GPS device-maker Garmin reeling after Kansas worker killed

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Jim Suhr, Ap Business Writer Updated 11:10 am, Saturday, February 25, 2017





In this undated photo provided by Kranti Shalia, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, right, poses for photo with his wife Sunayana Dumala. In the middle of a crowded bar, a 51-year-old former air traffic controller yelled at two Indian men - Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani - to "get out of my country," witnesses said, then opened fire in an attack that killed one of the men and wounded the other, as well as a third man who tried to help, Thursday, Feb 23, 2017, in Olathe, Kan. (Kranti Shalia via AP)



OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — GPS device-maker Garmin long has revered diversity in its workforce, even when the locale of its ever-sprawling operational headquarters — a largely white Kansas City suburb — didn't reflect it.

It's the place 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla came to work a few years ago. By his wife's account Friday he willingly spent long hours on an aviation systems engineering team alongside Alok Madasani, a friend and colleague also 32 and from India.

Kuchibhotla's trek led him to have a kinship with his boss, Lebanese native Didier Popadopoulos, who says he moved to America at Kuchibhotla's age and once held the same Garmin job.

But Garmin — a billion-dollar tech giant launched in Kansas as a startup by two men nearly three decades ago — now is reeling, trying to digest Kuchibhotla's shooting death Wednesday at a bar just a mile down the road from work. Madasani was wounded, along with a stranger who tried to help.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/GPS-device-maker-Garmin-reeling-after-Kansas-10958737.php

[KT2000]

1. Garmin should move

to the Seattle area.
India saw the future and years ago concentrated their education efforts on science and technology. It was a national effort that is still going on. We are reaping the benefits of their forward thinking. These companies need to locate where diversity is welcome.

[Plucketeer]

3. I agree!

Garmin should move and make it clear in doing so that they're moving because of incidents like this.

[Lithos]

5. There is another lesson

We've not learned which is to invest in science and technology as well as science based education in general. Our current support of superstition, fear and idolatry is going to turn the US into a third world nation very quickly.

[KT2000]

6. Many R's are anxious

to reduce science education and replace it with any idiot's interpretation of the Bible.

[Lithos]

8. Disagree

but not where you would think... I disagree with "any idiot".... No, it's "specific idiot"


L-

[ThoughtCriminal]

13. Faith based navigation

They can have it.

[KT2000]

15. you are on to something!

how about a faith based rocket launch, heart surgery, and faith based car repairs!!
You really have established a short talking point that could stop any of those school board debates.

[littlemissmartypants]

18. Duzy. ☆

[HoneyBadger]

7. Seattle has a high crime rate and a low quality of life

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/downtown-crime-shocks-new-yorker/

[Beaverhausen]

9. Thanks for a 4year old opinion piece

[KT2000]

11. Downtown has always been that way

I'm sure it is worse now - the location the visitor is talking about used to be called Skid Row. It has gone from alcohol to drugs.
Developers are trying to turn it into high cost condos there.

The surrounding neighborhoods - Ballard, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Capitol Hill are OK for residences though costly. Some of the tech companies offer housing allowances because of that. The suburbs are also locations where tech companies are located.
Microsoft, Amazon, Google etc are doing OK in Seattle and surrounding areas.
Another blue state such are CA would be good for Garmin too.

[pfitz59]

22. I suggest you revisit Seattle. 1st and Pike was never "Skid Row"

Amazon headquarters is smack dab in the middle of the city. They occupy most of South Lake Union. Most residential areas have sky-rocketing rent because demand is high. I live in Pioneer Square, an eclectic mix of upscale and down and out. Whover wrote the hit piece in Seattle Times was a frightened little snowflake... "But it’s true Seattle’s grit can shock outsiders. The city isn’t dangerous (it has a lower violent-crime rate than New York). But Marvin’s point is it feels dangerous." 'Feels dangerous'? Because poor people occupy the same space as Dot.com millionaires?

[KT2000]

24. Yes - it was many years ago

On the corner of Pike and First was a day room for the people who lived there on the streets so there were often men standing around the sidewalks there who had alcohol, and/or mental issues etc.
The Market then had a patio where people slept.
The hotels on 1st were not very nice places - some for prostitution. They have been torn down.
Across from the Market on 1st and down a bit was a nude show place.
There was crime there usually related to acts by intoxicated people.
There were decent businesses all the way down First to Pioneer Square (one owned by me and a partner) but they were interspersed with seedy places.
It was always called Skid Row.
I never felt afraid but I did have to deal with drunk people and men who thought women working in a store there were prostitutes.

I am aware of the changes and also found the hit piece ridiculous. You refer to the down and out in Pioneer Square and those people are there because of the historical remnants of Skid Row.

[pfitz59]

21. say what?

I live in the heart of Seattle. Its a great city...

