Grim news, work is "Rightsizing"

[laurence]

Downsizing is no longer politically correct.

We had an all hands meeting yesterday, 1500 of us in an offsite hall, and we all thought it was going to be a rah rah session, since the President had flown out to see us.

Well, it ended up being the formal notice that the first round of layoffs were to commence June 8th. It's a small number of people, and they are hoping it's the last round, but you know how these things can go. Kudos to the President coming out in person to say it to our face, instead of hiding behind an email from an efficiency consultant (like a previous job of mine).

I've been told I have nothing to worry about, but words are just words. I know I have funded work through Feb. however, so I'm not panicked yet.

Bottom line, I owe this site alot, the knowledge I've learned here, and the LBYM and super saver philosophy DW and I have picked up makes this a lot less scary. We have a good chunk of money saved up, and if the worst happens, I won't have to take the first job that comes along. The long term goal of RE is hard to stay focused on, but the FI portion pays almost immediate dividends, especially in times of adversity.

I'll update June 8th to let y'all know if I recieved one of the 50 "golden tickets". :P

[bow-tie]

Best of luck, man.

So would it be a blessing if you received a golden ticket? A mixed one, perhaps?

[laurence]

If I'm being truthful, no, not a blessing at all. This is the closest place to my house for this kind of work, I really like it here, and I had a clear upward path over the next year. The executives/management know and like me, and the work schedule (9/80) is just what I want. I think I'd be in for a 10 grand pay cut if I had to find another job. I've specialized, and I'd probably have to take a step down the IT food chain to get employed again.

[brewer12345]

You'll be fine, Laurence, come what may. *Frankly, I rather doubt you will be one of the "lucky recipients", but if you are I suspect you will find something else (maybe better) pretty quick.

[Bimmerbill]

If you have never went thru this sort of thing, here is some advice:

If you think you may get let go, volunteer to get out early. *You will probably get a "better" package than if you get let go later.

And, it's a very miserable exisitance working for months under this sort of atmosphere. *I went almost 6 months with layoffs every 2nd Tuesday when I worked for LU. *I was glad when I finally got laid off!

Of course, your experience may differ...

[SteveR]

Sorry to hear about the cut backs. "Rightsizing" is such BS! It is a lay off! A reduction in force. A cut back in personnel. A downsizing of the organization.
The Mega-corp-speak makes me want to puke displace previously consumed energy resources into an approved receptacle.

Seriously, Good luck with this. Losing a job you "enjoy" sucks since those kind are the hardest to find. We will be pulling for you to not win that Golden Ticket. It is far better to have a Golden Parachute.

[astromeria]

Sigh--I wonder how many sr mgt will be "rightsized" or have their compensation rightsized.

Even if you are laid off--which I doubt very much based on things you've said, I bet they'd need you to contract back for a while. But just to stave off worries, consider updating/spiffing up the resume, checking in with your network, verifying the number of months of liquid savings, and holding off on discretionary expenditures for a few days. And maybe a mojito after work would be a good idea

Take it easy--and good luck! I hope you won't be too short-handed in IT afterwards.

[unclemick]

Well - getting "rightsized" toward the end of 1992 - propelled me into ER Jan 1,1993. An unplanned event and no cool forum to learn from.

Anywise - good luck and keep us posted.

heh heh heh

[lazygood4nothinbum]

we didn't rightsize, we re-engineered. employed by a very fiscally conservative company, this was early-on, before downsizing became fashionable. our little florida unit dropped from 34 or 36 people to about 7 of us.

not losing your job is not always such a blessing as this marked the beginning of a forever shifted attitude in the company whereby we went from being integral employees putting out the best product possible to monkeys producing crap plus 1. (ie, the competition put out crap, so all we had to do was crap plus 1 and we "win".)

at first i was happy to keep my job. our salaries did go up to almost match to added work. but the jobs became impossible to do properly. moral deteriorated severely. i lasted like that for three years. then they brought on a son-of-a-bitch boss. i lasted another two years with him, said goodbye, and regretted only not taking the original package i avoided taking to keep a job.

so not every phase of life is a win-win situation. and you never know what tomorrow brings. good luck.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurence I'll update June 8th to let y'all know if I recieved one of the 50 "golden tickets".* :P

So, what's your spouse think about letting you handle the home care while she ramps back up?

We still have those two-hour spouse conversations exploring every link in the logic chain and all the alternate branches. It doesn't solve many problems but it sure reduces fear of the unknown.

