author solutions - local jobs disappearing

April 6, 2011

Dear Sir / Madam:

It has come to my attention that Author Solutions, a local self-publishing company owned by Bertram Capital, has recently laid-off more than fifty employees since the beginning of this year (with several being terminated just this morning). During the summer of 2008, Author Solutions was offered up to $575,000 in performance-based tax credits, and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. The then Monroe County Commissioners and the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation supported property tax abatement to assist the company with new job creation in Monroe County.

I am inquiring as to the length of time / limitations (if any) which were put into place concerning this tax credit. In my opinion, laying off a sizeable percentage of their workforce and sending these positions to the Philippines is surely deemed counter-productive to the guidelines which resulted in their receiving said tax credits.

ASI President / CEO Kevin Weiss was quoted in saying the following during Mitch Daniels’ visit to their offices just two years ago:

"Bloomington and Central Indiana provide the ideal environment for our company to continue to expand. There is a strong creative community from which to draw and the talent from Indiana colleges provides us with a work force prepared to be successful in a fast-paced industry like self-publishing."

Daniels himself also stated the following:

“Author Solutions' continued investment in Indiana brings further diversity to our economy and creates the types of 21st Century jobs needed to keep our best and brightest in the state after college graduation."

Apparently these are no longer the case…

Below I have included a complaint from what I can only assume is a former Author Solutions employee; something I found via a quick Google search - http://www.ripoffreport.com/work-place-bullies/authorhouse/authorhouse-author-solutions-ebfaf.htm (this was posted March 27, 2011).

Thank you for your time, and please do look into this;  as a tax payer in Monroe County / the State of Indiana, I, too, feel extremely ripped-off.

-Terry Lee Simpson-

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Begin complaint from above link:
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If you've had a bad experience with ASI, you're not alone. It's not an isolated event, and chances are you probably have more reasons to be pissed off than you're even aware of.

Two years ago, Author Solutions Inc (ASI) /AuthorHouse CEO Kevin Weiss was gladly accepting money from Mitch Daniels (Governor of Indiana) in the form of tax breaks. The money was for not laying off employees, and for actually bringing jobs into Indiana from over-seas.

I wonder how Mitch or the Indiana government officials who give this tax break would feel to know that Kevin is, in fact, laying off workers and outsourcing their jobs to a somewhat incapable staff located in Cebu (Philippines.) If you've been having trouble with the ASI Book Orders department recently, it's because Kevin laid off 90% of the employees in that department. Many capable, dedicated employees with years of loyalty to the company are now without a job.

While it may come off like your Sales Consultant or Design Team don't care about you, this is usually not the case. Unfortunately, every single ASI employee is doing the job of two or more people, since Kevin and the Board of Investors he reports to refuse to hire much needed help in the US offices. You have every right to be frustrated when your marketing and contract questions are going unanswered, or when your time lines in production are longer than promised. Please know that this is ALL the work of the executive team. Most of the people you speak with directly would gladly provide you with better service if they could. However, due to having a terrible internal database with constant issues, unreasonable daily deadlines and a constantly impossible workload, they are simply unable to do so.

Instead, anytime they lose an employee, lay-off or otherwise, they replace that person in Cebu. The workers in Cebu are poorly trained and do little to make the lives of the employees or the authors any easier. Not to mention, the so-called "wages" Cebu workers receive is borderline (if not) exploitation.

Eventually, all US positions, except for possible some financial and marketing positions, will be outsourced. In the meantime, the lives of the employees are hell. Kevin unashamedly makes comments about plans to outsource before the announcements are made, and makes these comments in front of other employees. Do not be deceived into thinking this is carelessness and tactlessness. Kevin is a mastermind. (Google him to see what else he's gotten away with.) He wants employees to know just how expendable they are, in the hopes that they will quit, so that when the time finally comes, they will be paying less in unemployment to the dozens of Hoosiers who will lose their jobs.

I hope this helps those coming here to report ASI understand why things are so terrible. And if it's any consolation, the people you are working with feel for you, and are receiving the same, horrible treatment.