The Apprentice 2009

[garryowen2323]

Good to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic making an appearance too

[ciaranb]

Good to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic making an appearance too

[img]smileys/lol.gif[/img] He should be called Thrush...an irritating c**t!!! Knew he reminded me of someone though!

[John123]

Not as good as last year, although there's only one Stuart Baggs "The Brand"...

I watched a bit but I could not watch anymore on account of the: "Lord Sugar" title. It is just a pile of shoite.

[munstermog]

Lets see Bill Cullen working for free now, like he recommended the young unemployed of Ireland to do.

[taz]

Harsh. 45 Irish jobs on the line. Not a good day for any of them.

[lactose intolerant]

Heard about this last night, has been on the cards for quite a while now!!

The fact that there are only 45 jobs gone says it all tbh

[munstermog]

Taz, I have sympathy for his workers alright, but none for him always saw him as a mouth, who liked to hear himself.

[McCloud]

Does this mean he will have to sell his ticket for Virgin Galactic's space flight to help cover his owings?

[taz]

Taz, I have sympathy for his workers alright, but none for him always saw him as a mouth, who liked to hear himself.

Well having lost a job myself a few years back,I find it hard not to feel bad for all involved. Lots of bussinesses are going under and we tend to show sympathy as humans, then when someone is more high profile and vocal like Bill Cullen we sneer at them. I don't think that's right,but hey thats my opinion.

[DONC]

Well having lost a job myself a few years back,I find it hard not to feel bad for all involved. Lots of bussinesses are going under and we tend to show sympathy as humans, then when someone is more high profile and vocal like Bill Cullen we sneer at them. I don't think that's right,but hey thats my opinion.

Yea I would agree with you Taz, Cullen would not be my cup of tea but he tried and employed a lot of people for a long time.

[Grandpasimpson]

Thats true Taz but it can be hard to have sympathy with those who lived the life of European Princes and shouted from the roof tops about the money they had and how good they were. If they had shown some humility then you would immediately feel sympathy but many of these did not.

[taz]

Thats true Taz but it can be hard to have sympathy with those who lived the life of European Princes and shouted from the roof tops about the money they had and how good they were. If they had shown some humility then you would immediately feel sympathy but many of these did not.

My old boss had a new expensive car every year,went on 3-4 foreign holidays a year,owned property,big man around town,big mouth,yacht etc. But he provided 6-8 folks down my way with employment. I certainly didnt like him,I respected him though for what he provided for my family. Today that business is gone(happened after I left) and I would NEVER ever kick that man now he is down . It's just not the right thing to do,regardless to who they are. Anyone trying to retain employment in the current economic climate deserves more than scorn.

[MunsterTel]

Surely the whole purpose of hiring additional staff is to make more money. I.e. hire a bloke for 30k because you can make 60k more. None of thesecharacters ever employed anyone as a favour. So while i'm thankful i have a job i'm not grateful to my employer for it. He pays me a wage, but i generate twice that for him. And the day my input is not required i will be let go. Same goes for that tool up north who hired thousands and is treated like a god. Why?!

[Hugh Jardon]

Didn't really like him from what i saw in the media myself aswell, however it seems he did put his money where his mouth was.

Seemingly he's taking a €19.5 personal hit in this, being one of Glencullen's biggest creditors.

Still has the Muckross Park Hotel, but we all know Hotels these days aren't doing the best too.

[Jenta]

Surely the whole purpose of hiring additional staff is to make more money. I.e. hire a bloke for 30k because you can make 60k more. None of thesecharacters ever employed anyone as a favour. So while i'm thankful i have a job i'm not grateful to my employer for it. He pays me a wage, but i generate twice that for him. And the day my input is not required i will be let go. Same goes for that tool up north who hired thousands and is treated like a god. Why?!

Well said. It's a peculiar characteristic of a lot of Irish people that employing someone is looked on as an altruistic act. You're there to make the boss money, if that stops being the case you'll be caned. Simple as.

[taz]

Hiring additional staff?

It's more about companies trying to retain their current levels.

I have seen companies who are still trading while haemoraging money trying to keep their heads over water and keeping people in employment.

[MunsterTel]

Which companies?!

[taz]

Which companies?!

I'm not going into that, In my line of work I see companies going under every month in the current scheme of things.
In fact there are companies here losing money every month in the hope they will come out the other side of things with less opposition to come up against. Its happening out there and there are no "additional staff" going into them I can tell you that.

I'll leave it at that!