Hey, you didn't hear it from me, but PACOM is always looking for IT security experts. GS+25% COLA and contract options are available!

[laurence]

I'd love to work at PACOM. 8)

DW is nervous, she's been home less than two months and she's already staring at her worst fear before she made the jump. She could ramp up her hours as a consultant, but health care is the big issue, especially with Tori's heart.

But I'm not too worried, it's possible, but unlikely, and for all sorts of mundane reasons that always take precidence over being smart or valuable to the company. :P

It has knocked me off the fence on one decision, I'm going back for my Master's degree, time to make myself more attractive to the marketplace in general! And Boston University has an on line program that is perfect for me (and work will partially reimburse)!

[sgeeeee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum . . .not losing your job is not always such a blessing as this marked the beginning of a forever shifted attitude in the company . . .

That was my experience. *While I was working I was never layed off, but I did work for companies that went through the downsizing process on several occassions. *I noticed a couple of common things about these episodes: *1) Being smart and being productive were not guarantees that someone would not be RIFed. *Large companies in particular often manage the downsize process very poorly. *They sometimes lay off good people for stupid political reasons related to who their boss is or what their current assignment is. *2) Survival is never that pleasant either. *When people lose their jobs it affects the work environment for those that remain in ways that are not good. *Managment gains power through fear and what they do with that power is not usually desireable for the employee. *Frightened employees sometimes begin a personal campaign to make sure they aren't next. *They can choose to work harder or they can choose to undermine their fellow workers who they now view as competition. *Most will avoid the latter, but it doesn't take many to make the workplace miserable. *

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgeeeee Frightened employees sometimes begin a personal campaign to make sure they aren't next. *They can choose to work harder or they can choose to undermine their fellow workers who they now view as competition.

man, you just identified that virus. colleagues were using their fingers more for flipping and pointing than for typing on their keyboards.

i had risen as far as i corporately could without leaving the area & needed to stick around for mom. but the people who used to be colleagues and then rose a peg? yikes, they became monsters. the guy who became my boss knew i wouldn't take his crap but i couldn't even stand how he treated others.

i just avoided the creep for a few years until i couldn't even stand to hear others complain about him anymore. my mother would have bitch-slapped him silly.

[wabmester]

Laurence, you've recently been promoted, right? Even if you're not axed, it'll probably be a while before you get another promotion in your current gig and the morale of the place will suck after the RIF. Start sending out your resume and interview elsewhere now. Job hopping is the best way to maximize your salary, and now sounds like the perfect time.

San Diego has no shortage of tech companies.

[laurence]

Well, I've tentatively put out feelers to hop divisions (for lack of a better word), that has a separate budget and is doing better. The problem is I'm specialized in information security management for classified programs. While there are definitely jobs out there, they are all a substantial commute away from where I currently live, and to move closer would be a huge expense, and a huge increase in mortgage and property taxes.

But yes, I have quite a weekend of resume building and job hunting planned. (sigh), as you have all seen me post here, I definitely enjoy a lot about this current job, I feel very emotionally attached to it, and I definitely fear the devil I don't know, so to speak. Plus, if they are paying for my Master's degree, I can't go wrong sticking it out for a while...

[Danny]

Lawrence - do like Peter in Office Space. Get a program written to send every fractional cent off into your Swiss account. 8)

[laurence]

I don't remember that working out to well, something about having to watch his cornhole...

[Danny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurence I don't remember that working out to well, something about having to watch his cornhole...

I think he ended up happy working in construction after he did the right thing and gave everything back.
Are you in a position where you would have to fire people like Sameer?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

You'll be fine either way, i'm sure.

The suck part is the management droids who cut the staff and dont cut the work.

Cheaper production is great when you're not the one producing.

[laurence]

Hmmm, we just got a FAQ on the RIF. They are accepting volunteers, but either way, if you are laid off you get ten weeks pay, health care paid for a little while, tuition reimbursment for a year, pension accrual for two years, and a few other odds and ends (like computer purchase reimbursement - who's spending money once they get laid off?). That plus unemployment benefits and my accrued vacation time would get me quite a bit of time to find something new.

Hmm, I've been told they actually hope to add someone to my group to save a job/fire one less person. I guess my group is still a "revenue center" or whatever. :P

You hit it on the head though, guys. I survive, but in six months I might wish I hadn't with more work and low morale. We will see!