Retired?

[HFWR]

So, today, management calls a spur-of-the-moment, "all hands" meeting, and proceeds to tell us that Megacorp will be farming development to foundries in Taiwan and elsewhere, and guess what?, your services will no longer be needed...

I expect it won't take long for them to swing the ax, so I'll be half-heartedly feverishly looking for an internal transfer, else I'll probably "retire", since if I'm layed off, I'll lose my retirement healthcare benefit. Interesting Monday...

Luckily, with severence pay, accrued vacation, and ye old emergency fund, I could probably last two years with no or meager income. Hmmmm... transitional retirement, anyone?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

So, today, management calls a spur-of-the-moment, "all hands" meeting, and proceeds to tell us that Megacorp will be farming development to foundries in Taiwan and elsewhere, and guess what?, your services will no longer be needed...

I'm really sorry for your plight. Terrible when they lower the boom unexpectedly. Though you are obviously way ahead of most others, having this thrown at you must be pretty upsetting.

Will you look for another employer? Ready to just FIRE? Part time it? In any case, best wishes for whatever path you choose.

 

[califdreamer]

Wow, bummer HFWR Did this come absolutely out of the blue? How long would you guess they'll keep everyone aboard before swinging the axe? I wish you the best.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

hfwr, what a drag. same thing happened at my mcfortune5. only they didn't spring it on us, they took their time dumping on us instead. then those of us "fortunate" enough to keep our jobs had to re-apply and even interview for them. i was one of the few "lucky" ones to keep my position which was upgraded (in pay a little but responsibilities became impossible). morale went deep into the dumper, got better for a very short time but then went past the dumper right to the wastewater treatment plant. boy it was good to finally get out of there.

reminds me of a plaque the ol'man had on one of the boats: "in case of emergency, women & children first. follow me, your captain."

 

[lowflyer]

Sorry to hear about your situation, but it was similar news that prompted me to "activate" my RE plan six years ago. It wasn't a solid, totally-developed plan, but it was still a plan. Maybe this will be the beginning of something new and exciting for you. Best of luck to you.

 

[Martha]

This sucks. Both you and DWK in the same week. Hope the internal transfer works out.

 

[Caroline]

Been there, done that, it's just plain HARD and I feel for you.

Best of luck with finding a new place to land.

 

[youbet]

I'll probably "retire", since if I'm layed off, I'll lose my retirement healthcare benefit.

Now that's a low blow......... I was RIF'd seven months ago by Megacorp. In our case, if you qualified for retirement (age + seniority) you got all the retirement bells and whistles when layed off, including the retiree health care plan plus severance benefits related to the RIF.

If you retire instead of waiting for layoff, will you give up any severance benefits?

 

[HFWR]

Now that's a low blow......... I was RIF'd seven months ago by Megacorp. In our case, if you qualified for retirement (age + seniority) you got all the retirement bells and whistles when layed off, including the retiree health care plan plus severance benefits related to the RIF.

If you retire instead of waiting for layoff, will you give up any severance benefits?

I think retirement and/or a bridge to retirement is part of the package, for those of us eligible. Not many details yet...

 

[crazy connie]

This sucks. Both you and DWK in the same week. Hope the internal transfer works out.

Well it is the 1st Q and the good Lord knows they like to mess with folks then!!!!

 

[cube_rat]

Sorry to hear about the layoff

 

[2B]

You'll live. I've lived through several. You'll have to get oriented quickly and move forward.

You have a good idea of your finances which will put to way above most of your peers. Step 1 is to do a barebones budget that includes dumping any "nice" house with mortgage and getting a rental. Step 2 is doing an aggressive job search while doing demeaning contract work if you can find any. Step 3 is realizing you've just been retired. Enjoy. Forced early retirement is now the corporate norm.

I have lived through your plight. You will survive but I want to say you can't assume that you will find a "career move" out of all of this.

 

[Dreamer]

Sorry to hear it. Glad to hear that it sounds like you will meet their qualifications for retirement. Hope that you find that internal transfer though.

 

[SteveR]

HFWR,

Sorry to hear about your job issues I know it can be pretty rough on one.

