Can We Give Some Pixie Dust to These CMs??

[PSUGuy]

The whole article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/u...off-at-disney-train-foreign-replacements.html

Excerpts:

While families rode the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and searched for Nemo on clamobiles in the theme parks, these workers monitored computers in industrial buildings nearby, making sure millions of Walt Disney World ticket sales, store purchases and hotel reservations went through without a hitch. Some were performing so well that they thought they had been called in for bonuses.

Instead, about 250 Disney employees were told in late October that they would be laid off. Many of their jobs were transferred to immigrants on temporary visas for highly skilled technical workers, who were brought in by an outsourcing firm based in India. Over the next three months, some Disney employees were required to train their replacements to do the jobs they had lost.

“I just couldn’t believe they could fly people in to sit at our desks and take over our jobs exactly,” said one former worker, an American in his 40s who remains unemployed since his last day at Disney on Jan. 30. “It was so humiliating to train somebody else to take over your job. I still can’t grasp it.”

More:

“The first 30 days was all capturing what I did,” said the American in his 40s, who worked 10 years in his Disney job. “The next 30 days they worked side by side with me, and the last 30 days they took over my job completely.” To receive his severance bonus, he said, “I had to make sure they were doing my job correctly.”

The 'bribe' to keep these loyal CMs on long enough to hand off their jobs is 10% of base salary in a lump sum, minus taxes etc.

Bill From PA

 

[MKMomma]

Disgusting and slimey. Happy to see it being brought to light though.

 

[maxiesmom]

Why leave out of your post that a huge number of those people were offered other positions in the company?

I can't be too shocked as I have been there, done that, where I work. Again, something is being made because Disney is doing something many other businesses do.

 

[MKMomma]

They said only a handful of those laid off were moved directly by Disney to other company jobs. The rest were left to compete for positions through Disney job websites. Despite the company’s figures, few people they knew had been hired, they said, and then often at a lower pay level. No one was offered retraining, they said.

 

[mellyf]

Why leave out of your post that a huge number of those people were offered other positions in the company?

I can't be too shocked as I have been there, done that, where I work. Again, something is being made because Disney is doing something many other businesses do.

My opinion only, but I think it's slimy no matter what company is doing it. Just because others are doing it, doesn't make it right. (Sounds like something I've said to my kids.)

 

[IndyRnRfan]

I'd never train my replacement unless I was retiring. Severance packages aren't worth it if you are being let go. I'd tell them to KMA. Disney would really crap their pants if their employees went toward unionizing. Of course, that could open up a can of worms.

 

[MKMomma]

I'd never train my replacement unless I was retiring. Severance packages aren't worth it if you are being let go. I'd tell them to KMA. Disney would really crap their pants if their employees went toward unionizing. Of course, that could open up a can of worms.

I thought the same thing. No way would I stick around to train my replacement. 10% of the salary isn't worth the humiliation.

 

[Jennytoon]

Here is the problem ... I'm not privy to Disney's cost figures, but I think many would acknowledge these are general trends:

1) People complain about manufacturing jobs going overseas, but most don't make any effort to buy local even if the price and quality is the same. If the only people shopping at Walmart were the people who couldn't afford to search around a bit for American-made stuff, Walmart would go out of business (and Target, etc., etc. -- I'm not picking on Walmart, I'm picking on the model).

2) People complain about how expensive Disney is, but then complain when they read about things like this ... what if the cost of keeping ticket prices down is cost-cutting using these methods? I'm not saying that's true or that it is necessary, I'm saying people need to be aware that they can't have their cake and eat it too.

3) Many people seem to believe that it's acceptable for the goal of a publicly held company to be maximizing shareholder profit as much as possible, and that the only rein on that should be if they are creating a long term loss with a short term gain. As long as Americans continue to believe this to be true, and to vote for politicians who support import / export / labor policies that make this true, then it will continue to be true. And the consequence will be scenarios exactly like this one.

I'm not supporting this move. I think it stinks. I also think it is happening everywhere else, in every industry, and it stinks there too. But until it stops being the route to cheaper prices across all sectors of the economy it will continue. Would you pay more for your cell phone plan if the quality was equivalent to the major carriers and the company advertised that they use only US-hires as support, no outsourcing of help desk to India? How much more would you pay? $50 per month? $100 per month? $25 per month?

I recognize that cell phone carriers are not Disney. But every day in many, many ways, too many people vote with their wallet that price and quality are the only two factors that matter, and Disney is not immune to this general mentality.

 

[Jess_S]

I note that the affected employees were in the technology department. I wonder if the terribleness of the dining website is somehow a byproduct of this "cost-cutting."