My brother just laid off 8 workers

[Xipe Totec]

He deals in anticorrosive packaging for sheet-metal.

The auto industry is a prime market for him.

It is here, and it is real.

[Shine]

1. My husband has been in that position and it totally sucks.

He's in computer tech management in Sunnyvale, CA. He has literally gotten sick over the stress of having to do something which is going to impact someone else's life so negatively.

Times are tough these days.

[Xipe Totec]

2. I'm a QA engineer

the guy who interviewed me for this position just got laid off as well.

This is the mother of all financial cluster fucks.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

8. Gawd.

I just lost my job in the UK (software QA engineering / management)

I can't find a job in the UK, so I was thinking of going back to the bay area. I have deep roots there, know a lot of people, etc. I'm not sure that's such a good idea any more. I have an opportunity to go look in the Netherlands early next year. They don't seem to have been hit as badly as the UK or US yet, so maybe it's worth a shot.

The layoffs in the UK are getting really bad. There are a lot of experienced mid-level people out of work. I know Cambridge educated software engineers who I'd probably place in the top 1% of engineers I've ever worked with, and they can't find jobs. I keep sending out my CV (resume) and getting nothing back. And I work for cheap because I never bothered to get a degree. Hard fucking times.

[roamer65]

14. I'd go into the Eurozone if I were you.

The social safety net is much stronger there than in the USA. Plus our big layoffs here in the USA are still coming. Rumor has it that after 1 January its going to get really bad.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

16. As a migrant on a work permit...

...you generally don't get any of the benefits of the safety net aside from health care. At least that's been my experience in the UK.

I lost my job primarily because my former employer's retailers (mostly mid-size brick&mortar retailers) were all either going tits up or refusing to buy anything from anyone. I think this Christmas is gonna be a bloodbath. I see serious problems ahead.

[roamer65]

33. I know of one of our former employees (American) who now works in Germany.

Many of the German rules apply to him there, even though he's an American citizen. He regularly talks with a guy at our workplace and some of the stuff he has access to is amazing. But it comes along with the 50% tax rate. Just food for thought since you are an EU resident.

I hope you find something very soon, my friend. Hang in there and don't give up.:hug:

[Xipe Totec]

15. My advice

Look for a job where the layoffs are at their worst.

That way, the worst is over; If you find a job, it's likely to last for a while.

If you go where the downturn has not hit yet, you're likely to jump from the frying pan right into the fire.

I have personal friends (1970's) who were laid off in Michigan, moved to Texas, only to be laid off again.

Just think about it.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

17. I'm currently IN the place where the layoffs are the worst.

The tech industry in the UK has been hit really, really hard. I keep fishing, and catching nothing.

[Xipe Totec]

20. I'm just sayin shit has hit the fan in the Bay Area as well

If you can find a job here, take it.

[comtec]

38. Hi I'm IN Holland, and it's rough outside the randstad

that's the industrial center of the country.
Amsterdam and Rotterdam are expensive but very foreigner friendly.
I live out in Zwolle, and while it's not the boondocks by any means, it's difficult to find english work.
I work in Amersfoort which is on the edge of the Randstad (very nice area).
There is work in Schipol rijk (the city of Schipol, where the Amsterdam Airport is) but it's vicious competition at all levels because of the bad economy world wide.

The Netherlands, imho, has been hit the least but it's really just a matter of time.
My company is always looking for people tho, and I'll send you a link.
You might be best off looking for work in the Adam/Rdam area imho.

Best of luck no matter what tho :)

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

39. It's bad everywhere.

But yeah, it looks like Holland hasn't been hit as bad as most other places. But like you say, it's only a matter of time. I'm not really sure I want to put up with another immigration headache either. Or starting off (again) from scratch in a new country. But hell, it doesn't hurt to look.

[OhioChick]

3. People don't realize what an impact this will have.

K&R

[Xipe Totec]

4. How true

His corporate office is in San Antonio

Not a place you would expect to be impacted by the auto industry.

[roamer65]

5. I want no part of management at all. Management duties like "laying off " people suck.

As a worker, the worst for me is that they haul me into an office, lay me off and I'm out the door lickety split, looking for a new job.

