"Through the first three quarters of 2006, we have generated more earnings than in any full year in our company's history, and in order to continue to move forward, we now need to take the difficult but necessary restructuring steps that will continue to maximize profitability across the company." So says Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Alain Belda.
So here's your turkey. Spend some time with your family and rejoice that you were a part of the best three quarters in our company's history. Just don't come back on Monday. Really, I want you to spend alot of time with your family. Sit, watch some football, take stock. Do anything, just don't show up on Monday. Do you have a box for your belongings?
Now of course, we did not know that we were going to do this at the end of last quarter say on November 6th. However, we did start to get the feeling that these 6700 jobs needed to be shed on or around November 8th. At the earliest, it was about 7pm ET on the 7th that we knew these jobs were going away. We just felt it necessary to wait until 4:52pm ET on the day before the holiest of all family Holidays before we announced it. Most importantly, we are thrilled that Forbes online version http://www.forbes.com/... says that investors "applaud" our decision. We believe, however, these investors are missing the real story. Although we deserve the applause for this very difficult decision, we deserve an ovation for our impeccable timing.