The reason they are loved is the major social impact Philips had on the Eindhoven region, mostly positive. You could walk up to Mr Frits during carnival, ask fo

The reason they are loved is the major social impact Philips had on the Eindhoven region, mostly positive. You could walk up to Mr Frits during carnival, ask for a job for your husband and he could start the next week, ask any older Eindhovenaar about it. They were considered to be a great company to work for: they took care of houses (one of the Eindhoven suburbs is called Philips town as it was literally built by them for their employees), and the bylaws made maximum employment a top priority (heck, it’s still mentioned in the latest CAO). The local football club was founded by Philips for their employees, the first player in the field was a 4-year-old Mr. Frits. From the perspective of Eindhoven, they sure were a net gain. For the rest of the world, they sure are in a lot of cartels. But the tens of thousands of people working for Philips-related companies won’t care (ASML, NXP, Signify, Etos, FEI, TP Vision, are just some examples of the Philips legacy that is still felt all across the Eindhoven region)l