I got laid off in Sept 2007. They gave me rest of the day to "hang around". I was packed and out in 1hr.

I sympathsize with your brother. It's not an easy job.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Once I was demoted from supervisor - Oh happy day

Happy that I no longer hold power over my brethren.

Happy that my decisions, henceforth, affect no one's destiny but my own.

No longer do I live by judging others; only myself.

[roamer65]

9. They gave you back a lot of freedom.

I have witnessed what happened to you and my old boss-new "colleague" was extremely happy as well.

[Xipe Totec]

19. I know exactly what you mean

For me, it has meant freedom.

But not everyone feels that way.

One of my colleagues (another supervisor) was laid off when I was demoted.

He went home and shot himself with his handgun.

Brilliant guy too. Only, he had two personal flaws; he was a workaholic, and he was an alcoholic.

Workaholism stripped him of a social safety net. The alcoholism, probably cost him his job, and his life.

Rest in peace, Merle.

[roamer65]

34. I hate to say it, but I think we will hear more stories like this in the coming months.

There will be many more Merles. :-(

[lumberjack_jeff]

10. No kidding. I've been on both sides of the table.

Getting laid off, for all it's suckitude, is better.

[dysfunctional press]

26. my main goal in life was to not HAVE a boss, nor BE a boss...

a painful & disabling spinal condition made my dreams come true. :woohoo:

[Xipe Totec]

28. The Lord works in mysterious ways, don't he?

:thumbsup:

[dysfunctional press]

30. the lord?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Historic NY]

7. People just don't understand how many industries, are interrelated to

the auto industry. I goes from the factories to your local ma & pa auto stores & body shops ot the trade schools your children might attend.

[rainbow4321]

12. My co workers relative worked at a tool repair shop

And got laid off the week of Thanksgiving. Think he said it was a place that companies (not individuals) sent their tools..no need for tools to be repaired, I guess, if those companies are going under in the long run...or are laying off the people that would use those tools.

[Historic NY]

18. I've got a couple of restorations in progress & when the little guys close..

these cars will sit for years before being completed.:scared: Its hard enough jockeying with finding parts. People will sh-t when they find out what parts will cost for their 5-10 yrs old cars, even the cheap foreign crap. The shops will only spend time on what vehicle will turn over a quick profit.

[Lars39]

21. That's what I've been worrying about....whether we'll be able to get

or to afford needed parts for our old van. It's paid for,it runs well, still has a lot of miles left on it, but may have to be junked just because there's no parts to be had.

[sarcasmo]

11. MY BIL laid off 120 workers at Borisch Mfg in Kentwood Michigan on Friday.

He went in to his boss making sure he wasn't getting the axe, too, if he was he said he wouldn't have done the axing.

[Missy Vixen]

13. My husband got laid off three weeks ago

He worked for a software company with two other offices. The company finally gave him an assistant last year when they loaded him down with so many projects he ended up in the hospital due to a panic attack.

The assistant now has his job. The assistant does not know how to perform the responsibilities that go with the job. There is nobody else in the USA that can do it. I wonder to myself how long it will be before their clients figure this out.

It gets better. The day my husband got laid off, they also laid off another 20 people in their other offices. We found out last week there's been an additional thirty laid off, and I have a $1 bet with him that there will be another round of layoffs before December 24th. The guy that manages DH's former office is actually a pretty nice (and very young) guy. I can only believe this is eating him alive.

Julie

[pacalo]

22. Dow Chemical is laying off contractors this month, due to less product demand.

It supplies the auto industry, among others.

[bertman]

23. I am very sorry to hear about your brother's situation. He is in an awful position.

I know that lots of DU'ers think that business owners, managers, and supervisors are self-serving lackeys or slave-drivers. Having worked for both of the negative types I mentioned, I agree that some are.

