Razer To Start Making Masks Within 30 Days For S’pore & SEA Countries In Need

[StreetFight3r]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/razer-covid-19-face-mask-manufacturing-line-singapore-12597834?cid=fbcna

SINGAPORE: Singapore gaming company Razer announced plans on Wednesday (Apr 1) to set up an automated face mask manufacturing line within 30 days to produce "a couple of million certified masks" each month.

Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang announced the plans on his Facebook page at about 9am, calling on Singaporeans or Singapore companies to buy the first US$50,000 worth of masks off the line.

He made another post four hours later, saying three companies - Frasers Property, JustCo and PBA Group - had agreed to each commit US$50,000 to purchase masks. 

"It’s pretty awesome to see fellow Singaporeans stepping forth to support our efforts," wrote Mr Tan.

"Now I just need to go figure out how to get the line up," he added.

In a separate press statement released by Razer on Wednesday, the company said that it had initially converted existing product manufacturing lines in China to make and donate masks for immediate relief, with initial shipments going out earlier this week.

However, the company had been "inundated by requests due to an extreme shortage of face masks and PPEs", particularly in Southeast Asia, and decided to set up a line in Singapore.

"Many of the face masks in the market are not properly manufactured, do not meet certification standards and offer little or no protection to the users," said Razer in its release.

The company said that its masks will be "certified to Singapore and international standards" and used to supply both the local and regional market.

A Razer spokesperson said separately that the masks will be "standard three-layer face masks".

“The COVID-19 virus situation has had an immense impact around the world," said Mr Tan in the press release.

”Everyone at Razer understands that we all have a part to play in combating the pandemic, no matter which industry we come from.”

[StreetFight3r]

First read about this maybe a month back.. Hopefully can fast track the setup in Singapore and support the local market first before exporting out

Or maybe just focus on Singapore first.. Just like how Taiwan locked down all mask production for their own people.. We need to protect our own people now. Sg first

Edited April 1, 2020 by StreetFight3r

[Albeniz]

I am hoping ST Engineering would be leading this initiative and set up the manufacturing line as it is part of Total Defence.

[Volvobrick]

Still need the materials to make the masks and mostly sourced from China I think. Machines from there too.

Might as set up shop there to produce and export. I don't think there are restrictions to export masks in China now.

I am referring to current crisis only. 

[StreetFight3r]

[StreetFight3r]

7 minutes ago, Albeniz said:

I am hoping ST Engineering would be leading this initiative and set up the manufacturing line as it is part of Total Defence.

I thought St engineering was suppose to shift back two of their production lines back to sg from Taiwan.. No news of that so far

[Volvobrick]

19 minutes ago, StreetFight3r said:

I thought St engineering was suppose to shift back two of their production lines back to sg from Taiwan.. No news of that so far

By the time shifted back, I think here would be flooded with cheap and good Chinese masks already. 

But it might be in time. 

 

 

For the next pandemic. 

[Windwaver]

The boss doesn't have a good reputation leh

https://mothership.sg/2019/12/razer-singapore-ex-staff/

3 Razer ex-employees from S’pore office say they constantly feared getting fired

They also said they were overworked.

Belmont Lay | December 16, 2019 @ 04:49 pm

Kotaku ran an exposé on Dec. 5, which claimed that Singaporean Tan Min-Liang, the CEO of gaming hardware maker Razer, was a mercurial and dictatorial boss who berated his employees publicly.

The article focused on the 42-year-old founder’s behaviour as witnessed by former staff in the United States offices.

What about the Singapore offices?

Following the publication of the Kotaku report, Mothership.sg got in touch with three former Razer employees who worked in the Singapore office for between one to two years, to ask them about their personal experiences with the CEO and their former work place.

The exact years of their employment cannot be revealed as it could end up exposing their identities, or shortlisting the possibilities of who they are.

But all three worked in Razer fairly recently.

All three of them described the operations there as “small and tight”, which explains why they might out themselves inadvertently, if precise details of their employment and roles were made public.

Before this article’s publication, Razer was offered a chance to respond to the various specific claims made by the former employees.

Razer declined to comment.

What was work culture like in the Razer Singapore office?

One of the ex-staff said working in Razer here is a “gamer boy’s dream” as there are many like-minded gamers in the company.

However, gaming within working hours, such as during lunch time, took place but did not happen that much because there was simply too much work to deal with most of the time.

This view is consistent with the Kotaku article which said staff there worked 60 to 100 hours a week.

One of the ex-staff in Singapore also said the culture in Razer is not as cool as the outer world thinks it is.

