Electronics for Imaging
| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: EFII |
| Industry | Computer Peripherals |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Efi Arazi |
| Headquarters | Fremont, California, U.S. |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Guy Gecht CEO |
| Revenue |  US$ 504 million (FY 2010) |
| Profit | US$ 7.49 million (FY 2010) |
|
Number of employees
|
1886 (2010) |
| Website | Efi.com |
Electronics for Imaging, Inc. (EFI) is an international company based in Silicon Valley that specializes in printing technology. In 2014, EFI won a record-setting 11 Must See 'Em awards through Graph Expo, the most ever awarded to any one company. In October 2014, it made headlines when it was discovered to have violated California and United States labor laws.
Business
Formerly located in Foster City, California, the company is now based in Fremont. EFI sells computer peripherals such as color digital print controllers, wide-format printers and inks, and print management technology. The publicly traded multi-million dollar company also sells to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).[1][2][3][4]
Awards
In 2014, EFI won a record-setting 11 Must See 'Em awards through Graph Expo. [5] The MUST SEE ’EMS provide valuable guidance to show goers considering the purchase of new equipment or software; they are also invaluable to exhibitors who desire industry-wide recognition of their newest products. The MUST SEE ’EMS also provide the industry media with a specific “hot list” of the latest innovations for pre-show, onsite and post-show coverage. [6]
Controversy
In October 2014, the U.S. Labor Department's wage and hour division in San Francisco fined the company $3,500 and ordered it to pay more than $40,000 in back wages after it had employed eight people at its new location in Fremont and paid the workers $1.21 per hour to install the computer network. California minimum wage was then $8.00 an hour.[2][7] The employees, IT technicians, were flown in from Bangalore, India to help with the company's relocation to Fremont and were paid in rupees. The company said it was an "administrative error". EFI's vice president of HR Shared Services, Beverly Rubin, said, "During this assignment, they continued to be paid their regular pay in India, as well as a special bonus for their efforts on this project." She added, "During this process we unintentionally overlooked laws that require even foreign employees to be paid based on local U.S. standards."[1][2][8][9]
Some of the employees were reported to have worked 122 hours a week setting up the network.[9] The day before news of the labor violation was reported, the company posted record revenues of nearly $198 million, an 11 percent increase over the previous year.[10] Michael Eastman, assistant district director with the United States Department of Labor, said that the labor abuses at the company were among the worst he had ever seen, even surpassing Los Angeles sweatshops.[2] According to the Associated Press, CEO Guy Gecht earns just under $6 million, including salary and bonuses.[2]
The controversy precipitated a flurry of comments from local politicians. Mike Honda, Congressman from San Jose and a Democrat, issued a statement that EFI's human resources practices "constitute the most egregious type of wage theft and employee abuse. They undermine fair labor competition among businesses, and if left unaddressed would erode the idea that this is an economy of opportunity."[11] Honda indicated that current penalties are not sufficient to deter unscrupulous employers from engaging in wage abuses, and need to be increased. CEO Guy Gecht, had been a major contributor to the campaign of Ro Khanna, Honda's opponent, but Gecht's name was removed from Khanna's endorsement list after news of the labor violations broke. Tyler Law, a spokesman for Khanna noted, "The inexcusable exploitation by Electronics for Imaging goes against everything that Silicon Valley stands for." [11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ben Gilbert, "Bay Area tech company caught paying imported workers $1.21 an hour" engadget.com October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Michael Liedtke, "US tech firm penalized for mistreatment of Indian employees working 122 hours in a week" Star Tribune. 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
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- ↑ http://whattheythink.com/articles/70984-graph-expo-2014-few-highlights/
- ↑ http://www.mustseeems.com/
- ↑ As of July 2014, the minimum wage in the state of California is $9.00 per hour. "Minimum Wage" State of California Department of Industrial Relations. Retrieved 2014-10-24
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- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "EFI Reports Record Revenue of $198M for Q3, Up 11 Percent Compared to Q3 of Previous Year" Printing Impressions. 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Josh Richman, "CA17: Honda blasts firm fined for wage theft" Bay Area News Group. 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