[pstokely]

26. and high housing prices

but more culture than Olathe KS

[mdbl]

36. But it's so cheap in kansas

their moron governor doesn't charge us hardly nuttin to be there. So we can live with the racist, anti worker atmosphere.

[janx]

44. It shouldn't have to move.

Also, have you seen this?

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Man-arrested-in-Missouri-after-1-killed-2-10953508.php

[NCjack]

51. Garmin should stay. Good should not be driven out by evil. nt

[Bengus81]

54. Zero percent State income tax on Corporations in Kansas....

And the rest of us taxpaying flunkies get to make up the difference which we can't. Sound like a familiar NEO CON tax "reform" plan?? We'll have a BILLION $$$ budget shortfall before Brokeback finally leaves in Jan 2019.

[longship]

2. We need more guns to keep us all safe!!!

Needless to say, this is disgusting!

[KingCharlemagne]

53. More gunz in barz! - nt

[Freedomofspeech]

4. This is so heartbreaking.

More blood on Trump's hands...no good bastard.

[lastlib]

10. I say it's also on Brownback's

and the Koch-backed, NRA-bought-and-paid-for KS legislature that gave us this insane "constitutional-carry" crapola that lets ANY demented xenophobic assh*le pack lethal weapons. This violence sits on their doorstep.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. The reason companies like Garmin located in

Olathe, KS, and why other corporations are in other Kansas suburbs of Kansas City, MO (different state, please note) is that for a very long time the quality of education in that part of the state was quite high. Workers there had a strong work ethic, and there were many good things about life there.

I know. I used to live in Overland Park, which is right next to Olathe.

Garmin should NOT relocate. It should redouble its commitment to that part of the country. It ought to also encourage the election of Democrats, especially in the Kansas state house and senate and for governor, but that's a bit of an issue. What happened there could have happened in any part of the country, not simply in Kansas.

[pstokely]

14. they might have trouble recruiting employees now from outside the midwest

they already think they'd be working next to a cornfield, same people think the whole KC area is in Kansas when much of it is in MO, many would rather work in CA despite the high(er) taxes

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

16. I've also read that when companies get employees to

move to Kansas, they often can persuade them to transfer elsewhere. And look at all the happy Kansas City Royals Players!

[Grins]

46. Recruit? Not after this:

“The situation seems to be pretty bad after Trump took over as the U.S. president. I appeal to all the parents in India not to send their children to the United States." - One of the father's of the deceased.

Gamin is a Swiss-based, $3-Billion corporation. If I were them I'd be looking elsewhere, or at least consider down-sizing Olathe.

Good luck, Kansas. I'm sure Gov. Brownback will have an answer to this.

[Shrek]

38. My son works at Cerner and lives in Johnson county

He went to school at KU and landed a job at his very first interview post-graduation.

According to him it's a good place to live and his co-workers are diverse and well-educated.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

47. Yes. Most of Johnson County Kansas

is a pretty good place to live. The main reason I don't still live there is that my marriage came to an end about ten years ago and I was happy to move to a different part of the country.

[janx]

45. Agreed! n/t

[ProudLib72]

17. They don't want to move, but

I wonder what they will think next year after they have been unable to attract any foreign workers. There are two major incentives for foreigners not to come work for them: they will be detained, and then they will be killed. Hyperbole? Would you move your family overseas to work for a company where the workers are shot?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

29. I'd bet Garmin has a waiting list of prospective employees ...

... who will move from anywhere for good pay, and safe environment. And, yes, despite this incident, the area is not exactly dangerous.

[littlemissmartypants]

19. Heartbreakingly sad. nt

[rustysgurl]

20. As an Olathe resident ...

I take exception to the characterization by some that we in Kansas are a bunch of backwoods hicks living in an area surrounded by corn fields, who don't know any better than to vote against our own self-interests. Yes, it is hard to swing our State's elections, but remember, this is the State that elected Kathleen Sebelius governor before Brownback took her place. It's just hard to fight the rural vote right now, especially right here in the Koch Brothers' backyard.

Olathe is a very progressive city (government-wise), with large green initiatives, sound fiscal management, great parks and greenspaces and wonderful libraries. The schools are top notch, and the Olathe School District is just finishing construction on its 5th high school, which will have state-of-the-art EVERYTHING.

Yes, there are a lot of white people in Olathe, but it is becoming more and more ethnically diverse. Religion plays a big part in a lot of people's lives around here, but most choose their form of worship without shoving their beliefs down others' throats. And if you don't choose to worship publicly, your neighbors don't hold that against you either.

I guess what I'm trying to say is please don't hear the word 'Kansas' and think we're all gun-totin', Bible-thumpin' inbred yokels. Stereotyping is wrong no matter what form it takes.

[NBachers]

23. Well-written, and welcome to Democratic Underground, rustysgurl!

[pstokely]

25. isn't/wasn't Olathe a conservative hotbed?

Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2017, 10:42 AM - Edit history (1)

home to taliban woman of the year Kay O'connor, although brownback and tRump actually under performed in historically republican johnson county

[leftyladyfrommo]

33. Johnson County, where Olathe is, isn't like rural kansas at all.

It's all businesses and subdivisions and shopping areas. Lots of traffic. I hate to drive out there.

Lots of Republicans out there but they are not Trump. Tea party Republican. They are business people- conservatives and well educated . Lots of business people, tech people that make good money.

[Shrek]

39. Agree 100%

My son lives in Johnson county and works in health care technology. It's a great area and we love driving up to visit.

[leftyladyfrommo]

40. I have relatives in Overland Park.

Just a hop ,skip and a jump away.

I don't like Johnson County. Toomuch traffic for me.

I live North of the River in KCMO and I like it a lot better. We are growing really fast
up here. Taxes are lower and access to highways is a lot better. Lots and lots of new subdivisions and apartments.

[pstokely]

49. it's typical suburbia

not tea party central, but not a progressive hotbed either

[maxrandb]

50. I understand that you feel the need to defend your home

I'm from Cleveland for God's sake, but Garmin and other businesses need to get the hell out of Kansas.

Until these places start experiencing economic pain they won't change.

Sorry for what that might do to the "good" folks of Kansas, but simply saying; "we're not all crazy right-wingers" IS NOT WORKING.

It's the same for the ReTrumplicans, Hate Radio, racist, fascist, gun-toting nutbags and deplorables all over this country.

They never suffer any consequences, because we are too quick to say; "well, that's not representative of who we are".

One way to change their behavior and who they vote for is to hit them where it hurts...in their wallets and pocketbooks.

For example; until the city of Seattle, that went overwhelmingly "blue", shuts down their most powerful AM radio station that broadcasts nothing but hatred, racism, sexism, bigotry and greed, then that station will continue to poison our body politic without consequence.

Maybe when the Trump supporting nutjob that owns an auto-repair shop in Kansas loses his ass because Garmin pulls out thousands of employees that he depends on, he'll get the fucking message.

Time for niceties died when hate-filled talk radio got to about 1,000 AM stations. It's time to fight back.

Garmin must leave Kansas!

[JI7]

27. many of these areas are hostile to outsiders, especially non white and other minorities

[get the red out]

28. Red states beg for jobs

This doesn't help them. Corporations will have to take safety into consideration if they intend to have any non-white workers in hard-right states, they might prefer blue states.

[heaven05]

30. a recent Filipino emigree, who voted for

the boy potus, I explained to him why he shouldn't, and prezidents bannon and miller, is now quaking in his boots. But then he support duturdte.

[BumRushDaShow]

31. There are a number of POC

who are generally able to live life here in the U.S. as "honorary white", because despite appearances, this nation was long-instilled with being "white (European-descended) vs black (African-descended)". This was notable in the early formation of the country where Native Americans were mostly unseen and "out west", with smaller local tribes in the area of the colonies. And this was before the era of the Chinese immigration (for the railroads).

The ingrained sentiment was mainly due to the large importation of slaves, where at one time in some southern states, African-descended slaves (and their progeny) outnumbered whites.

In general, once the economics gets bad, anything short of "lily white" becomes a target - and that includes many (non-European) Hispanics, Asians (far east, southeast, and near east), North Africans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders.

As DuBois notably indicated in "The Souls of Black Folk" -"The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color-line." (and that statement was valid before and after the 20th century)

[heaven05]

42. thank you nt

[Fast Walker 52]

32. the Hindu Indian community is very anxious about this -- that Trump supporters' bigotry is too crude

to know these people are not Muslims. And sadly, many Indian-Americans voted for trump because of his business "skills".

Personally, my wife is Indian and very nervous about this sort of thing, particularly with our son. My wife is actually distantly related to Kuchibhotla.

[leftyladyfrommo]

34. KC STAR said over 1 million has been raised

On GoFundMe pages so far.
People in our area are horrified by this.

[delisen]

35. Has Trump said anything about this? n/t

[mdbl]

37. I don't know

I don't read twitter.

[heaven05]

43. NO

[orangecrush]

41. Heatbreaking and infuriating.

Move.

[vkkv]

48. Get the HELL OUT of KANSAS!!

[mnhtnbb]

52. We lived in St. Joseph, MO--north of Kansas City, MO--and not far

from the Kansas suburbs of Olathe and Overland Park for 6 years from 1988-94.

Coming from California (and a native of New York) I was surprised to discover that part of the world was not the "midwest" but definitely
southern in its level of racism. And when you think about the history, well, of course. Missouri wanting recognition as a slave state
is what caused the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

Even though Olathe and Overland Park are in Kansas, they are considered suburbs of Kansas City, MO, and at least when we lived there,
racial discrimination was alive and well.