Sometimes when one door closes....another one opens. Perhaps this will end up being a very good thing down the road. Best of luck.

 

[youbet]

I think retirement and/or a bridge to retirement is part of the package, for those of us eligible. Not many details yet...

Can't remember your specific details...... but I hope you're close enough to RE that the severance package and bridge carry you to the promised land!

 

[HFWR]

Update:

Looks like we get to stew in our own juices for another month or so, before learning our fate. Then, if we're lucky, we might get to finish some projects whilst upper mgmt negotiates our jobs away...

In the meantime, I've cancelled my landline, long-distance, alarm service, and gym membership, saving ~$100/mo. I lowered my 401k contributions to the min 4% to get a full match, and will be throwing cash at the MM to extend the "emergency fund". Running scenarios around in my pea-sized brain, trying to see how little I can do and still get by...

Port is around $380k, and still 9.5 yrs from SS, so I'll undoubtedly need to w-w-w-w*rk, and let the stash grow a bunch more. Stay tuned...

 

[W2R]

Sorry to hear about this. Maybe when you learn your fate it won't be so bad. Meanwhile, it sounds like you're working hard on LBYM to the extreme, and in the long run that could help you to retire even earlier than you had planned.

Life has a way of throwing us curved balls, but don't forget that often things work out, for some reason.

 

[Brat]

This is also a good time to start networking in your field.

 

[heyyou]

I hope that you find your life with reduced income is as good as before. We are enjoying life more now that work is not in our way. As someone mentioned elsewhere, some of that spending was just to mask how sucky work was.

 

[TargaDave]

So, today, management calls a spur-of-the-moment, "all hands" meeting, and proceeds to tell us that Megacorp will be farming development to foundries in Taiwan and elsewhere, and guess what?, your services will no longer be needed...

I expect it won't take long for them to swing the ax, so I'll be half-heartedly feverishly looking for an internal transfer, else I'll probably "retire", since if I'm layed off, I'll lose my retirement healthcare benefit. Interesting Monday...

Luckily, with severence pay, accrued vacation, and ye old emergency fund, I could probably last two years with no or meager income. Hmmmm... transitional retirement, anyone?

HRWR,
Sounds like you work around Dallas(?) I guess R-fab will remain a hulking shell. CrollesII is breaking apart and bailing out of 45nm development as well and a lot of people over there are updating resumes. So TSMC-UMC will just take over development-production for half the world at 45nm? Sure seems like a disaster waiting to happen if you ask me. I sell stuff to your company. Not good news for me either.


Good luck. I'm rootin for ya.

 

[HFWR]

Thanks, everyone, for the words of support and encouragement!!

I wonder if it's time to change industries. As TargaDave points out, this industry is moving to the far east, so the pressure to go faster for cheaper will only intensify. Yes, TD, I expect that RFAB will be the world's cleanest roller rink...

I've been expecting this move, though I thought they'd complete development on the current node, so I was hoping for 2-3 more years on the gravy train.

The worst thing is that I'm fairly certain my pay will drop, probably significantly, which won't affect my lifestyle much, since I'm a cheap bastard, but it will slow the accumulation...

Oh, well, c'est la vie...

 

[landover]

That means the big building on Renner which just finished, will not go in production?

 

[samclem]

HFWR,

Sorry to hear the news. As you and others noted, the fact that you have a plan, some cushion $$, and a LBYM lifestyle puts you way ahead of many.

In addition to looking for an internal transfer, will the turmoil produce any "niche" opportunities you could exploit? Chaos, even downright destruction, usually produces some small opportunities at the margins. I know nothing about your field/industry, but sometimes there are short-term (but well paying) opportnities to travel to the new production locaton to help with the transition. Also, sometimes small firms/independent contractors pick up some of the scraps of business left over when the big stuff gets sent overseas.

Best of luck, let us know how things play out.

 

[USK Coastie]

How much Equity in your house? Would the equity and your 401 plus other assets get you to FIRE? Although a house is personal it is still just a house. Perhaps now is a time to down size if possible.

 

[HFWR]

That means the big building on Renner which just finished, will not go in production?

I believe the company line is "one of these days"...