I survived the latest round of layoffs

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

My company has been in turmoil for the past six months or so. There have been lots of rumors flying around. Turnover has increased as people have fled what they feel is a sinking ship and vacated positions are not being filled. Morale has sunk like a rock and nobody trusts management anymore. After being assured our jobs were safe some people were let go. Fortunately I was not one of those people, but then, who’s to say there won’t be another round of layoffs? I may be next for all I know, and pretty much we all feel that our jobs as a whole are doomed. Because of this looming threat to my very livelihood, I have a number of questions to ask fellow Dopers who have had the rug pulled out from beneath them by their employers.
[ul]
[li]Were there any teltale signs, or any “writing on the wall” that indicated layoffs were imminent?[/li][li]What all did you go through when you were laid off?[/li][li]Were there rumors floating around and did management either lie or try to quell such rumors, which turned out to be true?[/li][li]How was the bad news delivered and when (time of day, day of week, etc.?) Were you called into a meeting or told individually?[/li][li]Were others let go along with you or were you singled out? How many were let go (either a count or as a general percentage or proportion of your company’s work force)?[/li][li]How were things handled once you were let go? Did they make you leave right away and then bring your personal belongings to you, or did they let you get these things yourself?[/li][li]How long did it take your unemployment (if you applied for it) to kick in, and how long were you out of work?[/li][li]When you found another job did you have to settle on something that paid much less or was shittier work, out of desperation, or did you manage to find something similar in pay again and within your field of expertise?[/li][li]Did you end up falling behind on several bills and have your credit ruined?[/li][li]Did you have to make any drastic sacrifices due to your limited budget?[/li][/ul]

Also, if you can offer any advice or encouraging words to help me gt through it in the event of a layoff this will be helpful. I have little extra as it is each month, so “saving ahead” isn’t really an option for me.

2

Fortunately, I’ve never suffered a layoff, but I know a little about the process my company goes through when somebody is laid off. Because of a fear of possible retribution or damage to data, a layoff not-for-cause is handled much like a firing. The person is called to their supervisor’s office, told they’re being let go, and escorted back to his/her own office to be allowed to pack a few things under supervision. The following Saturday, the person is allowed to return, again under scrutiny, to collect the remainder iof their possessions. The company may pack and mail some of those, too. In the case of a layoff not for cause, there’s usually the additional matter of severance. The severance here has been pretty good through the last few layoffs, usually at least six months continuing pay.

I suppose, also, if you share an office and your office mate is let go, they pull you into another manager’s office and tell you at the same time while they are laying off your office mate, in order to prevent possibly awkward encounters.

3

My former high-tech company started laying off people in 2000, but I didn’t get the axe until 2003. Because I knew the writing was on the wall, I spent those three years saving and planning for the future. I also had a years notice from my boss that my time was up, so that helped a lot as well.

Usually people got called to an office, given the letter and then escorted to the building. The admin assistant would then clean the desk and box up the personal property. In my case I came in on my last day, spent the morning saying goodbye, deactivated my network account, and turned in my badge.

Financially I was OK because of my nest egg. The 6 month severance package helped too :slight_smile:

4

Rookie. :slight_smile:

I suggest 4 years and 12 rounds with some nice cardio mixed in to keep the heart from busting through your chest. :wink:

In all, keep your head, don’tfreak out start loadly complaining. But do start looking for exit options, opportunities.

5

My company went through about eight months of “force reductions.” I got clipped in the sixth round. The first two rounds were shockers, filled with lots of pep rallies by management and “my door is always open” speeches and handouts of company trinkets, followed by emails from the CEO etc.

After the third round, people were just resigned to the fact the company was going down and it was just a matter of time for everybody. I was in the IT department, so I always got wind of impending cuts because of the lists that got passed around for closing accounts and equipment recovery, etc. My biggest clue was that the CFO didn’t look me in the eye or say hello on the day that I got eased out, followed by a fellow tech telling me I was on the list.

