Laid off twice by the same company. It was going under, and lots of people were getting the axe. I knew I was going well before it actually happened. Those with seniority stayed longer, but most of them were going, too.
They rehired me six months later, when their project got more money, and they needed a middlin’-top grunt with my knowledge and skills, so I was rehired over more senior types. But I could still see the handwriting on the wall, and knew it was only temporary. A very few people managed to stay on and transfer to another division.
Another company I worked for went under as well, but I left before they had a chance to lay me off. That time Everybody got chucked, no matter what level of seniority or skill.
Is it based on seniority? Sometimes, but not in my case.
The last time it happened, the first round of layoffs happened when I was one month in. This was just six months after the company took every employee to Bermuda as a thanks for unbounded success. I got caught in round four. A couple of months later, I went back to collect on some sort of missed benefit. The maybe ten people left were bored stiff. There was just no work to do. They folded shortly after.
The time before that, I was one of maybe six senior employees, in a company of a few thousand. I got the axe in the first wave. Six months later, the whole company was down the tubes. My half million in free stock dwindelled to zero before I had a chance to do anything with it.
I’ve been laid off three times in my career, and it was pretty much by seniority (me having been in the most recently hired group). I, too, can’t stress strongly enough not to burn bridges. The last employer who laid me off was in a position to rehire me six months later, I came back, and have been there ever since.
I have been laid off 3 times by my current employer. Each time it was based on union seniority, 2 of the lay offs everyone in the job code was let go. I was finally called back 21 years ago and have been here since.
It can go down in any number of ways and not only is each company different, the criteria can be different for different layoffs at the same company.
Oscar and Kevin both have the same skills but Oscar has worked there for less time so he is laid off.
Kelly and Ryan both have the same skills but Kelly is paid more so she is laid off.
Jim knows how to solder, Andy knows how to wire bond, Dwight knows how to solder AND wire bond so only Dwight’s job is saved.
Pam and Meredith both have the same skills but Pam does a better job so Meredith is laid off.
Creed and Angela both have the same skills but if they lay off Angela there won’t be any women left in the department so Creed is laid off.
Stanley and Toby both have the same skills but Toby goes to the same church as the manager so Stanley is laid off.
I’ve survived maybe twenty lay offs and been laid off twice. I’ve seen every one of the above scenarios happen. The first time I was laid off, I had survived several at that company before they got me. There was one more after mine and then, a year after I was nailed, the company went totally out of business. The second time, my entire department was let go. It’s just business.
ETA: As others have said, if you get it, be professional and don’t burn bridges. You might need a good word from some of those guys even many years later and people have long memories.
Thirty years in the same industry, with 4 different companies. The threat of layoffs comes around about every 2 years. Often, the company is making money hand over fist but just wants to reorganize, cut costs, realign, blah blah blah and your job is one they decided they can do without.
Three different scenarios for me:
I transferred from the parent company to a spin-off subsidiary, with a real start-up entrepreneurial flavor, and everybody was working hard and having fun. Then they merged our company with a competitor’s, and decided to relocate the combined operation. I was given a choice of moving 2000 miles, or the door (no guarantee of being rehired with the parent company). I chose the latter, but was able to wangle a job with the parent.
Two years later, hard times hit and the axe fell in my department. My boss called me in and said that they had generously decided to keep me, but to offer me a demotion/pay cut. I had just received a call from a headhunter the previous day with an interview offer, so I decided to roll the dice and decline their generous demotion. Went on the interview and got the job.
Three job moves later, and 20 years of cheating The Reaper, my job got outsourced to India. I managed to hook on with a different department within the same company, doing much the same work, at the same salary, with better people.
Corporations can be real bastards. Never trust your employer, and keep your networks up.
Back in 1987, I got laid off from my first teaching job. The local radio station reported on school board meetings; so, amusingly enough, I first heard about it while listening to the news on my way to work. As you might imagine, I had a less than positive attitude for the remaining weeks of that school year.
I was laid off in October of 2001. I was bitter, as I was paid quite a bit less than some folks, and scored well in my reviews (2nd “Quintile”, as they grouped everyone into 5 groups for ranking). In theory, I should have been safe.
But see, as a young guy who didn’t know how to work inthe corpporate world, I had made a few mistakes that led to a middle manager who was openly hostile to me. Turns out when they were discussing who to let go, he started and ended his list with me. And that was it.
I’ve been laid off twice. Both cases involved a buyout of both companies I’d been working for. One company is now defunct. The other was absorbed by the buyout company but still retains its original name for various reasons.
I made it through Round 2 in both cases. With the now-defunct company, I made it through Round 1 because I wasn’t officially management. I was laid off, along with 20-25 of my coworkers, because of a departmental reorganization.
Although I wasn’t considered “senior” by the other company, salary-wise I was near the top of the heap for my position. Had I been at the top I would’ve been laid off in Round 1. Everyone in the second tier – management or otherwise – was laid off in Round 2.
Not to matter. I’d been in the second company’s industry for almost 15 years then. I automatically found a job with one of its competitors within a couple of months after the layoff.
The bad news? I’m at the top of the salary heap where I now work. If there is ever a layoff, I’ll be one of the first out the door.
I got laid off in April from MegaDrugCorp. It was from a restructuring from a year ago. Now they restructured that restructuring and the newly created position that some of my work got folded into was eliminated. It’s crazy. But, the work still needs to get done so people sign on with whatever contracting agency(s) doing the work or look elsewhere. The package was good, so I had a fun summer, a touch of anxiety after not getting any job offers, than two offers a day apart. Now I’m contracting for another company but keeping my $82 a month health insurance coverage for my family left over from my severance package, but that will run out this coming April.