Bad Day at the office..layoffs

[mbliss57]

Tomorrow we are having work force reductions which is the HR way of not having to say Lay Offs.
I have to layoff 2 engineers in my department. What really burns me is that the Company is flush with cash, their stock is through the roof, orders are and have been very healthy even through the last recession...but because the after taxes profit margin is only 29.5% and not 30% they will ruin several peoples livelihoods to reduce their overhead and hit a manmade profit #.
That really is corporate greed at high levels that gets felt at the plant level and then at the personal level. I am all for free enterprise..but this situation makes me angry.
How many companies turn profits like that consistently year after year and lay people off in the midst of it?

 

[roundgunner]

Good luck, That is one of the biggest reasons I left my home state of Ohio. I was laid off 5 years after returning from my first 4 year enlistment and after a few bad jobs re-enlisted and started buying equipment to start my own business when my next tour was over.

I hope things work out for you and your co-workers.

 

[USAF385]

I'm sorry to hear that.

The average salary for CEOs has skyrocketed over the past few decades. It's not enough to run the company and live comfortably, they need to make themselves as rich as possible. I'm not saying it's bad for CEOs to make big bucks, but in so many companies where they have to lay off workers and such, those at the top continue to live lavish lifestyles. They feel that even though the company doesn't make as much money as they hoped, their salary must stay the same. If people need to be let go, so be it. If the company isn't doing well, everyone should feel it, not just the workers.

This is why I refuse to work for any of the big HVAC companies in the area. I can't stand corporate operations.

 

[BearBio]

It's the trickle down economy. Don't raise taxes on the big boys and the little boys will be safe.

Sure!

 

[Jyezahn]

I know how it is... I got laid off back in October (IT Manager), and I'm still looking for a job.

 

[LVSteve]

Tomorrow we are having work force reductions which is the HR way of not having to say Lay Offs.
I have to layoff 2 engineers in my department. What really burns me is that the Company is flush with cash, their stock is through the roof, orders are and have been very healthy even through the last recession...but because the after taxes profit margin is only 29.5% and not 30% they will ruin several peoples livelihoods to reduce their overhead and hit a manmade profit #.
That really is corporate greed at high levels that gets felt at the plant level and then at the personal level. I am all for free enterprise..but this situation makes me angry.
How many companies turn profits like that consistently year after year and lay people off in the midst of it?

Find out who has the stock and has the most to gain. "Follow the money" rarely steers you wrong in these cases.

I can foresee more of this as Wall Street short-term gamblers large and small put pressure on businesses to ramp up the stock and profits to maximise the gamblers return in the shortest time. In other words, they want the clock turned back and the return of many of the business practices that came close to killing the economy. These types did not make their money before the crunch and are determined to do so now.

 

[M3Stuart]

Man, that bites!

 

[pawncop]

Sorry to hear of this. Happened to me in December 1997. Turned out to be the best thing that could have happened, but it did not feel like at the time.

We just went through a "work force redesign" that did affect the upper level folks first. We have been told the redesigning process is continuing and there will be more folks affected. This in a not for profit pediatric hospital. They have been working on reducing costs now for about two years and at least have been fairly organized about it.

It is still quite a burden for those affected.

 

[jaykellogg]

I am an engineer and i have been laid off several times. I don't care anymore, I am on pension now. I got some work in 2011, but none last year. Being laid off isn't so bad if the benefits are fairly good. I was NAFTA certified twice.

My sister is an engineer with a specialty in electronic reliability. When she worked for Dell in Austin instead of a layoff they called her in, gave her a bad review and a day or two later they fired her. The walked her out. They wanted to be able to tell new recruits "we have never had a layoff".

 

[Frank46]

My company did something like this about 30 years ago. Something like 230 management folks told we don't have a job for you anymore. One guy I knew well didn't even clean out his locker. Just laughed at the personnel supervisor. Started collecting his pension shortly thereafter. It eventually cost the company big bucks and the genius who came up with the idea lost his job. Downsizing ought to be a four letter word for getting screwed. Where I worked there was one general foreman and 5 supervisors. When they were done with the retirements, I was the only one left. And being told we have no job for you really stunk. So thirty years down the tubes and retired. The superintendent after I left really found out about how to run the place the hard way. Frank

 

[model70hunter]

To cut thru the fat, it is about maximum profit so the top ladder rungs get large bonus' in addition to their fat salaries.

Greed, greed and more greed. With one company I worked in the corporate office and was high enough up the ladder to get a few nickles for a bonus while the big dogs wanted more, they did a force reduction, the departed folks salaries added up to several million, oddly enough the 2 top dogs said we did better by several million and took a larger bonus. The sad thing is, the real folks who kept customers happy were cut too deeply. After many complaints most of the jobs were refilled.

I was born independently poor and curse that affliction as it's kept me working for corporate America. My company recently asked for volunteers to leave with a severance package. I and many others volunteered. They told me I can't go as I'm too valuable. Oddly my workload is increasing daily, it will increase until I quit and leave with out a severance package.

