Layoffs hit close to home.
First of all I still have my job... but my brother Seth just lost his job yesterday. He was working for a company called Areva in Lynchburg, VA where I used to work and live before we came here. The company had a mandate to shed 1000 jobs. His department had said that he was safe... apparently not. He had only had this job for 3 months. It's his third job loss in a little over a year. He is devastated and won't even talk on the phone. I'm just shocked and frustrated. At my place of work it's all doom and gloom and it seems every other day we have "Quitter Cake" and a mini party for yet another person who took a buy-out or got laid off. I've had to say goodbye to several people I really care about. And how do I feel about my job? We'll I've begun to realize that for the moment I may be somewhat secure because I don't make much money and I also create a lot of advertising content. So for the moment I'm part of the revenue stream. It's funny I thought for a while that I was low on the totem pole and might loose my job because of that. Now I realize that corporate want's all the old guard to go, the one's making the most money. However what happens when I become part of the "old guard"? Not very encouraging. I had thought back then that I might try to break out of TV and get some well paying job in some other field. Make enough to stop working on the side for myself. Now I'm just going to sit and wait and try to keep my current job. Oh, and as of this new year I will be taking a pay cut of 3% and there will be no raises.
I'm curious about how the rest of you are impacted my similar forces? Do you have co-workers you had to say goodbye to? Friends that have been laid off? Are they having trouble finding new jobs? Are they changing careers? Have you taken a pay cut?
Also please pray for Seth. He is married with a todler.
Nate
posted by NateFarmGeek @ 3:22 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I'm sorry to hear that about Seth. Regarding my day-time job at Freescale, it's about the same. Everytime there are layoffs, I just expect to be laid off, and am surprised when I'm not. That's not to sound pessimistic, but realistic. The feeling of job security is big companies is an illusion. But I'm starting to look around passively, as there are companies who are doing well in semiconductors (i.e. people are still buying computers, cars, etc.) And with my evening activities, I'm hedging bets on other initiatives. I think the best thing to do is have lots of irons in the fire. You have certain skills and experience that no one else has, and there's always somebody out there who needs that very expertise. The 'net makes it easier than ever to promote your skills for consultation. It's just a matter of doing it.
Sorry, I tend to get on a soap box when talking about this stuff.
Layoffs have been hitting here, too. It's not pretty. Buffalo isn't exactly the job capital of the world to begin with.
John works for a very small consulting firm. They're expensive. Getting the same work done in India is cheaper. So I do worry. If John lost his job here, I'm not sure we'd be able to stay in the area. I think he'd be one of the last of the Buffalo group to go, but it's always possible. We also have the comfort that John works for a range of government and private jobs, military and civilian. Hopefully, that will help.
His company did lay off many people last spring, with no notice. That was freaky. They just went to work, and lost their jobs. And we've been told that if that's necessary, that's how it will happen again. No notice. So we just hope for the best. I try not to obsess about it, since this could last awhile, and it won't help. I save what I can.
I'll be keeping Seth in my prayers, too.
I know what you mean about lay offs. There was one time matt thought he was going to get laid off that he had to sneak out. He had info on his work laptop he had to get off in case he had to give it back. Thankfully he wasn't laid off. We'll keep Seth in our prayers. As well as you Nate. Sounds like we should keep all of our friends in prayer that God will provide for all of us, wisdom, jobs, guidance, all of the above.
Nate attended the first meeting of the day to find himself transferred to a new promotions/community service department. This afternoon they will have another meeting to see what programming will be axed. I'll leave him to explain further. It's a new job and lots of change but still a job!
This economy is killing everyone. Thankfully Matt's job seems to be pretty secure - at least we haven't heard of any layoffs. THe sucky part is that they've decided to change part of his compensation. Instead of getting that part in cash quarterly, they changed it to twice a year (crappy but managable). However now they've decided to stop giving cash and give stock options instead...... for a company not yet public!!!! Sure, IF they go public we could cash in some big money but I'm not holding out nearly as much hope or confidence as Matt has. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm anxious to see how things change or if they do with this new administration.
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