When it did happen, my boss came to me and told me I was out. He was very nice about it. Since about the 3rd round I took my personal stuff home and kept a box ready at the office so all I had to do was put a few books in my box and I went out the door. I was allowed to say goodbye to some folks, and by this time people had gotten pretty used to the routine so it was all very friendly and there was no bitterness. The other sixth-wavers left under similar circumstances.

Since I knew the company was in trouble, I started saving. A nestegg is a wonderful thing. Between that and unemployment, I was able to go the 8 months before finding another job without going into massive debt, keeping the bills paid and food in the fridge. It was another 4 months before I actually started working again, but I managed just fine because of my savings.

So if you think you’re going to be cut, save everything that you can and be looking for a job. It’s still a pretty crappy market out there. Be ready for it.

The nice thing about having money saved is that it let me find a job with equal pay. I wasn’t so desparate that I had to take anything that came along. I didn’t turn any job offers down, mind you, but I did only apply for positions equal or better to the one I had, and that turned out to be a good thing.

Though my current company is undergoing a reorg that will be completed in two months. It could get interesting for me again before long…

Good luck!

EZ

Also, if you can offer any advice or encouraging words to help me gt through it in the event of a layoff this will be helpful. I have little extra as it is each month, so “saving ahead” isn’t really an option for me.
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6

Wasn’t that a horrible feeling looking at that advance list and seeing the names of your good friends and co-workers? A bitter-sweet mixture of “I’m sorry to see them go” mixed with “yes! Another bullet dodged!”.

In my case I had to disable the network accounts, so I parsed the list and fed it into a script that disabled the accounts for me. This was a good thing as on top of the weekly 20-30 people being let go, we had big cuts of 500 or more a few times.

I’m glad I’m gone. It was a poisonous working environment and everyone was sad, angry, or just apathetic. I can only see now how bad it was working under those conditions.

7

On review it seems I’m not being retained for my lucid commentary. :smack:

  • Put aside what you can to prepare for the possible loss of employment.
  • Start reviewing opportunities
  • Get your resume ready
  • Start networking with people at other companies

But I think the best advice I can give you, seeing what I’ve seen, is to keep a positive attitude. You *want to prolong your employment * until you’ve managed to find a new job. Moping about, complaining, and generally killing whatever energy may be left in your organization makes you the obvious, remarkably guilt free target for the next round of layoffs.

Anonymous, did most of your company get packed off to So Cal and China? No need to answer I’m just slightly curious.

8

My brother has been acting CEO for over a year for a company that was in trouble and has gone deeper and deeper in trouble, despite his best efforts. There have been layoffs and he’s tried to tell his remaining employees that they need to be sending out resumes. He thinks they’re all in denial. For his part, he had 3 interviews this week, and he’ll go in a heartbeat.

I hope you’re looking for another position, especially since you’re pretty sure the axe is going to fall. Watch your pennies and take control of what you can. Best of luck to you!

9

Come to think of it, I was laid off, sort of. The division I worked for failed and got sold by the parent company to a competitor. I was told I could stay on and work for the acquiring company, but they were based 50 miles away in the next county and I didn’t want to drive 100 miles every day, and I didn’t want to move. Accordingly I was “laid off” technically speaking, and given my accrued vacation pay plus a small severance payment of about four weeks, which wasn’t bad considering I’d only worked there for a year.

On the last day I wore a Dilbert T-shirt with Dogbert sitting at a desk and saying, “I’m not unemployed, I’m a consultant”. All in all it was a no-stress layoff and we all went out celebrating that night. By this time I almost, but not quite, had my next job lined up, so I wasn’t worried.

10

Well, once I was in a little three-person data entry group in a side office that happened to also house the printer used by half the floor. The day that an organization chart printed out without our group on it was kind of a clue. Luckily, I got another job before they dropped that section of the business.