good to see you sleeping with the light on !

[slam dunk 1,317]

21 hours ago, tasman man 11 said:

Hard to benchmark RITA with Australia's TABCORP which is publicly listed company.

Quite a be bigger since it joined with TATTS meaning LOTTO also under the umbrella....there's an idea !

It had over 5000 employees and 900 retail outlets so naturally those stood down cos closed and no work...Aussie labour laws ,as has been pointed out ,somewhat different than NZ.

In Sydney ,Air NZ had 67 workers ,all but 7 stood down , I'm told. Bye,bye no work , no pay sit by your phone we may call you back sometime.

Maybe we should head-hunt from TAB Corp.....the CEO has a package of over $5 mill , the next 4 between $1.4 and $1.8.

Chairman of Board gets over $600k, other board $200k plus ...more for the lice,extra for the mice and a little for looking out the window twice !

Tabcorp is one of the worst examples of excessive top end salaries there is.

No wonder even shareholders are revolting against corporate greed.

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/shareholders-revolt-over-ceo-pay-just-latest-sign-growing-anger-corporate-greed

I notice in your rather weak effort comparing TAB to TABCORP you  haven't compared revenue.  In the TABCORP annual report I doubt you will find anywhere mention of total betting turnover. Yet NZTAB constantly refers to itself as the $2.5 billion business. Total betting turnover is meaningless that is why gambling companies with exception of NZ Lotto and NZTAB use the GBR (Gross Betting Revenue) to describe themselves.

TABCORP is therefore even by employee count ten times the size of NZTAB something your "comparison" fails to show. Yet you throw in the salary figure as some sort of justification of NZTAB salaries. Really just what connection to NZTAB do you have? 

[tasman man 11 979]

9 minutes ago, slam dunk said:

Tabcorp is one of the worst examples of excessive top end salaries there is.

No wonder even shareholders are revolting against corporate greed.

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/shareholders-revolt-over-ceo-pay-just-latest-sign-growing-anger-corporate-greed

I notice in your rather weak effort comparing TAB to TABCORP you  haven't compared revenue.  In the TABCORP annual report I doubt you will find anywhere mention of total betting turnover. Yet NZTAB constantly refers to itself as the $2.5 billion business. Total betting turnover is meaningless that is why gambling companies with exception of NZ Lotto and NZTAB use the GBR (Gross Betting Revenue) to describe themselves.

TABCORP is therefore even by employee count ten times the size of NZTAB something your "comparison" fails to show. Yet you throw in the salary figure as some sort of justification of NZTAB salaries. Really just what connection to NZTAB do you have? 

I bow to your superior financial knowledge and nous. Yes I am weak but thou art strong !

I glanced at the TABCORP Annual report ...one or two pages to get a quick glimpse at the size of the outfit.

You obviously have a great interest in these figures and the spin/transparency in reporting.

I hope it earns you a good living and you put your knowledge to use.

I am merely a casual observer ,I try to gather my facts . But one time I was given the job of helping with the layout of a AR of a NZ company with poor results so I recommended the comparative 5 yr charts be tipped on their side to create a different appearance !And I chose some nice photos.

[JJ Flash 2,132]

50 minutes ago, slam dunk said:

Yet NZTAB constantly refers to itself as the $2.5 billion business

27 minutes ago, tasman man 11 said:

 

Wasnt that the figure rolled out by the old NZRB board/management

 

Greg

[slam dunk 1,317]

8 minutes ago, JJ Flash said:

Wasnt that the figure rolled out by the old NZRB board/management

Greg

Its been rolled out for the last 20 years.

Thats what new appointees are led to believe hence the high salaries.

e.g. when John Allen was appointed.

"It's going to be fun. The NZ Racing Board is a $2 billion business that plays a vital role in the New Zealand economy by supporting the racing and sports industries. It is also the owner and operator of the TAB which is an exciting commercial enterprise and iconic New Zealand brand," says Allen.

[JJ Flash 2,132]

1 hour ago, slam dunk said:

Thats what new appointees

Who are you referring to now ?

 

Greg

[slam dunk 1,317]

30 minutes ago, JJ Flash said:

Who are you referring to now ?

 

Greg

Its across the board. I once contacted an employment agency advertising the $2billion fake description and even after getting explanation they continued the charade.

As I note even an ex Chairman of the Racing Board believes TAB is $2.5billion company. i.e. Garry Chittick in his submission  "Having a Chairperson of any business with a $2.5 Billion turnover with no previous or current industry experience borders on the ridiculous"

Even a previous CFO who should know better was quoted in media the "$2.5 billion business"

So you see its ingrained throughout. 

 

[JJ Flash 2,132]

39 minutes ago, slam dunk said:

Its across the board. I once contacted an employment agency advertising the $2billion fake description and even after getting explanation they continued the charade.

As I note even an ex Chairman of the Racing Board believes TAB is $2.5billion company. i.e. Garry Chittick in his submission  "Having a Chairperson of any business with a $2.5 Billion turnover with no previous or current industry experience borders on the ridiculous"

Even a previous CFO who should know better was quoted in media the "$2.5 billion business"

So you see its ingrained throughout. 

 

Are you capable of distinguishing between current RITA operation and previous NZRB management and board. When you work that out you might be taken seriously. Given Chittick left the big game years ago what relevance is he to current RITA operation

Ill give you a few clues ,New CEO and Board. No J Allen or CFO, the latter may be very important as the year progresses

 

Greg

[slam dunk 1,317]

25 minutes ago, JJ Flash said:

Are you capable of distinguishing between current RITA operation and previous NZRB management and board. When you work that out you might be taken seriously. Given Chittick left the big game years ago what relevance is he to current RITA operation

Ill give you a few clues ,New CEO and Board. No J Allen or CFO, the latter may be very important as the year progresses

 

Greg

Honestly do you expect me to believe that with RITA the salaries have suddenly gone down to reflect a $450 million company as opposed to a $2.5 billion.

I am just using J Allen, and G Chittick quotes because they are readily available to show that the false belief TAB is a $2.5 billion co has been around throughout.

I haven't seen any announcement that RITA salaries are at an acceptable level.

 

[puha 2,177]

On 4/9/2020 at 3:46 PM, slam dunk said:

Its been rolled out for the last 20 years.

Thats what new appointees are led to believe hence the high salaries.

e.g. when John Allen was appointed.

"It's going to be fun. The NZ Racing Board is a $2 billion business that plays a vital role in the New Zealand economy by supporting the racing and sports industries. It is also the owner and operator of the TAB which is an exciting commercial enterprise and iconic New Zealand brand," says Allen.

That useless twit Allen is the only one laughing alright.