The ex-staff explained: “There is a lot of toxicity trickling down from the people at the top, not just Min himself, and people generally lived in fear of their job security being taken away.”

Another ex-staff said the amount of work to be dealt with was a factor.

The other ex-staff said: “Being overworked is true. If you’re not working 24/7, you’re just not good enough.”

“They will tell you that to achieve great things, you have to go through some sacrifice. Many people drank the Kool-Aid and believe that they’re working for this amazing company doing amazing things.”

Tan is now among the 50 richest people in Singapore.

His net worth is estimated to be US$1.6 billion following Razer’s public listing.

CEO appeared to have mellowed over the years

All three of the former Razer staff said they worked with Tan directly before, but did not personally encounter any transgressions — just that two out of the three of them were personally shouted at by the CEO before.

All three of the ex-staff had good things to say about Tan though, despite him being temperamentally volatile.

One of them said: “He’s an incredibly sharp and detail-oriented person and a great marketer. He also has a very volatile temper. I was always on tenterhooks whenever we had meetings. Not sure which way his mood would swing during the course of the meeting.”

Another said: “He is a very sharp and smart individual who definitely demonstrates the tenacity and drive to be where he is today. He has a very clear idea about his likes and dislikes, and is not afraid of what other people — including external partners — might think when he’s firm on his stand.”

The anecdotal evidence of Tan being less volatile over the years was confirmed by a fourth ex-employee, but who did not want to go on record even anonymously.

But one of the three who doesn’t mind going on record, said: “I heard from colleagues who have been with the company a long time that the violent episodes have significantly reduced in recent years. But personally, I still have experienced him raising his voice at me during my time with the company.”

People surrounding the CEO

One other interesting point that was brought up by the three former employees was how they characterised the management culture.

The threats of firing staff and the use of abrasive tactics to get the most out of employees allegedly stemmed from not just the CEO.

One of them said: “I have not experienced it personally but did experience similar behaviour from his lieutenants. This suggests that he surrounds himself with people like him, or people around him tend to follow suit.”

The same ex-staff recounted an incident where the subordinate took the heat, while the manager didn’t.

The ex-staff said: “One day out of the blue, an ex-colleague was dismissed on the spot. I found out eventually it was just a small issue that could’ve been fixed in under an hour, and that the fault should lie in his/ her direct manager who first approved the matter.”

“But he/ she was publicly called out and admonished in front of many people, then dismissed. His/ her direct manager continued on in the company with no issues, essentially throwing him/ her under the bus.”

Culture of being overworked real

There are concrete examples of the culture of being at the beck and call of superiors at Razer.

One of the ex-staff said the CEO had a habit of sending messages in work group chats very early at 6am or late, after 10pm to past midnight.

He would also not hesitate to lambaste people in group chats, openly humiliating them.

Another ex-staff elaborated: “Shaming employees who don’t seem to work hard enough is a regular affair. We are constantly reminded how privileged we are to work at a company like Razer, and that great sacrifices have to be made.”

“But at the end of the day, we’re just selling keyboard and mice! I personally know people who feel burned out or see their personal life suffer as a result of being compelled to give the company all their time. Many people who feel like they’re hanging on a thread and that they live in constant fear of being fired the next day.”

However, the Razer culture is not so straightforward to diagnose and solve, at least one of the ex-staff felt.

One of the ex-staff said it is a fact that a lot of people are trying to find a job at Razer owing to its popularity, and the culture of laying off people instead of training and retaining them, exacerbated the problem.

An ex-staff also said: “To be fair, I know some great folks in HR who are also trying their best to introduce new ideas and initiatives. But they are often like putting a small plaster on a hemorrhaging wound — doesn’t fix the root cause.”

Who did Kotaku speak to for its report?

Kotaku said it spoke to 14 former employees to piece together its report.

Based on what can be gathered from the article, Kotaku appeared to have spoken to employees formerly based in the U.S. offices, where Tan would occasionally show up as he mainly worked out of the Singapore office.

Tan was said to be seconded by senior vice president Mike Dilmagani, who ran Razer’s U.S. offices.

What are some important stats to keep in mind?

Tan’s antics, which Kotaku recounted, appeared to have happened some years ago, before the November 2017 public listing of Razer on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

For example, one antic recounted, which served to point out Tan’s carrot-and-stick managerial ways, occurred more than 10 years ago.

After the 2008 financial crisis, Tan allegedly asked employees not to take paid time off, and said that those who continued to work would get bigger bonuses.

Other instances appeared to have occurred at least five to seven years back.

