HAs anyone worked for a big company that was 'bought out"?

[Disney1fan2002]

as you all know by now, Adidas has bought Reebok.

I have not given much thought to this at all until this past weekend. You see, my Dh works for Reebok. He has for 13 years. He makes great money for being in the warehouse. He drives the forklift. They have a pretty good benefit package, and he is on an incentive program that brings his paycheck up quite a bit. My brother is looking for a job. So Dh told him he would get a list of the postings. Well, Friday the postings were gone. He went in to ask what happened to the job postings, and was told there is a hiring freeze until they know what is going to happen with the merger.



This is reality slapping me in the face! It was the 1st time since hearing about the take over, that I realized, he has NO job security. He could walk into work today,tomorrow, or next week, and be home, jobless an hour later.

Has anyone bought out your company? were there layoffs?

 

[helenabear]

We had a merger at my company that I used to work for almost 5 years ago. We were technically the ones buying the other company... and yes, there were still layoffs on our end. Actually at first more were let go at the "mother company" than the other.

I am sorry you are going through this. I do wish you the best as the company settles down.

FWIW, I actually quit on my own accord earlier this year, so I wasn't one who was laid off, but it was a scary time for us all. My heart goes out to you!

 

[stinkerbelle]

Yep

My company was small though...bigger company bought us out about 2 years ago.

Yes, we had an immediate hiring freeze.

And yes, we went through a bunch of layoffs...2 with the buy out (we've had 3 total since 9/11). I've been lucky to dodge the bullet each time. (and it was *both* companies going through the lay off - not just the smaller company.)

It's a scary time...and yes, you feel like your job is in limbo...but really, what can you do? I rode them out each time...knowing if I did get laid off, I'd be given a semi-decent "package" as I had been with the company 5 years. (it would have been SOMETHING...better then nothing, you know?)

best of luck to your DH

 

[PlaneJoy1]

In just about any buy out there is a possbility for a lay-offs. They will be looking at warehouse locations and capacity. Does Addidas have a near-by ware house (withing 700-800 miles) with larger capacity? Or potentially underutilized space? I think that is what could affect your husband the most.

I am going through the same thing with my DH. I really don't think he'll have a job in the long term, but who knows? He seems content to ride it out, while I wish he would look elsewhere to at least find something he might be interested in doing. It makes me really nervous to think he could be out of a job. The management organization has already started changing and there has been some minor workforce changes, nothing big yet.

Anyway.... I know how you feel. Some days are easier than others when I think about it.

 

[golfgal]

We went through that about 5 years ago. DH's division was bought out by another company. There was a 3 month hiring freeze, upper management had a salary freeze for a year but the rest of the company had a 10% pay increase effective the date of the sale. There were a couple people in upper management that were let go, one because of ethics violations and the other because he was basically worthless and needed to be "let go". DH and 4 other people were considered "essential employees" so he had a guaranteed contract for 2 years with a big pay incentive to stay with the company and a nice severance package if he was let go. Usually these kinds of things don't effect the every day worker. It is usually the upper management that seems to get "let go". The new company automaitcally 100% vested all employees in their retirement plan even if they weren't 100% vested with the old company. All years of service automatically transferred over to the new company so the people with the most seniority retained that.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

In just about any buy out there is a possbility for a lay-offs. They will be looking at warehouse locations and capacity. Does Addidas have a near-by ware house (withing 700-800 miles) with larger capacity? Or potentially underutilized space? I think that is what could affect your husband the most.
.

My Dh feels Adidas bought Reebok to help their overseas distribution. This gives them access to the East Coast. Their current distribution plant is in Washington. He mentioned they could move everything to Tennessee, where Reebok has their apparal distribution.

I keep trying to calm myself by thinking if he does get laid off, i am sure he will get a generous severence package.

 

[btass]

My DH was laid off December 20, 2004 after 21 years with a company. (yep, 4 days before Christmas!)
My FIL was laid off two years ago after 39 1/2 years with the same company.
All of the people we new that worked there no longer have jobs there.

Now the good news:

Almost everyone got a "package" normally 2 weeks pay for every year they worked there. Some got a bulk payment, some (like my husband) kept getting paychecks until the money ran out (they tell you when it will). For my DH, that is the end of this month. Our Health insurance is still in effect until March of 2006.

One thing to remember, don't worry about it until it actually happens. I have known my DH for 10 years and the lay-off rumors started right after I met him.

If your DH does get laid off, be supportive. Help him find a new job as soon as possible so that he feels like he is worthy of working. In my experience, Men seem to take it a lot harder if they get laid off than women do.

Good luck with everything!

 

[Keggy]

We just went through this with my husband's company on Friday. Thursday and Friday were probably the most stressful days we have had in a long time.

