Senseless Cruelty

[barbeml]

How's this for corporate cruelty? My stepfather works for a large manufacturer that makes tons of money off government military contracts, among other things. Yesterday, they called in his department of 13 people and told them, just before a holiday, that in two weeks two of them will be let go.

What is the point of making 13 people shake with anxiety for two weeks when only two of the poor souls are getting scrapped?

And companies have the nerve to complain about disloyal workers.

 

[BrerMom]

That may be the norm for companies now. We lived through it; he will, too. I agree with you about the loyalty part. It's hard to be loyal when you're thinking "what if."

 

[Steve H.]

I don't understand the purpose in telling everyone that cuts are coming in two weeks and then sending them back to work???

I can't imagine much will get done for the next 2 weeks with this hanging over their heads.

 

[caitycaity]

i've been through 5 rounds of RIF's with my current company. i certainly don't know the details about the way your stepfather's company handled it, but in my experience here, the company is damned if they do and damned if they don't. if they give no warning, employees complain about the lack of notice so they can find new jobs. if they give warning, people complain about intimidation and lack of morale. either way, RIF's suck for the employees and sometimes i think the employers too.

JMHO.

 

[JoNo]

Well I can understand from the employers' point of view if all 13 of them work in the same department. Could possibly be they need to cut 2 people, they haven't chosen the 2, and they're seeing how everyone does under pressure... Goes back to the law of nature "only the strong will survive, the weak shall be weeded out" kinda deal... Maybe this is a possibility?

 

[GeorgeG]

I agree with JoNo. It sounds like they're hoping two will bail and they won't have to make a decision. In any case, it's a really pathetic way to do business.

 

[helenabear]

Unfortunately as much as that stinks to hear it, what you said is very much the norm it seems. I have been through 10-15 rounds of layoffs in 2.5 years (no joke, I'm in telecom) and my favorite announcement like that was when our CEO made it public knowledge at one of our company meetings that he was letting X many thousands go by X date. We heard things like that all the time. The level of tact seemed to go by the wayside as time went on. I even posted about it here, but we were told at the beginning of the week that at one time the names had been picked and the layoffs were happening that week. It never got better. I feel so bad for your stepfather and his co-workers though. I know from experience that is a terrible feeling. I wish them all the best. And yes, we had a hard time being loyal to a company with such a terrible work environment.

 

[BrerMom]

Originally posted by Steve H.
I don't understand the purpose in telling everyone that cuts are coming in two weeks and then sending them back to work???

I can't imagine much will get done for the next 2 weeks with this hanging over their heads.

Try 10 months.

 

[Steve H.]

Originally posted by BrerMom
Try 10 months.

I have -- trust me. We've had numerous layoffs in the past year and a half or so. When all other companies do poorly, consulting suffers just as much.

 

[Planogirl]

Wow, I guess that we were lucky in a way. We were told that all of us would be let go unless we moved to another city (closing down an office), what our last day was, our severance if we stayed and so on. We all knew that we were without jobs and even though there were a lot of tears shed, we at least knew our fate.