Heard from one of my friends who didn't get laid off last week.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

They are forcing her out; they initially told her that she could take reduced hours (from 40 to 30) or a severance package, and had until this Friday to give them her decision. She took the weekend, and told them on Monday she was going to stay. I don't think they expected her to make that decision. Since then, they have been making her life hell.

The Treasurer, after being in the HR Director's office, went up to her and started telling her how to apply for food stamps. I don't know her economic situation (her husband just got a job before Thanksgiving after having been laid off a few months before), and there is nothing to be ashamed of if you need assistance, but she didn't ask for his so-called help. She told me she felt completely humiliated. She decided to go to the head honcho to find out the real deal (they've been telling her to start applying for work on her days she wasn't there, but I guess she needed to hear "the truth" from "the man.").

He told her there were going to be more layoffs, that any severance packages offered were not going to be as generous as those offered to those laid off last week and she would most likely be in the next round.

So, it sounds like tomorrow, if not today, will be her last day there.

I am thinking that despite being laid off and facing an uncertain future, maybe I am better off than those left behind. Is that warped thinking?

PS. The Treasurer was really snide to me on my last day; I think karma will come back and bite him in the ass.

[LeftyMom]

1. It sounds like you dodged a bullet.

Better to get out now with some money to tide you over than show up one monday and the lights are off and the locks are changed. I don't know where you work, but from the sound of it that's where they're headed.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

4. That's what I'm thinking, too. I'm hoping to get that reference letter

from my boss soon (need it on letterhead). If I don't hear from him in another week or so, I'm going to follow up with him. He promised to get it to me and said he's going to call me (I'm pretty persistent, so if I don't hear from him, I'll be calling/emailing).

[LeftyMom]

6. I'd call sooner.

I'd be straight with him and say that it sounds like the place is going under and you sure hope you're wrong, but just to be on the safe side you'd like that reference soon so you don't worry. If nothing else if they're planning more layoffs he's going to be busy (or gone) so you might want to beat the rush. (edit: If you don't want to say you think they're going down the tubes, BS and say you have something in the works and need a written reference.)

Trust me on this one- there's at least one job on my resume that's no longer verifiable and I hate that I can't do much to show a reference now. Luckily in my case it's old enough nobody cares, but you don't want to put yourself in that situation.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

7. I will. He and I had a conversation a few days before the layoff

and he told me stuff I can't reveal here.

[Joanie Baloney]

9. Another tip that worked for me

If you feel comfortable, write your own letter of recommendation as though it came from your boss. Don't say anything that he wouldn't agree with. Send it snail mail and suggest that if it would save him time, just copy it on letterhead, sign it, and send it back to you in the self-addressed, stamped envelope. Most busy bosses will welcome the opportunity to cross another thing off their to-do list.

Of course...if he hates you, he won't agree. But if he hates you, you wouldn't want HIS letter anyway.

Just a thought. :)

Good luck,
-JB

[FarCenter]

2. Severance packages, if offered, generally get worse as time goes by

People terminated early sometimes have better luck finding new jobs, since later on people find that jobs have been already taken by people with similar experience.

[CakeGrrl]

3. Just curious - how big is this business and how do they expect

to keep operating?

I know you need to be anonymous, but I was curious about how they plan to stay viable. One excuse I've heard from a friend is that companies need to reduce staff so they're "positioned for growth".

:crazy:

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

5. Without giving too much away..

They can't bid new projects (no $), aren't able to get loans, one project has been put on indefinite hold, they stopped contributing to 401K and I heard they reduced the amount of money they're paying for mileage.

[Warpy]

8. Those who get left behind have to do your work

plus the work of everybody else who got laid off. They're also constantly reminded just how lucky they are to be doing three times the work for an ever decreasing paycheck because there are now six people applying for every job that opens. They've got you by the balls and they love letting you know it.

There are worse things than facing a stretch of unemployment. I've been there so I know.

The worst thing about unemployment is the uncertainty of how long it will last and how much you'll lose before it's over. That uncertainty is also hanging over the heads of anyone who hasn't gotten hit yet.