I am sorry to report that Doe Enterprises has not renewed their contract for the next year. Since 20% of our business was with Doe, the loss will cause us to reduce our staff. It appears that there will be a partial layoff in June, but fortunately this will be offset somewhat by a number of retirements this summer.

We are working hard to reestablish our relationship with this company and to acquire new accounts abroad. Until we succeed we ask for your understanding and cooperation. With your help this will be only a temporary setback. We will keep you informed with weekly updates on e-mail.

In order to dispel any rumors, the management wants to inform each of you that there will be no Christmas bonus this year. Because of the economic downturn, we must cut costs somewhere, and we feel that cutting the bonus is preferable to laying off an employee or reducing hours. Doe has experienced downturns before and rebounded perfectly well. We are confident this slump will improve as spring arrives.

Should any other changes arise, we will candidly inform you. Continue your excellent work and keep an eye on the future of Doe Technologies.

We regret to announce that because of the untimely death of our company president, John Doe, our annual company picnic, scheduled for Saturday, has been cancelled. We realize that this will cause disappointment, especially for our employees’ children; however, we feel it is the best decision under the circumstances. We invite you to spend time with your families that day remembering John and the influence he had on all of us.