My husband Joel works for a company that manufactures printed circuit boards for computers and stuff. You’d think, with everyone and their dog buying computers, that this would be a lucrative business. But in the last couple months they’ve had to reduce production, cut everyone’s hours back, and lay people off. Fortunately, Joel escaped being laid off, but he’s lost a day a week, which adds up rapidly, so we’re living hand-to-mouth (as if we weren’t already).
Meanwhile, I work for the State of Oregon. I thought this was a good thing, security-wise. However, I work for the Workers’ Compensation Board and employers (as near as I can figure this stuff out, I’m not an economics-type person) want to pay lower wc insurance premiums and/or pay less money into the Workers Benefit Fund. This means that, if they get the reduction or whatever they want, a number of programs and services at the Board, OSHA, the WC Division, etc., may be cut. I’m pretty sure I’m safe, but I feel bad for the people in our field offices that will be closed (that’s one of the solutions proposed for our Board). And I feel bad for the workers who live in Medford, Burns, Pendleton, Umatilla, and other far-off, exotic locations who will now have to drive to Salem or Portland for hearings. And I will be slightly affected: no more training budget.
I’m just in a whiny mood today, I guess. Does anyone else have any reccession and/or job related tales of woe to share? Misery loves company, sorrows shared are halved, and all that rot.
I misspoke (mistyped?) when I said injured workers “will now” have to drive to Salem or Portland. It’s not a done deal yet, but, to the pessimists among us, it’s as good as. On the record, management disavows any knowledge or layoffs or cutbacks, but off the record some people have alleged that their managers have told them they’re gone. I guess this is just gossip at this point, but what the hell, it’s not like we have enough real problems to worry about, right?
Well MrsStuffinb works quality control for a company that manufactures disk drives. I work in Aerospace, it’s been near things for us both. She’s been laid off and called back three times in the past year. I haven’t been laid off but do to some mergers and contracts, we’ve lost a lot of business and it looked a near thing for a while.
My company (we do e-commerce strategy consulting and implementation) of approximately 250 employees (in two offices, NYC and Chicago) laid off 52 people yesterday. I have no idea at all why I was spared. I felt lucky, until I found out about the VERY generous separation packages that were handed out. I’ve been looking for another job anyway, and the extra time to do so would have come in handy. But I should be grateful, and I guess I am, grudgingly. It’s weird.
Well, Mr. Cranky has been looking for work for some time now. Market seems to be getting tighter. He finally got an excellent lead on working for a different division of his former employer. They’re desperate for more people who can do what he does. Without getting more guys like him to do contract work, they’ve never going to ship the software on time. The day that Mr. Cranky was supposed to finalize details as to pay & start date… the company announced a hiring freeze.
The manager who had to break the news to him sounded stunned, because they are frantic for more help, not just on this product but on others as well. Go figger.
My BIL just got laid off–works in advertising.
Meanwhile, in my office, we’re so strapped for people I don’t think I could get fired if I tried. Well, okay, I’m a creative person, I guess I could REALLY try…
I’d just like to point out that there is, as of yet, no recession. We aren’t even halfway to a recession yet.
My job related story, though, is that this is a fun time to be in the tech-side of an old economy company. A lot of people who left for start-ups seaking quick riches are coming back now, hat in hand, looking for jobs with us again.
See, I actually wondered about that just recently. I kept hearing recession talk, and then when my husband’s week was cut short and they started talking about funding cuts here at work, I thought, gall dang, maybe there’s something to that recession stuff! Mostly I just wanted to bitch, and when composing my bitch, I recalled an SNL sketch from the late '80s-early ‘90s called something like “Tall Tales of the Recession,” but since this tale isn’t tall, I just modified it… k’now, trying to be cute. The title that is, not the tale. T’ain’t nothin’ cute about that.
Please let me know when the recession officially starts.
