Heavy financial losses suffered by ST

I refer to the letter by Peter Murray of Mosta entitled ST Austerity Measures (July 21).

Whether purely coincidental or not, Mr Murray's contribution was printed above another letter entitled The Silly Season Is Here.

Yes, it certainly is.

These are a few clarifications because the letter concerning "austerity measures" is obviously written by a person who has absolutely no knowledge of ST and, even worse, has not even bothered to personally check his allegations before sending them off to be printed.

Since the commencement of the international depression (2006/2007), STMicroelectronics has been suffering heavy financial losses. The company's share value has slumped on international stock markets, obviously meaning that no dividends have been paid out. The corporate company has closed three manufacturing plants (Ain Sebah in Morocco and Carrolton and Phoenix in the United States) while thousands of employees have been laid off worldwide including over 1,000 in Malta during the last 12 months.

As for the "vast" returns in "remuneration and dividends" following the accumulation of "vast profits" being reaped by "the management and directors" made off the backs of "workers", as a recent former management employee of ST Malta, I am informing Mr Murray that staff and management wages (as well as increases for promotion) have been frozen for several years, while the payment of "dividends" is a mere figment of Mr Murray's imagination.

May I suggest that the 1,500 employees of ST Malta would benefit much more if misinformed people like Mr Murray would be so kind as to refrain from writing such nonsense and, therefore, causing more damage to the possible future prospects of ST further operating in Malta.