In 2012, Tan was said to have shouted in the U.S. office that he would fire people because he was allegedly frustrated with the chatter while he was filming something.

In 2013, one staff was let go for not being able to hit the projected sales target.

In 2014, Tan sent out the f-bomb email which opened the Kotaku article.

Tan’s supposed physical and emotional outbursts, as well as his constant threats to fire his staff, were written about by Kotaku in varying detail.

What are some stats to keep in mind?

Razer has 18 offices across the world.

In total, Razer has 1,300 employees.

The Singapore office is its largest, with about 500 people.

Therefore, many have worked for the company that started in 2005, and left on good, bad and all sorts of terms, in its 14-year history.

The people spoken to by media form about 1 percent or less than the total number of employees and ex-employees at Razer.

The Glassdoor reviews for Razer, which are written anonymously, are positive about the company and the CEO.

In his July 2019 speech at the Singapore Management University (SMU) commencement opening ceremony, Tan talked about his approach to work and becoming successful in life.

“It’s not about being popular, it’s not about being liked. It’s about doing the right thing when you have the opportunity to do so,” he said.

“Life is short, don’t let the naysayers distract you because in the bigger scheme of things, they don’t matter at all in the work that you will do,” he added.

 

[PSP415]

Aiyo this part reminds me immediately of @Turboflat4 :

😉😂😂 but i agree with him. And while the money is definitely there with masks making, i like to think that he genuinely cared to help stand in this gap now.

Some can say it with conviction because it brought them to where they are, mostly successful. Some can say it because they made it liao so dun care what others think.

Er, ppl do have a choice to resign if the boss and/or work environment is toxic. He's not the only boss nor the only company. 

Just my tots 

Take care and keep well 

Safe ride 

Cheers 

[Mockngbrd]

Will believe it when it's out

[Ct3833]

Huh so now must wear mask ? Really must wear mask, but mask where mask ? Mask where mask ?😄😄😄

[PSP415]

16 minutes ago, Ct3833 said:

Huh so now must wear mask ? Really must wear mask, but mask where mask ? Mask where mask ?😄😄😄

If not expecting free masks, a few places got sell liao. 

Check out 'Covid-19 1,000 confirmed cases liao' thread pls. 

😂 take care and keep well 

Safe ride 

Cheers 

[Ct3833]

12 minutes ago, PSP415 said:

If not expecting free masks, a few places got sell liao. 

Check out 'Covid-19 1,000 confirmed cases liao' thread pls. 

😂 take care and keep well 

Safe ride 

Cheers 

yah man. thanks for highlighting. Jokes aside, I have stocked up enough, paid for my own oversight. Now price is coming down a little,  may buy more just in case.  Stay safe too everyone. 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Ct3833

[Jellandross]

18 hours ago, PSP415 said:

Aiyo this part reminds me immediately of @Turboflat4 :

😉😂😂 but i agree with him. And while the money is definitely there with masks making, i like to think that he genuinely cared to help stand in this gap now.

Some can say it with conviction because it brought them to where they are, mostly successful. Some can say it because they made it liao so dun care what others think.

Er, ppl do have a choice to resign if the boss and/or work environment is toxic. He's not the only boss nor the only company. 

Just my tots 

Take care and keep well 

Safe ride 

Cheers 

Leaders who grew their companies from nothing to a leading business in their industry didn't do it by being popular, nice and well-liked. Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Lee Ka Shing, Tan Min Liang, even leaders like LKY, you name it. Its only the delusional salarymen (like me) who can't understand why bosses cannot be nicer to me. 

[Playtime]

23 hours ago, StreetFight3r said:

I thought St engineering was suppose to shift back two of their production lines back to sg from Taiwan.. No news of that so far

The question is...

Why cannot produce there and ship back?

Had relations between sg roc hit rock bottom?

 

[inlinesix]

2 minutes ago, Playtime said:

The question is...

Why cannot produce there and ship back?

Had relations between sg roc hit rock bottom?

 

Export ban

[Silver_blade]

On 4/1/2020 at 7:37 PM, StreetFight3r said:

I thought St engineering was suppose to shift back two of their production lines back to sg from Taiwan.. No news of that so far

They have already moved it out of Taiwan in Jan & it caused a public uproar. Taiwan gov gave an excuse that the ‘proposed move’ (more like a smuggle) was agreed before the ban.

Glad we did not went by the book this time. We use ‘commando’ tactic instead 🙂

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Silver_blade

[Silver_blade]

7 minutes ago, inlinesix said:

Export ban

Yup. Ended up some Singapore companies are making masks for Taiwan cos cannot export to Singapore.