Sample CEO Speech to Employees

Good morning everyone. Thank you for having me here this morning. A special thank you to Bob Delaney, head of WEU for extending the invitation. I’m joining you here today to talk about the move to Whitby and WIDCO’s transition to robotics.

As you know, our Peel plant is being phased out and replaced by a new robotics plant in Whitby. I’ve reviewed the questionnaires you filled out at yesterday’s session, and let’s just say you were all very candid about your feelings. That’s fair. I know that there is a lot of fear out there about job cuts and about robotics. I want to reassure you that WIDCO has no plans to downsize our work force as a result of this transition. Not only do we want to take our Peel workers with us to Whitby, we need you to come with us. The WIDCO that exists today, a global leader in widget technology, would not exist without the dedication and hard work of our employees. We know that and we value that. We want to make a home for you in Whitby.

Robotics. You might be thinking, we’ve already been at the top of the industry for one hundred years without them. So what do we need the damned things for now? And perhaps more importantly, you may be thinking – in fact I know you are – that robotics decrease WIDCO’s need for people.

We just released the W-100 this month. The incredible power of our new widget is going to revolutionize the industry. Bold innovations like this have kept us at the top of our game for the last hundred years. And sure, we could coast on the success of the new widget for a while. Maybe even a few years. But we need to think bigger to stay at the top. Robotics are the future. Robotics give us the power to keep changing the widget game for next one hundred years.

And robotics don’t decrease our need for people. Far from it. Robotics keep our people employed. Producing the W-100 and its subsequent lines without robotics would require ten times the people we already have to keep up with demand. We’re having a very successful year, but the cost of a work force that big is just not feasible. Without robotics, we would be forced to move production to Malaysia to keep the cost of labour manageable. We don’t want to do that. The Whitby robotics plant is the solution. Building Whitby means we keep the work force we have, and keep it here in Canada.

Robotics are an opportunity. Not just for WIDCO, but for you. Robotics are a chance for you to upgrade your skills, get off the line. We are so excited that we could create new, advanced roles for you at the Whitby plant; and we are excited to train you, our own outstanding employees for them. Your robotics education is on us. The future is now and the future is yours if you come with us on this journey.

The most important thing I want to leave you with is that nobody is going to lose their job to make way for the Whitby robotics plant. Our staff makes WIDCO strong. We are strongly committed to making this transition with no jobs lost and to keeping our widget production here in Canada, not offshoring it. And WIDCO is ready for change. WIDCO is ready to embrace the next hundred years. Robotics will take us, ALL of us, there and beyond.

This is a good move for WIDCO and for you. Reps are at the back of the room to help you fill out your transfer applications and answer your questions about the move. Seize this opportunity to advance your career with us. Come with us to Whitby.

Thank you. I’ll open up the floor to questions now.