Just six months ago, then Pelco CEO David McDonald announced the company had been acquired by Schneider Electric, a French company. "Every employee worldwide will remain an employee as this deal is completed," said McDonald at the time of the transaction.
Since then McDonald has been moved from Chief Executive Officer, to Chairman, which is often a figurehead position in corporations. And now, Pelco has announced the closure of a plant in New York, with operations there being shifted to Kentucky.
No word on the number of job cuts in New York. But in Clovis, company sources tell us several top managers and vice presidents have suddenly retired, and the company's in house travel agency is being shut down, affecting up to two dozen workers.
Lance Cardoza, publisher of Business Street, an online magazine says changes like this are not unusual, "But with any corporate takeover there's always changes under the new leadership, and Mr. Tricoire from France probably has a new idea of how he wants to run the company and how new things have to be in place."
But, the changes have some workers nervous. And Cardoza believes the fact David McDonald is no longer in charge of actual operations is reason to raise questions about the company's future. "Security camera companies are a dime a dozen, I'm sure they are all over out there and I know of some, but they didn't have the true success because I believe the leadership is what made it happen," said Cardoza.
David McDonald was not available for comment. In a press release the new company CEO, David Meyer announced the shutdown in New York, but made no mention of the cuts in Clovis, they were outlined in an internal company memo.
We've heard from some employees here and they are a little nervous. Pelco is the world's largest manufacturer of security cameras, with over a million sold, and the biggest private employer in the region.
