We broke the news last week that Jason Schauble, TrackingPoint’s CEO, was freshly out of a job. Now we’re hearing that the purge continues — 30 more employees are heading towards the unemployment line, including the company’s CFO . . .
TrackingPoint was, to the outside observer, doing extremely well. They’ve sold out their initial run of “precision guided” rifles and according to the guys who run their testing and zeroing range they’re having to crank out more guns every week than they expected just to keep up with demand. Now, not only are they manufacturing their own rifle, but they’re tooling up to start working with Remington on producing their new 20/20 line.
But there’s something here we’re not seeing. Companies that are doing well don’t toss their CEO and 15 more employees on a whim. Other signs of trouble include some scaling back on expansion — they had planned to build a 500-yard indoor testing facility, but the current scuttlebutt is they’ve abandoned that idea because of cash flow issues.
If I were a betting man, I’d say that these layoffs might be due to slack demand. Or costs that got out of control. They have a niche product and it’s not something that everyone wants. They may have reached the saturation point too soon, and looking at the balance sheet for the next few quarters made them queasy. No other reason to fire a bunch of people the week before Thanksgiving that I can imagine.
[ED] The original version of this story reported that 15 employees were fired. The latest report puts that number at 30.
Rather than gun-related ink, I kind of like Craig Ferguson’s tattoo. An immigrant and naturalized citizen who puts Franklin’s “Join, or Die” up the inside of his forearm. When asked by Barbara Walters why he had it, the first words out of his mouth were “because I’m an American”.
I clicked the wrong video…nobody was OC’n. If the driver playing the crappy music had stepped out with an AK, I suspect we would not have seen brandish man doing that again.
What’s the point? Under the GFSZ Act, is essentially impossible to open carry in any urban area. Take a map of you favorite big city, then overlay it with the GFSZ exclusionary zones. if your experience is anything at all like the cities I’ve looked at in California (San Francisco and Fresno for two), it is impossible to walk down the street or to cross town without committing a felony. I live in a small town, and it is no different here–schools are everywhere. With the recognition that the Act was designed to keep guns ad gangbangers out of the schools, permitting gangbangers to openly carry as of right will have them lining up across the street with their gats and their drugs. Somehow I can’t see that as going over too well.
Ripe for a takeover?
It’s the Catholic church and Guttenburg all over again….
I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m a huge skeptic. And I have the feeling that this has to do with removing the corporate culture that believed these items should go to civilians .
They are shifting to LEO/MIL only I bet, and getting rid of the team (and their hires) that aren’t on board with this.
First “active shooter” to use a TP rifle to do his deed this company would have been politically finished. “An ounce of prevention”. By closing off civ sales and going LEO/MIL only , they reduce their liability and exposure while guaranteeing a healthy gov market into the future.
In short , someone decided this tech was too dangerous for the non-elite.
I usually don’t come to these conclusions… Call me paranoid if you wish… But this is one way to keep the tech out of the average joe’s hands without touching legislation or politics.
“They may have reached the saturation point too soon, and looking at the balance sheet for the next few quarters made them queasy. No other reason to fire a bunch of people the week before Thanksgiving that I can imagine.”
Nick, you are just not trying hard enough…lol…what did Hamlet say about “more things in heaven and earth…”
uhm what? I lost my train of thought watching the video. Oh well..
No sale.
You rock!
Still just throw-away gun for a NOT throw-away gun price…
That is outstanding….
That is a great share, but you should put the 1911 IN HIS HAND WHEN YOU CLOSE THE COFFIN LID. THAT is the hope that it will bring him joy eternally, and it would be the best way to salute him and show him how much he really meant to all of you.
Robert Seddon
Mineral, Va
A long gun under a blanket will probably still get some calls, especially near a college campus. Gone are the days when an open action was enough to announce you were an upright citizen.
The other thing that stinks is the hue and cry. Back in the 90s, I walked across a satellite campus with my .22 to go plinking at the quarry. Yes, I had the cops called on me and they gave me a lift home to avoid further trouble. Today, the whole city would’ve went into lockdown, with the media issuing by-the-minute alerts.
So are we sure there was actually a gun this time?
Wait, wait. I don’t care. If there was a gun, I don’t care. If there wasn’t a gun, I don’t care. If it has his name attached, I don’t care.
Guns don’t save lives helicopters save lives… lmao! Clearly Chicago and Detroit need more helicopters.
One of the more worrisome things that i noticed was the chaotic bs information that was being shared. There seemed to be little or no “official” information source.
This style of “don’t panic the public”, that seems to be the default for people in positions of power, causes people to panic as anyone wildest fears can rapidly spread without real “official” information.
Yeah, avoid stupid people doing stupid things in stupid places at stupid times.
Gun control 101. We will never win on facts so just make shit up.
“They have a niche product and it’s not something that everyone wants.”
Oh, I think everyone wants one of these, its just that, with systems starting at $9995 (according to their website), it’s a system that an average shooter cannot afford.