WTF??? Circuit City to layoff higher paid workers, then let them reapply for LOWER wages

[kevinbgoode]

Now if this isn't Republican economic thinkin' in action, this announcement just has my blood boiling! What incentive should any employee have, especially at a place where you are working sales, for godsakes, if you live in fear that if your wage moves up a couple of bucks/hour, your butt will get shown the door? And then worse, you can maybe reapply for the old job in a few weeks, but at that entry wage again?

Next up - forced child labor putting together bullets for the Neo-Con-World-Domination-Through-The Fear-of-God economy. . .wages start at .25 an hour. . .

No wonder conservatives keep trying to dummy down our children...

Circuit City to Cut More Than 3,500 Jobs
By MAE ANDERSON and ELLEN SIMON
AP Business Writers

NEW YORK - A new plan for layoffs at Circuit City is openly targeting better-paid workers, risking a public backlash by implying that its wages are as subject to discounts as its flat-screen TVs.
The electronics retailer, facing larger competitors and falling sales, said Wednesday that it would lay off about 3,400 store workers - immediately - and replace them with lower-paid new hires as soon as possible.

The laid-off workers, about 8 percent of the company's total work force, would get a severance package and a chance to reapply for their former jobs, at lower pay, after a 10-week delay, the company said.

The news of the layoffs came as a surprise to Rachelle Gouled, who earned about $7.75 an hour working on the sales floor at a Circuit City in Roseville, Minn. She said 10 people were laid off Wednesday at her store.

"For some of them, I could see them being OK without this job," she said. "For others, it was their only job."


http://kevxml2adsl.verizon.net/_1_KYWTO10M1M9CG__vzn.dsl/apnws/story.htm?kcfg=apart&sin=D8O5FM580&qcat=finance&ran=11974&passqi=&feed=ap&top=1

[Berry Cool]

1. Welcome to the wonderful world of retail work.

Surely you are not surprised at this.

[southerncrone]

10. It's not just happening in retail

My husband works in manufacturing for one of the Fortune 50 companies. The union workers had excellent, extensive benefits, some of the best in the nation. Their division was spun off about 5 yrs ago & now their plant is being sold.

Union workers were offered to accept 1 of the following choices:
1) transfer to other plants, IF THERE WERE OPENINGS
2) a fairly decent severance pay
3) or they could stay at this plant & make less than 1/2 their current wage WITH NO BENEFITS AT ALL!


There are not many who have been able to get jobs at the other plants. Since we have such a glowing economy right now, there are not a lot of jobs out there. Most are taking the severance pay if they don't want to move. But some are staying at this plant & accepting the pay cut w/o benefits. Talk about destroying the middle-class pronto, this is the plan!

We must get the neo's out of this government & restore the laws that protect the working middle-class from the corporate monsters!

[aquart]

17. The CEO got his full executive package, didn't he?

Guilotines. Every town should have one.

[southerncrone]

19. CEO will be moved to the parent co. into some sort of cushy, well-paid position. Big surprise!

[Double T]

2. corporate america won't be happy until 'WE' are ALL indentured slaves..........

working for our daily company supplied rations of bread and water.

[muntrv]

3. At the same time, the repukes want to repeal govt safety nets for unemployed workers.

[liberaltrucker]

4. Shop Best Buy

A blue company, plus better prices.

[silverweb]

6. Best Buy isn't blue.

Not according to BuyBlue, anyway.

[liberaltrucker]

9. I'll check it out

If I'm mistaken, there'll be a public mea culpa.

[Systematic Chaos]

5. Wanna come visit Vega$?

Better think twice.

You remember that $2 million that the casinos donated to 9/11 relief efforts? That came from the salaries of over TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND workers who got laid off. Only some of them got their jobs back after business started picking up again.

[sandnsea]

7. 1/3 of workers earn less than $11 hr

This is a managed Depression, skewering the standard of living down down down.

[muntrv]

8. There's another post regarding this. Nevertheless, just watch and you'll

see Circuit City going out of business because of bad quality service from the lowly paid employees. They're getting rid of experienced employees and in their place will be clueless ones who don't know jack shit about the products they're selling.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. They don't already

but I get your point

[Spoon]

14. The model only invites disaster.

They really need to become an internet only company, then I'd bet they'd thrive.

[Lint Head]

11. I Just emailed the website.

I emailed Circuit City and told them that if that was they way they save money because of hard times I would just as soon that they GO OUT OF BUSINESS! I told them that dozens of my friends have informed me they will no longer shop at their stores.:dem:

[DRoseDARs]

13. The niece of one of my stepdad's co-workers was given a raise less than a month ago by CC...

...and she was one of the ones fired.

Edit: Unsure about her actual wage, sorry.

[prolesunited]

15. Home Depot tried this strategy and failed

They had been known for a knowledgable staff and developed a loyal following. When they put profits before people, the customers noticed and started shopping elsewhere. Sales dropped and stock prices followed.

They just fired the CEO who implemented this "winning" strategy. Of course he walked away with millions.

It's so shortsighted. Sure, it beefs up the profit margin for a couple of quarters, but it's not sustainable. Greed is NOT good.

[regnaD kciN]

16. Remember, Circuit Sh*tty was the company that tried to foist DIVX on us...

Rememeber DIVX? Not the current video compression format, but the late-ninties attempt to bring out a competitor to DVD that would be pay-per-use? (You had to buy the disk and the player, and then the player would phone in and charge your credit card every time you wanted to watch the movie after the first 48 hours.) That was Circuit Sh*tty's doing, and they lost a bundle on it when they found they couldn't pull the wool over the eyes of consumers. Sounds like they haven't changed their stripes since then.

:grr:

[Erika]

18. Yeah, W's America

He loathes the working class.

[Kat45]

20. That should not be legal.

It just shouldn't. It almost blows my mind that companies can get away with that kind of action, but knowing the culture of greed in this country, led by the "haves and have-mores," I'm not completely surprised.