Scary Times

[stellinacadente]

well... we have been hearing about the economic down turn for months now and today it stepped right into my own life and the ones of over 3000 other of my coworkers when our CEO broadcasted the measures that our company is undertaking to get by this bad crisis...

words like "volutary separation, voluntary part time and lay offs" creeped into the speech and to be honest... terrified me and any other i have been talking to...

[Aggie]

Voluntary?  Eep!

It might be voluntary if there's a big voluntary severance attached to a voluntary lay-off, but I'm sure there's not.

Hang in there....

[pieces o nine]

 

[Darlica]

 
As Aggi said hang in there we're thinking about you.

[Griffin NoName]

Ouch !

Hmmm. Voluntary? If it isn't, and they make it seem more attractive than staying, with no decent pay off, they are laying themselves open to constructive dismissal claims !

Why do people think that no one is clever enough to understand what they really mean? It infuriates me.

[Opsa]

Very scary. Very infuriating.

Sounds like it's time to start scouting around for other work.

[The Meromorph]

No, they have a stated, and available Severance Policy, where the amount of severance pay is based on number of years employed, and on current salary. ranging from 4 weeks pay at 1 year or less of employment to 52 weeks pay at 10+ years and over $100,000 salary. (Basing it on salary is intended to reflect an expectation of it taking longer to get a new higher paying job than a lower paying job.)

That being said, we're all shit scared and helpless.... 

[stellinacadente]

That being said, we're all shit scared and helpless.... 

absolutely Morph 

[Swatopluk]

The crisis seems to have reached the chemical industry too by now (and that at a time when I am looking for employment ).
BASF announces the closing of a number of "locations" and reduce their size in others (including the one closest to where I am).
Maybe the (temporary) emigration to Norway will become the option after all (The employment office offers a 3 month course in Norwegian language and  "how to get along in Norway" and I applied for it).

[Griffin NoName]

I have a Finnish cousin who emigrated to Norway along the path of mathematical academia years ago. Very happy there.

Unsure how much weight to place on that as a sibling - (obviously also my cousin) (actually did I say they are "fourth" cousins - I actually I know quite a few of my "fourth" cousins - something to boast about or not?) - emigrated from Finland to Britain (in a sense back to Britain I suppose, although born and bred in Finland) due to an intense dislike of Finnish men. I myself have liked all the Finnish men I have met.

Back on topic. The Penny Store is up for sale, for a penny -   

[Opsa]

No, they have a stated, and available Severance Policy, where the amount of severance pay is based on number of years employed, and on current salary. ranging from 4 weeks pay at 1 year or less of employment to 52 weeks pay at 10+ years and over $100,000 salary. (Basing it on salary is intended to reflect an expectation of it taking longer to get a new higher paying job than a lower paying job.)

That being said, we're all shit scared and helpless.... 

Eek! In that case, hang on with all talons!
Dreadful. I hope this will pass with us all as unscathed as possible.

[Aggie]

No, they have a stated, and available Severance Policy, where the amount of severance pay is based on number of years employed, and on current salary. ranging from 4 weeks pay at 1 year or less of employment to 52 weeks pay at 10+ years and over $100,000 salary. (Basing it on salary is intended to reflect an expectation of it taking longer to get a new higher paying job than a lower paying job.)

I'd suspect that in reality bigger severance packages are available at higher salaries because it looks better on the books to cut higher salaries.  Whatever the intent, it seems counterintuitive to me to think that those with experience would have a harder time getting hired than less experienced folks (could be industry bias; experience is huge in my industry).  It seems likely to me that you'd end up with a loss of middle management - never a good thing for a company unless it's overly bloated to start with - and then try to fill the gaps from the lower ranks without giving equivalent pay raises.

[The Meromorph]

We went through a phase of expanding middle management on the 'span of control' theory. We now have too many levels. We had one round of 'demoting' extraneous 'managers' and VPs (preserving their pay grade, but making them do 'grunt work') when we first went private...

Word from the savvy is that a large portion of this may well be removing the overpaid and incompetent that resulted from that exercise...

In other words "they've got a little list". 

[stellinacadente]

Word from the savvy is that a large portion of this may well be removing the overpaid and incompetent that resulted from that exercise...

In other words "they've got a little list". 

If that turns out to be the case, I will devote my loyalty to the company thru my next two lives...or until they kick me out 

[Griffin NoName]

If that turns out to be the case, I will devote my loyalty to the company thru my next two lives...

  That maybe is appropriate for "The new currency will be....." thread