 

[Ron H.]

Tomorrow we are having work force reductions which is the HR way of not having to say Lay Offs.
I have to layoff 2 engineers in my department. What really burns me is that the Company is flush with cash, their stock is through the roof, orders are and have been very healthy even through the last recession...but because the after taxes profit margin is only 29.5% and not 30% they will ruin several peoples livelihoods to reduce their overhead and hit a manmade profit #.
That really is corporate greed at high levels that gets felt at the plant level and then at the personal level. I am all for free enterprise..but this situation makes me angry.
How many companies turn profits like that consistently year after year and lay people off in the midst of it?

Sir, I'm not surprised. Been laid off several times, more than once because the "suits" were screwing up. BS like this is where unions (which aren't without their own problems) come from.

One thing I find interesting is that Wall Street's showing marvy numbers lately, yet employment numbers are still ****. The suits have figured out that they can overwork their few remaining employees (who are terrified of getting laid off) or use contractors (who were laid off awhile back and now are desperate for whatever they can get) who get no bennies. It artificially pumps the P&L numbers, but it's not sustainable. And never mind that it's, like, exploitation or anything ....

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

 

[Onomea]

After tax profits of 29.5% and they are laying people off?! Unbelievable.

Good management would be expanding the business. Heck, a profit margin of half that is not bad. In fact, it is pretty good for most businesses.

I'd be angry, too.

 

[cmort666]

I know how it is... I got laid off back in October (IT Manager), and I'm still looking for a job.

I got laid off a month after Obama's first inauguration and didn't see work again for two YEARS, a week or two after my unemployment ran out. It's the worst job I've had in thirty years and I was lucky to find it.

On the plus side, the criminal sociopath who was our project manager just got taken off of the project... after something like eight years of [literally] criminal mismanagement.

Good luck. I've been looking for a real IT job for quite a while.

 

[BarbC]

Well, the workplace is changing and you have to adapt with the times. My primary training is in law but the name of the game in this town is health care. You have to be willing to redefine your skills and continually upgrade.

 

[peyton]

I just extended another six months in Afghanistan, hard to hand me a pink slip! Our company over hired to and has not yet told us how they plan to "Right Size" (ought to be a banned phrase).

 

[BearBio]

To add a bit of advice and hope:

From the early 70's to the early 90's, I worked in a real estate related industry: Title Insurance. Sorta a real estate para legal. I rose to lower management. In about 1993, I got laid off, as did my wife (she was an escrow officer).

For about a year, I worked weekends as a hunting guide on wild hogs and deer and did some consulting work, mostly for attorneys, as an "expert" witness in court. Then my sister-in-law heard about an adult return program in Marine Biology. I went back to school at age 44 or so. Aced my Biology classes (I had kept up as a hobby, since dropping out in 1972-3), squeaked by Calculus and Organic Chemistry and graduated cum laude in summer, 1996. I had been accepted at Cal State University for grad school. I spent a good portion of the summer teaching Tropical Ecology in Belize and Guatemala. Completed grad school in 5 semesters, including making up some deficiencies, again with (high) honors. Volunteered for a year, and substitute taught, until I finally got on with the Feds. Another 5 years and I'll retire (from Federal service at least) at age 69-70. Then, we plan on back to grad school for my PhD.

We cashed in all of our retirement and the student loans will still be there when I die, but it was worth it!

But, the wife says a Porsche would have been cheaper as "middle-age crazy" than two degrees.

In short, a career change? I was almost 50 when I got my Master's Degree!

 

[brucev]

Tomorrow we are having work force reductions which is the HR way of not having to say Lay Offs.
I have to layoff 2 engineers in my department. What really burns me is that the Company is flush with cash, their stock is through the roof, orders are and have been very healthy even through the last recession...but because the after taxes profit margin is only 29.5% and not 30% they will ruin several peoples livelihoods to reduce their overhead and hit a manmade profit #.
That really is corporate greed at high levels that gets felt at the plant level and then at the personal level. I am all for free enterprise..but this situation makes me angry.
How many companies turn profits like that consistently year after year and lay people off in the midst of it?

My hearts goes out to you and your co-workers.

I will not comment on how businesses operate. Suffice it to say that there are not corporations that operate in the interest of America or the citizens of America. They operate in the interest of their stockholders... and mostly that means they operate in the interests of their boards of directors, etc. If it suits them or their interests, fine. Otherwise, regardless of what is best for the long term interest of the business, the employees or the nation, forgetaboutit.

 

[Alnamvet68]

It's only going to get worse; just wait when the "Affordable Healthcare Act" goes into effect, and small businesses will start cutting hours to below 30 per week, and/or cut their staffing to below 50 personnel to avoid providing insurance and being penalized for not doing so. I'm of the opinion that the current unemployment debacle is only just entering that long and dark traffic jammed tunnel; just wait 'till you see what awaits you if you even make it out of the tunnel.

 

[redlevel]

I guess I must have been misinformed. I was always under the impression that this is exactly what they are supposed to do.