Work layoffs...

[JediMAC]

The fairly small company that I work for laid off over a quarter of our staff last Tuesday.  Fortunately I made the cut, but it was one of the most difficult days that I've ever been through.  Even though we were warned a couple months ago that it might happen, nobody really expected that it would, especially not to so many people.

It was the worst thing in the world, hearing my friends and co-workers phones ring one-by-one, and see them march down the hall past my office, into one of the partners offices, to get the axe.  Excruciating.  I was pretty confident that my job was probably safe, but I was still crapping my drawers at the thought of my phone potentially ringing too...  Never happened, thank God.  But I lost some good friends that day that I've known for many years.  The office feels tremendously different now, and everyone's on edge because of it.  It's created a rather uncomfortable working atmosphere now...  The fun and comraderie is gone.

There's even talk of cutting back many of our work weeks to just 4 days (32 hours for 80% pay, not "compressed").  Still a chance for more layoffs early next year, if the music industry, and therefore our clients, royalties don't pick up a bit.  If not, we might be in some trouble, since 90% of our business is auditing the record companies on behalf of many of your favorite recording stars.  So all you folks who are illegally downloading music off the net - you're actually hurting people other than just the rich record company execs and major artists...    (not that I'm upset about that, just letting you all know that there's a "trickle down effect" when you do that)

Layoffs are something that I've really never dealt with before, and hopefully never will have to again - though I know that's wishful thinking.  So has anyone here ever been let go from their job?  How have you dealt with layoffs in the past?  Is it as bad as it seems, or do you just move on to the next thing?

[dustrho]

Matt, where do you work again?

I've personally never been laid off like that before, but I've had plenty of friends who have been let go from their jobs.  The sad thing is they usually don't give those laid off employees any type of "package."  Some will give you a check for any remaining vacation or sick days you might have leftover, but that's sometimes a rarity.  The one good thing about being laid off is that you can file for unemployment, until you can find yourself a new job.

My advice to you is always keep your resume updated on all the job boards, and always keep some printed up in your car.  You never know who you might run into that may want a copy of your resume.

Hopefully you won't ever have to experience a layoff Matt.

[Darth Kenobi]

I have never been laid off from a job yet but have been affected by my empolyer making sure some other people weren't laid off (I lost a promotion which I had just gotten  ).  In another week I may not have a job since my Union is going on strike it sounds like and my job is going to be "replaced" by temps.  

[Ben]

I've been through a layoff before. I got unemployment for it, so it wasn't terrible. The business ended up closing because they could never recover.

[sp00ky]

I have been there...  Well never laid off, but been one of the few who survived.  You almost feel kind of guilty.  You watch your friends get called into a room, then escorted to their desk and out again by security.

All this happened just under a year ago... a few weeks before Christmas to boot!

I still work for the company, and even though they are better off for doing it, and the comapny seems to have turned itself around I still don't trust anyone from HQ when it comes to this.

Sad...

Scott

[Darby]

I've been laid off, too, and it sucks, I know.  It's an epidemic nowadays.  

[Sith Lord Cosmo]

I worked at a Meijer in college and got laid off, it turned out to be a pretty sweet deal.  They had to cut hours, and since I was one of the lowest on the seniority list, I got let go.  It was a few days before spring break that it happened.  I had a great spring break, just relaxed and played videogames and goofed off all week.  At the end of the week I get a call from Meijer.  Someone in my department quit so they gave me my job back

[Nicklab]

Yeah, I got laid off from a job in 1999.  Just in time for The Phantom Menace, in fact.

What did I do?  Well, I knew that it was coming.  So, I started planning, and I was talking with people before it even happened.  I let them know what was happening, and some were sympathetic and offered some freelance work.  I kept on developing contacts and got more work, and also lived off some of the severance package.  I was lucky in that the company owed me half a year's pay.  It helped during the lean times.  And so, I kept on developing contacts.  Some led to more freelance work.  And eventually, it led to the staff job that I have now.

Layoffs aren't the end of the world.  Especially if a company isn't financially healthy.  And, it could lead to a potentially bigger and better job.  That's what happened in my case.

[Morgbug]

I know how it feels.  For the first few years after grad school I worked on term jobs for the Federal Government.  Now being a term, you knew your job was in danger every six months, but that made it no fun anyway.  Worse yet was the abhorrent practice they had of laying everyone off as they approached their two year anniversary so they wouldn't have to pay full benefits.  Lay you off for a day or two then hire you back to start all over at square one

I liked my job, but the director (=CEO) was a dick, always ranting about how great term employees were and how happy we should be.  Yeah right, you pay a mortgage with the potential to be out of work at the whim of some prick.