Have you been laid off yet?...
 

Today might be a very sad day for myself (hopefully not) and a few other 100's of co-workers. We've been bombed with rumors that layoff are happening today. A few websites have confirmed that yes this is all true. Our company hasn't even come out and told us of anything but yet other insurance carriers are saying when we're calling...

"We heard....today is going to be a sad day for you guys."

We're like WTF! Our own company hasn't even come out and said something.

Today is a bloody HELLISH of a day. I need a drink!

Anyone else in my boat? Anyone want to vent like me?...

That is pretty screwed up! I got laid off in the last week of January... What sucked was that in December after a pretty big round of layoffs, my boss gathered the whole IT department into his office for a meeting to tell us that he would let us know as soon as he heard about any future layoffs big or small, if it affected us in the least - so that we could get our resumes ready, start looking for a new job, etc.. Except, he didn't. But, he did have time to tell my manager.

I work for a very strong company and we had 5% reduction a week ago. I don't want to stress you out, but they won't tell you in advance, because you have access to sensitive computing systems. If you were to wig out you could cause serious damage. Usually someone would come to your desk, ask you to gather your things and escort you out of the building. It seems cold, but things are done a certain way for a reason.

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Don't spend too much of your life thinking about anything out of your control. It's really a profound waste. Whatever decisions have been made are made. If your time is up, now might be a good time to go back to school to extend your skill set. I don't mean to be alarmist, but I think this is only the beginning of a fiercely more competitive era. Or consider starting your own business. You have both cooking and photography skills. What about catering or photography for weddings and the like? Just an off the cuff idea. Stay hopeful, optimistic, work hard and you'll be fine. :thumbs_up:
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Sorry to hear what you are going thru. I went thru that in 96 with the Computer industry. Expect a lot of lies. Hopefully you will get thru it OK.

What Insurance company are you with?

Thank you Ben for your kind advice. I am trying to stay positive but it's just so frustrating Just when things are going so great...BAM, you get hit with reality. In the back of my head I knew it was coming. We've been strung along for some time now and I knew that we couldn't keep operating with the amount of staff that we have now and the numbers that we're dealing with. 1 person can do the work of 3 right now.

ZexGX, I'm sorry to hear about your position. We're you given a sevrance package? Any job prospects yet? I really could care less if I lost my job (although I hope I don't, since i've been here almost 3 years) it's finding a new one that scares the living bajesus out of me (brand new mortgage payment) Thank goodness for unemployment :)

Also, ZexGX, your situation sounds very familiar to mine. We keep getting company emails, all is ok all is ok, we're just cutting back, no raises, no 401k matching, and so on. Then out of no where....you know what happens.

Ben, I would love to think I could start a business but the things that I would love to get into take a decent amount of start up money. To update my photography equipment (which is desperately needed) would be about 6k, and as for catering, depending on how big I went, some catering equipment would also be necessary. It's just costly but don't get me wrong I would love to do those.

We'll see, I keep you guys posted.

Hey Glen,

I'd rather not say right now as if I have a job after all this, I don't want to be tracked and fired. Lol but if you really want to know i'll tell you in person or through a PM -

I was full-time hourly as IT but making less than the receptionist (my fault for not asking enough to begin with). They paid out my vacation and that's pretty much it.

Hopefully it doesn't happen! After the group of layoffs that I was in, the remaining employees got a pay cut. If the senior leaders had taken a mild pay cut starting last year then nobody would have had to have been fired.

Three magic letters, OPM. Other People's Money.

You are fortunate enough to have some people within your extended family with resources. You might be surprised how willing they would be to support you IF you have a business plan, including loan payback schedule. This is a great way to do things because it helps concentrate resources in the family, which is nice when it can work. You could also probably get a far better rate than any personal loan etc. Bottom line, don't hold yourself back because of a little money (and $6k really isn't much considering you have immediate cash flow potential, unlike a website :sm_up_there:). This isn't to be confused with easy, just that it's very reasonably possible. Be bold with the hand your dealt. :thumbs_up:

I understand completely. Just wanted to know what company, to check with a couple of Insurance people I know on the possible lay offs. I know it is tough to wait for the ax to fall. "Hope for the best -expect the worst". I always hated that quote.

Ben's advise is pretty good--even though it came from Ben.:p

2pm is supposely "ax" time. Everyone is watching everyones move. Lunch was all talks about what's going on and head hanchos are visiting all the manager. Ug...........just do it already!

More to come -