Laying people off?

[ben4372]

That really stinks, especially when you know you are losing good hard working individuals that probably cannot be replaced. Thankfully I will never be in that position. I cannot imagine working for a company where that is even a possibility. Glad you made it through this round of layoffs, and hopefully there won't be anymore.

Must be self employed.

[jhood001]

Capitalism. Quit bitching or go commie.


Or... Hold businesses to moral standards with your purchases. You can't have both even when cheap is appealing.

[flogger]

I worked for a big builder for over 20 yrs. They called everyone on a Friday morning and told them to come to the main office, the 'keepers' were instructed to go to the third floor, the 'temp keepers' to the second floor and the lay-offs to the first floor. No one knew what was going on, it was a crappy way to do it in my opinion.

[blacklabel]

My layoff was pretty easy to see coming. Our workforce management team was duplicated in the Philippines and it was just a matter of time before all of our positions were offshored. Severance was alright considering the company. I ended up going back to that company for 2 years before I saw another layoff coming and jumped to my current employer.

[RCCrawler]

When they did layoffs at my job years ago We got word it was going down, then just a few hours later HR showed up with 5 police officers. The people who got let go got handed their last check, told to grab their personal items under the watchful eye of a police officer breathing down their neck, then escorted off the property like they were criminals.

they got rid of about 15% of the employees this way, they locked all hiring, promotions, and raises for 5 years. Needless to say morale took a major dump.

[StagLefty]

In 2010 I went into involuntary retirement when our department was outsourced. New company told me I wasn't qualified to do the job I'd been doing for 9 years.
Did I ever mention how much I love corporate ?

[Ramsker]

It's hard, for sure. I have been with the same company for 15 years and have been through several . . . seen many good friends and people impacted. I've been pretty fortunate as far as being in positions where I have been pretty well insulated. The one time I was hit was kind of funny. The company I was with at the time was acquired by the company I am with now and I was the only person left from the marketing dept (which is usually one of the first to go--so I was not in a great spot). Walked into the office one morning and the CEO stopped me and said we needed to talk. Told me my position had been eliminated . . . but that they had someone at the new parent company who wanted to talk to me. Ended up being hired by the parent company into a position tied into the executives at the HQ by that afternoon, so that was a really bizarre ride for a day that ended up turning out extremely well. Was like a scene from Office Space in real life. I was laid off in the morning, had a few video interviews, they told me to sit tight and not to go home and they'd get back to me--took all day.

But you never really get used to that stuff happening. Sometimes you are given numbers to hit and not given options to keep people you really feel you should keep (no place to put them). All you can do is try to be supportive and understand that business can be a real crappy thing sometimes.

[Skip]

You're a good guy too, Ridge. It sucks what corporate entities do to DECENT PEOPLE...in the name of bottom line type stuff....fukers.

All the more reason I don't do that anymore. The old model of being loyal to a company is over and dead, most just don't realize it. And I talk to lots of people that go on about the benefits... Well, that can be taken away and scaled back over time as well.

It's just business is my new motto. The only loyalties I have is to family, friends, maybe neighbors. That's it--seen too many get stabbed in the back and gotten it a couple of times myself.

----

OP -- Do talk to everyone after and keep in touch. Write them recommendation letters coming from you personally. If they are good, they will be okay. And if they aren't okay, don't put it on your back (you're not the CEO).

Anyone who works for a major employer long enough will be impacted by a reduction/realignment. It's inevitable. The last time I played along I was taken away from my family for two years (that's how long it took to move back). Things like this make you look at a job and wonder what is really important in life. And sometimes it's good to sit back and get that perspective. I know people who have made different decisions and are much happier as a result--they likely wouldn't have taken that initiative on their own.

ETA: And keep your ears open for opportunities for these folks. If you work with vendors don't be afraid to ask if they have opportunities open. "You scratch my back..."

[Alpha2]

I've never been "right-sized", when the right size was larger. Both times, I was let go because of gross mistakes that management had made, requiring a reduction in employees to attempt to arrest plummeting stock values. The last time, they had to hire two people to replace me, and I just found out from another previous employee of the same company that eventually they just gave up on my old territory. Seems they couldn't keep anyone willing to put up with what I had been putting up with.
I have to say though, that I was an idiot for staying as long as I did. They did me a favor by letting me go. My life improved DRAMATICALLY and immediately. Kind of like my previous marriage. I'm such an idiot.

[flogger]

I forgot all about the police showing up for layoffs. Thats always a nice touch.