A few months ago the company was bought out and the "mother" company had bought a similiar co in Orlando the year before so, his entire company was worried they would eliminate the whole facility. In the end there were only 55 people let go - which is pretty remarkable. A lot of higher ups were let go - no need for multiple VP's within a couple of miles of eachother.

Hang in there - and have your DH get his resume up to date.

Kelly

 

[SeeDisney]

MY DH mid-size company was bought out by a larger company. My DH had stock options from the mid-size company and then was forced to sell his stocks and we got a tidy amount of money from it. He now works for the larger company and doing fine, and I believe no one got laid off.

Good luck.

 

[pozey]

About a month after starting a new job with the company I currently work for, it was announced that we had been bought out by another company. I was informed that my position was safe. Luckily, I am still here.

 

[experiment626mom]

Yep, been there done that a couple of times. The hiring freeze is not a surprise. Depending on whether they are going to actually merge the two products/use one corporate office will determine whether therewill be layoffs or not. I've seen some companies send whole departments to different countries.

Good Luck!

 

[Galahad]

Yep, been there done that a couple of times. The hiring freeze is not a surprise. Depending on whether they are going to actually merge the two products/use one corporate office will determine whether therewill be layoffs or not. I've seen some companies send whole departments to different countries.

Good Luck!

Yes, I have as well. There will be staff reductions of some kind (attrition, lay offs, etc). It's usually one of the primary reasons for doing the merger in the first place - get as many assets for as few liabilities as possible. I agree he should update his resume and pay very close attention to how he can be valuable to the new company.

Good Luck as well!

 

[SC Minnie]

The company I worked for was bought by the company I currently work for. Our department in the old co had 3 people in this office and about 30 from other areas including the corporate office in Portland, OR. We were the only ones that retained our jobs and be able to stay put. A few people moved to Seattle to the new co headquarters and stayed employeed. Quite a few in other depts lost their jobs because the new co already had a dept to do that or it was handled somewhere else and was a 'clerical' type job that they do not relocate for.

Good luck with your DH's job.

 

[Snowysmom]

My DH worked for a large company that was bought out, twice actually. There were alot of layoffs at first, then smaller ones periodically. Job postings were taken off the web. He got laid off last year. He did get a severance package and 8 months later got a job. However, the economy is a bit better now than it was then. Also, he is in a field that has outsourced alot of jobs so it was hard for him. I hope things work out for your DH. Mergers are very commonplace and unfortunately it is the worker, not the executives, who pay the price.

 

[Laurajean1014]

No job offers job security. If you live in an "at will" state, meaning that an employee or employer can terminate without explanation or reason.

My company was bought out by a company 10 times it's size that did the same thing we did, with the exception of our specialities. That's what the new company wanted, so they "gutted" the entire company and kept the shell as a production facility.

Usually all the top heads except for a few are chopped. Benefits will change within the next year (be sure of that). Office staff will shrink considerably and they may reduce all other areas (operations, etc. by 25-40%).

It sounds like your husbands job will be needed unless they close this facility all together, so, he may be secure. Even if they decide to close shop, he will have some time before that comes about. (Worst case scenerio).

I would "casually" look for jobs outside this company. You want to know your true value and your options..... You also do not want to be the last guy looking for a job, 'cause all the others were filled by your buddies....

Stay put, don't make waves, but look around for other outlets, as a safeguard.

 

[drgnfly30]

I've worked for the same company for 18 years.. we've merged (bought out) three times.. there were layoffs each time. Luckily I've made it through all three unscathed. My company also has a generous severance package though, so if it did hit me, I'd have a paycheck for almost a full year...

 

[pattyT]

When a company I was working for was bought out by a MUCH larger company (the New York Times) most of the changes came in management - not lower level workers...
also some odd stuff got subbed out now instead of done in house - those people they just moved around..

 

[mickeyfan2]

There are always layoffs. Nobody really has job security.

 

[LoraJ]

We had a merger last year. It was an awful experience. We had mergers in the past and our department was always safe. Not this time. My boyfriend's whole department was let go. Half of my peers were let go. They all got pretty decent packages though. But, in our industry, it is hard to get staff positions. So now they are all freelancing, and when their packages are done, there goes their benefits.

There was a 6 month period before the layoffs of not knowing what was going on. Not fun at all.

I hope everything works out. Hopefully your DH will be safe.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Has anyone bought out your company? were there layoffs?

Yes, a couple of times for DH. First time he stuck it out and while he didn't get laid off, the working environment was so stressful, he should have left sooner.

Next time he left right away.

We are in the midst of it again..yea (NOT!) He works for SBC and AT&T is buying them. Layoffs have been happening for 3-4 months now. "Bulleyes" are on their backs.
This is why we moved to Texas. We are preparing for it. The big layoffs are coming, probably within the month. But we are ready!!!!

All I can say is since he is being bought out then he needs to start looking and prepare for the job loss.