Another One Bites The Dust

**Retro Red** · 14th January 09, 11:23 PM

Another victim of the economy, here.

Yeah, I know this isn't related to kilts much, 'cept it'll put a damper on any kilt-related acquisitions for a while. Just thought I'd share a major life event with my forum friends.

The major world-wide financial company I've work for for the last 15 years announced last October they were cutting their workforce by 10% or 7,000 employees. Well, my organization finally announced their reorg plans & out of 330 positions, 106 were eliminated (mine included). They'll post 49 "new" positions tomorrow, so there's less than a 50% chance I may still work for them. Otherwise, come Feb. 27th, I'm out the door. For my years of service (& to soothe their conscience for shipping my job off-shore for which they'll probably get a tax break), they will provide me 6 months of full severence pay. But it looks like my 30+ years in IT are finished. So much for computers being the job of the future!

I'll be discussing my options with a career counselor, but this will probably be the time for me to convert my 20 year professional hobby of DJing into my full-time profession.

I should be fine; it's not the first time I've lost a job. Plus, my wife is an RN, so her job should be secure, & we've wisely lived well below our means throughout our 32 years together. Still, it stings a bit when you lose a job you like & are good at.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent a little.

Buckle up, folks, there's some nasty turbulence ahead...

.

**Mipi** · 15th January 09, 12:07 AM

Hope you'll be OK as you said. Somehow I have a filling that I'll be on similar list very soon too. For some months our company is fighting and now it looks like another company will buy us soon. My job will be among the first jobs to be surplus.

So, I could join you soon.

Regards!

**Phogfan86** · 15th January 09, 12:08 AM

Hang in there. If coming back is something you want to do, I'd encourage you to re-apply. A friend of mine was laid off twice at Sprint in Kansas City and was hired back weeks later for more money and more bennies.

If not, maybe this is the universe's way of telling you to pursue what you really want to do. Go for it, lad.

**cessna152towser** · 15th January 09, 03:29 AM

It really is depressing. When I worked out my budget for the new financial year I would have been running my business at a deficit due to the downturn in work and the soaring cost of professional indemnity insurance so I decided to quit at the end of October while I was still winning. There are no jobs available in my profession, so I am hoping shortly to start training for something new.

**Sionnach** · 15th January 09, 06:29 AM

Wow, I wish I had something of consequence to say. I am sorry to hear this. May your transition go smoothly and not be difficult.

Regards,

**castledangerous** · 15th January 09, 07:50 AM

Why would you necessarily think your career in IT is over?

**Spartan** · 15th January 09, 08:02 AM

Sorry to hear that the news is now reality. We'll see you tomorrow night and talk more.

**BassClefB** · 15th January 09, 08:11 AM

I sympathize... I lost my job of 2.5 years back in December, right before the holidays. I was in graphic design/layout for a real estate publication. Granted, I'm very young (28) and have many more 'layoffs' ahead probably in my lifetime, but it hasn't been easy at all. Finding another job has been the hardest part. Even with my short professional career (I've been out of college since '03), I'm overqualified for most of the customer service/retail jobs that are available, and they aren't giving people who are overqualified the time of day. Even folks who are hiring for halfway decent jobs are dragging their feet. Fortunately I am also a musician, and that has honestly been my biggest money-maker for the past 3 years at least. I've been playing music professionally since 2000, but got serious about doing it on a full or mostly full-time level about 4 years ago. I tend to make more money during the spring/summer playing music than I did at my day job, even after self-employment taxes and such. The local economy in general where I am is in a freefall, since it is a tourism-based economy for the most part. Restaurants closing left and right, city improvement projects grinding to a halt, the list goes on... It's a bad deal all around. The two promising jobs that I had a very good shot at getting lately were filled from within the company.

So yeah... I'm hustling gigs and saving as much as I can. It's gonna be a rough one for a bit. At least I have SOMETHING to fall back on, as slim as it is right now.

**wsk** · 15th January 09, 08:18 AM

Dragging out an <old_horse>
For every door that shuts, a window opens.
</old_horse>

After twenty five years I'm done with embedded control hardware and software engineering. The love of the work is gone. So I quit at the end of December.

Fortunately for me, I have been building a small business over the last few years that now produces enough to keep me and my cat in the manner to which we've become accustomed.

An additional benny is that I now have the time to do things I've never done before. So this year I volunteered to be a worker bee at the Sundance Film Festival (starts today). I've been assigned to the Press and Industry venue and shall be kilted at least part time.

Here's another <old_horse>
Opportunities come to those who simply show up.
</old_horse>

**Red_Raven** · 15th January 09, 08:27 AM

Yup I was laid off in January of last year walked out the door from the old office, across the alley to the company that had wanted to hire me a few years ago and was hired on the spot. So other then they also work for the housing industry so there is still a chance to be laid off again, I've been lucky.

If this job falls through I might have to make weaving a full time profession. not much else in our market to do, since we have very short sided politicians.