As the owner of a small construction company I can tell you that being an owner in this type of economy is exceedingly stressful and difficult to deal with. It's not just the fact that you have to tell someone he/she no longer has a job, even though that is horrible in and of itself. It's the fact that almost all of our employees are on our health plan and they will risk losing not just their income, but their medical insurance as well. This goes not just for the employees, but for their children's coverage as well. Some of these people have been working together with us for seventeen years. I don't mind telling you that it is HELL to even think about having to put a good person and excellent employee out of work. Our company has only laid off one employee so far, so we are very lucky.

Three weeks ago we were looking at one job on our work schedule for 2009. My business partner and I have twelve other employees that we try our best to give full-time work and benefits. Most of them are men and women with families who depend on their paychecks to keep them going. So, seeing one small job on the schedule was eating away at us big time.

The good news is that we now have other projects signed up to start out the new year. That is a great relief, especially considering that many other construction companies are laying off their employees and the companies that supply builders are doing the same.

I fear that we are just beginning to see this "recession" take its toll. Good luck to all of you in weathering this.

[sellitman]

24. I was laid off a month ago and I know it was no fun for my ex boss.

And even less for me and the other 15% of the company.

[Xipe Totec]

25. I was laid off twice in the last two years

I felt sorry for my managers and HR.

Sorry because I knew they were not personally responsible for the choices, yet they were the ones who had to deliver the bad news.

It is extremely ironic, to me anyway, that in both cases, getting laid off was the best thing that could have happened to me.

In the first case, I was forced, yes FORCED! to exercise stock options that would have become worthless otherwise.

In doing so, I was forced to cash out before the market tanked... If I was still working for that company, those stock options would be worth exactly $0.00. Instead, I grudgingly cashed out when the options were worth over $80K.

In the second case, I was forced to find another job, which I did, before the severance package expired, for a 15% pay raise.

I know that I've been fortunate.

I know that other's have not had such breaks.

But my point is that, sometimes, getting laid off is not a bad thing; getting laid off is an opportunity to completely change your life.

[closeupready]

32. That's been my experience. Nobody relishes the idea of getting laid off,

but not only can you survive, it can present you with exciting opportunities. And a new job search may lead to an even BETTER job. It happened to me. And after getting laid off, it may not seem so great obviously, esp. if you like your job and are comfortable. But since there is no such thing as a guaranteed job anywhere, it would probably be useful to spend time thinking about it, just in case.

[roamer65]

35. I found a better job as well.

More pay and it has greatly increased my skill set. Plus I "double dipped" for a few months and salted it away as a "rainy day" fund.

[sellitman]

40. Glad to hear of your good fortune.

I'm working hard to find mine.


:thumbsup:

[Initech]

27. I can imagine being in that position would seriously have to suck.

[Xipe Totec]

29. It does

Even for him.

Let me be straight with you.

My brother is not beyond screwing one of his own genetic brothers for profit.

I won't go into details, but he has done that on occasion. Nothing personal, mind you, bidness is bidness.

But to lay off eight workers, means his company is shrinking, which he hates more than anything in the world.

This is bad.

[Initech]

31. Yeah I understand that.

Not everyone is a CEO scumfuck who is laying off people just line their pocketbooks, a lot of the people who have to do the layoffs are regular people like us. I cant imagine how much that would suck.

[justaregularperson]

36. That's fucked up. Look forward to having family trouble in later years

Sorry, been there. I have lived in another society, and it made me realize that in some ways many American families and our social fabric are really screwed up. I think that is part of our problems in this time.

In America you can have well off family living in style while other family members are on the streets. That would be unconcievable in many cultures.

[closeupready]

37. Sadly true. There's an operative mythology in America about self-reliance

but the fact is, none of us is self-reliant. We need each other, and we need support from each other. Letting family live like animals is, IMO, unforgiveable. Only exception being if, for example, you were physically/sexually abused by your parents or something horrible like that.

[Xipe Totec]

41. These are the later years n/t

[tavalon]

42. Yep,

we have an extended network that gets together for family dinner weekly. I used to joke that the only useful thing was knowing how to cook prison style (usually about 30 people at the dinner) but honestly, it's a good thing in these trying and soon to be more trying times, that we have this network. I'm also lucky in that I have a triad, and it appears that three really can live as cheaply as two. Nonetheless, I'm pretty damn scared. I think we all are.