[MunsterTel]

You read my post incorrectly. Jenta did not.

[taz]

You read my post incorrectly. Jenta did not.

No because there are people hired out there that are not earning their bosses money and they are not being shown the can.

[MunsterTel]

Yes and that dynamic will not carry on indefinetly. It's simple Taz, employ one to make a little more. This really is not hard to grasp.

[taz]

Yes and that dynamic will not carry on indefinetly. It's simple Taz, employ one to make a little more. This really is not hard to grasp.

I understand what you are saying.

[MunsterTel]

Ok you show me a company that will put up with keeping you on while losing money. They will for a small period if they believe they can ride it out and you will be generating more income for them in the near future. If not you'll be out. Make no mistake, there are no favours when it's your bosses money that is being spent supplementing your wages by loss of company income.

[taz]

Ok you show me a company that will put up with keeping you on while losing money. They will for a small period if they believe they can ride it out and you will be generating more income for them in the near future. If not you'll be out. Make no mistake, there are no favours when it's your bosses money that is being spent supplementing your wages by loss of company income.

Harvey Norman Ireland.

[Grandpasimpson]

My old boss had a new expensive car every year,went on 3-4 foreign holidays a year,owned property,big man around town,big mouth,yacht etc. But he provided 6-8 folks down my way with employment. I certainly didnt like him,I respected him though for what he provided for my family. Today that business is gone(happened after I left) and I would NEVER ever kick that man now he is down . It's just not the right thing to do,regardless to who they are. Anyone trying to retain employment in the current economic climate deserves more than scorn.

That might be fine at a local level but when you have people shining the badge of their Bentley on the tv and pontificating to anyone who will listen to them then it is very hard to feel sorry for that person. Perhaps I've been turned a bit cynical by working in an industry that has seen at least 250k jobs lost in the last 4 years and hardly a peep about it. I take no satisfaction from seeing the downfall of most people (Quinn/Ronan et al being an obvious exception) as I know what it is like to loose a job.

[MunsterTel]

I don't believe that for a second there's not a motive behind that. Time will tell. And even if they were being that 'fair' then they're few and far between. Getting back to Bill, i doubt he ever hired anyone or kept them on without financial gain being the principle motive. So i wouldnt be patting any of these fellas on the back when they're up and shouting about it. Nor will i be feeling sorry for them when they're down and out. This goes for Quinn up the north too.

[Cowboy]

Ok you show me a company that will put up with keeping you on while losing money. They will for a small period if they believe they can ride it out and you will be generating more income for them in the near future. If not you'll be out. Make no mistake, there are no favours when it's your bosses money that is being spent supplementing your wages by loss of company income.

As a genuine query do you work for a big or a small company Tel? I, and a few other posters I know of on here work in pretty tiny companies (less than 5 or 6 people), in our own case we're struggling badly and the boss holds onto us in the hopes that things will turn around and business might improve. I think that the larger companies can drop the axe a lot easier than the smaller ones, especially if you, as an employee, may have skills or experience that the boss wouldn't easily replace. if he has enough to hold onto you but not turnover profit off your arse he may still keep you on the books because your value to him may be greater than replacing you when the good times come around again.


There is a nation of small companies all waiting, and waiting and waiting for the engine of the lada that is our economy to kick start.

[Cowboy]

That might be fine at a local level but when you have people shining the badge of their Bentley on the tv and pontificating to anyone who will listen to them then it is very hard to feel sorry for that person. Perhaps I've been turned a bit cynical by working in an industry that has seen at least 250k jobs lost in the last 4 years and hardly a peep about it. I take no satisfaction from seeing the downfall of most people (Quinn/Ronan et al being an obvious exception) as I know what it is like to loose a job.

And thats the difference between a man/woman who built a company from nothing and stuck everything they had into that company as one of their proudest and most prized possessions, with faultless dedication and commitment to that company and its staff

OR

a fella who buys and sells companies like cars, views them purely as commodities that can be levered, salvaged, scrapped or traded, akin to a used car. With zero inclination to the survival or security of the staff involved in these assets.

[MunsterTel]

Ryanair-redundant BMI Airlines-redundant. So what you say about large companies may be true. But also you just said it yourself, even in a small company, there are no favours, just a little more patience. The main reason you're kept on is the anticipation of a return to profit making from your employment is greater than the expense of sacking you and hiring again. I've nothing against this dynamic. It's understandable. I give all in my job but thats what i'm paid for. My bosses are no heros.