Grim news, work is "Rightsizing"

[frayne]

In my former life as a worker bee I went through four different iterations of re-engineering, benchmarking, re-organization, downsizing or whatever you would like to call them.* I guess in a way I was fortunate to make it through all of the exercises without being booted out.* I have seen grown men reduced to tears upon heairng they no longer had a job after as many as twenty five years or more of good service.* In a way those that leave are better off as morale always suffers for the poor bastards left behind.*

One thing that use to simply amaze me is that shortly after a round of letting people go, some idiot in corporate HR would bring out an attitude survey and then the corporate bigwigs could never fiqure out why attitudes sucked.* They also couldn't understand why there wasn't company loyality.* Simply amazing.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frayne ...In a way those that leave are better off as morale always suffers for the poor bastards left behind.

We referred to those let go as "victims" and those remaining behind as "losers"...or was it the other way around...? :P

[Brat]

Do not be surprised if recruiters start sniffing around once the word of a reduction gets out, particularly for hard to find skill sets.* If a recruiter calls, listen.

One of my former employer's recruiters tried agressively to be the first to interview IS folks at risk of rif. *They looked like fans trying to buy World Series tickets.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frayne One thing that use to simply amaze me is that shortly after a round of letting people go, some idiot in corporate HR would bring out an attitude survey and then the corporate bigwigs could never fiqure out why attitudes sucked.* They also couldn't understand why there wasn't company loyality.* Simply amazing.

you misunderstood. that wasn't a real survey. that was just some scared guy in hr trying to justify his job and not get re-engineered-out.

[laurence]

Well, I survived the RIF. Very sad day, we had a little meeting with my group and the manager explained everyone who was to be laid off was notified, yadda yadda. On a good note, they were able to reduce the amount they needed to lay off by about 50% by getting some people to move geographically, move work from another site here, volunteers etc. Our group of about 200 only had 3 people laid off.

[REWahoo]

Glad to hear you survived round one Laurence. I got a call from a former co-worker today who just got whacked after working for my former company for almost 20 years. His son starts college in the fall.

Go home and hug your family and focus on what's important.

[KB]

Glad you survived.....it's nervewracking, isn't it.

If it happens often enough you'll end up hoping they let you go so you get the severence package.
Which will probably not happen and you'll continue to be employed.

It's happening everywhere....
My former employer is moving more and more of their business to India. Sad for those in the US.

[donheff]

A lot of us are expressing the negatives but there are some positives you might want to focus on.

You like this job. You still have it. Lots of organizations go through a round of two of cuts and then get their house in order. No matter where you might go you will still face uncertainty. So, if you stay, enjoy the job and try to make the place profitable.

As to the down side, many people who get RIF'd bounce right back and end up in as good or better a place than they started. For now that applies to your co-workers but it will apply to you if the uncertainties come and bite you on the butt later.

I'm only popping into this thread now and then. Sorry if all of this has been said several times :P.

[BunsGettingFirm]

Laurence, I'm glad that you survived. By layoff standards, 3 out of 200 is very mild. Heck, normal attrition is going to be more than that. As long as your company overall is doing well, then staying isn't going to be bad for your career. The problem with staying comes when the company is retreating from a business area, and they just want bodies to fill the trenches as they are fighting their retreat. That you don't want to do.

[astromeria]

I'm so happy for you, Laurence! What a relief. But keep a close watch on your company's doings, keep your pwder dry resume updated whenever you have something to add, and continue to stay in touch with your network. Knowing about your options helps keep the worries away. I updated my resume at least every other month during my company's 4 major layoffs over 4 years (and a 5th that occurred jsut after I retired). The first time, we got advance warning of the exact layoff date and time--gave us a few weeks to stew. The second time, we knew the month. The other times were total surprises that followed hiring spurts and small a rash of promotions. So stay on top of developmetns and opportunities in your field, and if you ever get blind-sided, you'll be ready. I think you mentioned getting another degree (forget if that was an MBA or engineering degree)--good idea.

[Eagle43]

Laurence, I will never forget when Mega-Corp laid off several thousand people. It was a very grim day. This was evidenced by a supervisor's dying of a heart attack. Lots of stress. 20-30 year employees were marched out like they were convicts, as the company didn't want them stealing tools and/or any sabotage. I survived barely and finally retired. But, they still downsize, though not as many at one time.

Anyway, glad you made the cut. I suggest you keep looking for another job. One thing you will find is that the survivors have more work to do with less people. That's not pleasant, either.