I did not even bother to attend the employee meeting - they just keep running in place and go no where. Over the past two years Qiagen has turned into a sinking ship and the captain and officers have left the ship to sink because they have no ideas - no business plans - no long term strategies - no innovation - other than laying off people and cutting/delaying salaries of the hard working rank and file. This is a very sad place to work now - so many empty office and the people left are over-burdened. Everyone wants out!

Just attended the all employee meeting...what a joke. I hope he can see that no one believes him. He and his team have yet to hold themselves accountable for making bad decisions for years. Stinking lies....that is all you get from PS presentations. His statement on ongoing changes are coming....what a novel idea? Really, he had to state that?The irony is that there is NO change at the EC level. There is no new blood. The last new EC member quit the organization within 2 years after having numeorus clashes with the 'boys club'. Notice if you are a woman there is no career potential for a leadership position at Qiagen!I would not be surprised if they have been sued for discrimniation. Waste of time to continue to work there.

A complete waste of time and effort

Hey they are still looking to hire more talking heads. Meanwhile the staff that actually does the work to put out product continues to shrink. Lets see raises and bonuses delayed 4 months, That is what 3 years after raises and bonuses were moved from November to March (4 months)and after a major layoff. Do you see a pattern here.....

How can qiagen afford the many new VP's that they have hired in the last year? CFO and the CEO are using new VP's to clean up their mess. Everyone is fed up of hearing their crapy speeches which are full of lies. Crapy place to work. Moral stinks.

What a load of bull.

Hearing that PS is coming again to speak - are you kidding?? Save your breath!

Future earnings will be lower.

It is a shame what newly hired VP's have done to the organization with their very one sided approach to managing Qiagen. I hear at least 10 more resignations coming up in Feb in Md. Morale and productivity is at an all time low. There is fear that the upcoming FDA audits will be siting major flaws in the system. Qiagen deserves a blow at this point. Does anyone still think that qiagen is attractive to be acquired by anyone? Who would that be? With Rosche and Ilumina news there goes another potential buyer.

Isn't it like that most places, middle management operating in their own little world. I know some Qiagen departments are like that. God forbid any reports communicate or talk to anyone from another department. More empty offices and cubicles all over G'burg. The place is getting like an echo chamber.

Resigning from where?

Low morale? Whatever you do, dont goto Life Tech. That idiot UK has made that site the absolute worst place to work in the bio corridor. Alot of useless middle management that are clueless.

Just heard about a few people resigning -- ah...the exodus begins.

I think you are right about the Germantown/Gaithersburg sites. There is an air of "I don't care" and denial. I really think so much of management is just moving along blindly assuming all is well. Discussions about fading employee benefits and wether there will even be bonuses paid much less raises. My best suggestion is start exploring other options now because Qiagen stateside is not a secure setting if you want to stay employed.

Numerous people are seeking to leave -- they worry they will be next. No motivation, low morale. The sense that the boat is sinking has set in and there is no one bailing out the water. That is the continuing scene at Germantown/Gaithersburg. The Board needs to wake up -- there is no no real business strategy in place and the employees know that.

I don't work for Qiagen.I distribute Qiagen in a European country not so far away from any major ( " real" ) European Qiagen sites.

I admit...HPV is tough to sell ( to say the least )...but there are areas where Qiagen is strong and given right strategy could be the leader.

In the end complaining is easiest but if you are sales persons you should know better.There are companies well below Qiagen as strategy and forward looking...take only Life Tech as an example.

If most of opinions are coming from scientists then just ignore my comments...nothing is never good enough for them.

P.S. I cooperate with Qiagen for more then 6 years so I guess I pretty much know what I am talking about.

One site out of how many making sales? Oh I am sure some equipment lines might be selling but you are right The HPV is questionable. I wonder just how much longer before it is discontinued?

must be a country far away from "real" qiagen sites...

in german headquarter things are not so different from the situation described for US. so this time no site/postiton/function is safe...

P.S. read "double digit growth" as 30-40 % growth.

"Qiagen is in trouble "...Qiagen US ? Qiagen worldwide?

I distribute Qiagen in a country and we only had double digit growth for the past 5 years...where is the trouble?

Maybe HPV is in trouble but there are so many other interesting subjects where Qiagen outperforms competition.

I have the feeling the ones complaining are from US only...am I right?

Not really a whole lot of activity here in Gaithersburg. Reflective of a business in sharp decline waiting for closure coming up soon. Many people trying very hard to look busy with little real work left to do. Very sad place to be. Hope to be out of here sooner than later.

I think more cuts are soon to come, lackluster sales, moral is still very low. Sour face upper management walking the halls, and two Photos have been removed from the Exc wall. A canteen that used to be full at noon, now if 25 people buy and eat lunch in the canteen at lunch it is a good day. Parking lot looks like it is a weekend. Company Holiday party...... looks like that has been cut too. A lot of little things over the past year have been cut here and there and when you add them up a big RED flag pops up. Qiagen is in big trouble. Just remember the next time you need an aspirin and have to hike out to the lobby to beg for one. If you are not updating your resume and your network connections you might find yourself in a very tight place.

How long can Qiagen survive with no new products? Now reports out on Medicare fraud list Drs prescribing HPV testing as unnecessary, that the PAP is good enough. How long before insurance companies stop paying for the HPV testing? When that happens what then? I see a long slippery slide unless Qiagen starts to develop a viable diagnostic program in addition to the HPV test.
I am glad I found work elsewhere and have left this stagnate company behind.

A bunch of Qiagen losers (so much for non competive exit contract) are now at LIFE in Frederick. They will bring that site down too. UK brought his buddies from Q and they are running wild. I am sure he can help get you from the iceberg on to the Titanic. That ship doesn't sink! not!

I would not recommend R&D jobs at Qiagen. They cut and rehire R&D faster than McD's changes hamburger flippers.

I am afraid that letting people go once and twice a year now has become part of the company culture and it will never end.

Strategy? Yes : fire long time employees,fire the best,fire part time people,fire peope who were sick before
Who did do the decision .the EC or the consulting guys, which where like an invasion the last months
The EC is completely loosing contact to basis, they have no clue what people are doing at the end of the reporting chain. One reason is that they only trust their direct reports and 50% of these second row guys are worse than the EC, only hot air artists giving pushy presentations the EC would like to hear and not feedback what really happens in the company..
The survivors have to pay the bill with a higher workload

Anyone have the total numbers cut for the Maryland sites? Some are estimating it to over 120 does that sound about right? What ever number it is the loss has not fully sunk in yet. After the holidays when people start leaving for better job security ( is there such a thing in the 21st century?) and production resumes I suspect the short handed staff will be hurting.

The arrogance has finally caught up with them. I am so sick of watching the Qiagen people parade around like they are royalty and they expect everyone to flock to them. Maybe some humility and work for the customer would have changed things.

Restructuring means that the surviviors will now be doing the work of three people. Fun, huh?

SA opens his mouth and he's fired. When we had a rough patch in 2005 and the GM and head of US Mktg dared to speak up, they got fired along with the head of HR.

You can blame SA for many things, but not this. Everyone would still be fired and he would be as well. The cuts in Germany were more numerous than in the US. There's pain there too. The EC has to look these survivors in the eye every day in the lunchroom.

EC must look themselves into the mirror and hold themselves accountable to the failures. LH, SA stop avoiding the real issue. Represent US operations and speak up for the hard working teams here. Many people are looking to leave as soon as jobs are found. No one wants to be part of a company that plays the blame game. No one should believe that cuts are over. Wait till restructuring starts. It makes me sick to see the CFO cash in stocks!

NA?

Talk about Qiagen turning out the lights because of bad management (or potential acquisition that will help fill the pockets of executive managment and no one else) - the lights have already dimmed this week. They needed to fire all these good people (bless them all) just to pay the electricity bill!

And yes, Roland got 50,000 shares bonus in the middle of this. That's 750K to you and me

Description of the financial instrument: Common Shares
ISIN/WKN of the financial instrument: NL0000240000
Type of transaction: Receipt of Common Shares through RSU Release
Date: 30.11.2011
Price: 0
Currency: USD
No. of items: 48642
Total amount traded: 0
Place: New York

Sad to say, I have lost all faith in Management - this was firing based on or chart to 'hit a number' - Project Bullshit. I hope the stock get pummeled and we get bought by Baxter.

I suspect as soon as they can find a suitable job Qiagen will see a mass exodus of the people they choose to keep. I know I will be out of there as soon as I can, no point in hanging around to see the place turn out the lights.

The cuts of human personnel will never be over - Qiagen did this last summer and this same time last year. If you have a job there do you feel safe after watching good people kicked out for no reason except bad management. No faith in PS here or the others. No Town Hall meeting for me - I have better things to do.Qiagen is a has-been company.

When will all cuts be finalized?

Can't believe dumb and dumber are still there. PS hasn't seen through that yet, but they tell him what he wants to hear, both play the game. Not to mention dumbest - DL. The trio's salaries combined not worth the lack of knowledge and leadership they bring to the table. Cuts were in the wrong place, aim higher next time.

Lay-off pays off. Look here how the CFO is making money in firing people. http://www.finanziert.net/wirtschaftsnews/111582/DGAPDD:-QIAGEN-N.V.-eng...

Yep, 750 K$ in bonus in the middle of the firing period. How gracious those guys are.

But he is a shy. In Enron or Lehman brothers, he would have get millions.

what is purpose of townhall???? are they done with cuts?

I'm skipping the Town Hall meeting too - I don't want to hear what they have to say after this.

There was a town hall with the CEO in Frederick yesterday. He was quite sincere and had a very nice presentation. It was well intentioned but was delivered to a shell shocked and wounded group of people. Frederick hasn't been with a big company long enough to have expected something like this. We are all still 'family'.

I can only imagine it will be more difficult in sites that lost far greater numbers of hard working loyal employees.

What employee meeting?

This was all about money and the fact that executive level strategies at the very top were ineffective at best. Hundreds of hard working employees let go to pay for the bad decisions at the top. All respect for senior management is gone. No one wants to attend the all employee meeting this week and hear PS - who has any respect for him at all. No going out of respect to my co-workers let go. Shame on Qiagen.

so sorry! what area/force is this?

It was a hell of a day. Some damn good people let go. Some of it made no sense at all. One poor guy closed on his house the day before he got fired, poor soul.

total demoralization except for SA and LH who seem to not give a shit.

Any idea how many and who in R&D were cut?

so sorry! does this include the national field sales side as well