layoff criteria? Any HR folks here?

SkinnyJoe,

I'm not an HR rep., but I am currently laid off from my job of 11 years at Mack Trucks, re-manufacturing plant here in PA. This is a voluntary lay-off and I can go back at any time.....however, I must give 2 weeks notice, in writing, to HR. I do have a "go back date" too.....which is scheduled for Oct 13th. I can also extend till the end of the year if I wish. I have been laid-off since Jan 13th of this year.

This lay-off, or voluntary lay-off was a program that is offered to union members who have at least 7 years seniority. The company has since discontinued this program during my lay-off. They have decided that in the rough economy it is cheaper to just lay-off the less senior employees and never bring them back. So, for every 3 month extension I take, one more employee of lessor seniority keeps their job.

With the new program of letting the least senior union members go, management & union officials have agreed that they can jump classifications/production requirements as well......part of the new contract just ratified this past June. If management want's to keep a certain employee for their classification (welder, machinist, maintenance, etc) they can gos to the next lowest union member. If management states that they need more man power in a certain dept. (engines, transmissions, fuel pumps, etc) they can skip that dept. entirely and head to another dept to lay-off a lessor union member. Basically they can pick and choose who gets the axe.
 
My work laid off 3 of 7 product specialists. We are field technicians. Of the 3, 2 had little work in their region. Both of them were with this company much longer than I. I have 2 yrs. one had 10 and another had 4. They both still have "work on contract" option if we get busy enough. The third guy whined alot. I warned him not to. I always turn in my reports in time, and I pay attention to the decision makers, and make sure I hit deadlines, and report accurately. Work hard and make yourself valuable to your company. If you still get laid off, work for yourself, you will possibly make more money in the long run, if your work ethic is strong enough.
 
cj65 said:
My work laid off 3 of 7 product specialists. We are field technicians. Of the 3, 2 had little work in their region. Both of them were with this company much longer than I. I have 2 yrs. one had 10 and another had 4. They both still have "work on contract" option if we get busy enough. The third guy whined alot. I warned him not to. I always turn in my reports in time, and I pay attention to the decision makers, and make sure I hit deadlines, and report accurately. Work hard and make yourself valuable to your company. If you still get laid off, work for yourself, you will possibly make more money in the long run, if your work ethic is strong enough.
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I think my best option is to start looking while still employed.
 
Length of employment, wage ? There are companies that want to save money so they dump the more experienced , higher paid for newer ones who get paid less.That's a poor long term strategy !!
Its not necessarily logical. Sometimes if you're not the supervisor's 'pet' you get dumped.
 
Regardless of what people want to believe, the primary function of any HR department is to protect the company - not the employees. Never confuse the two.
 
My neighbor worked in HR before moving into Accounts. She said Co's often get rid of employee's in a variety of age/exp brackets at the same time to avoid anyone claiming discrimination. Co A might get rid of a 20something year old, 30something, 40something, 50 something, etc in one round and rinse/repeat for several rounds.
 
SkinnyJoe said:
I think my best option is to start looking while still employed.
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That is always the best option. Why would you not want to keep options open? You are in a better bargaining position while employed rather than not. Good luck Joe.
 
if you are a union shop then the union contract controls the layoff process

If not, then there should be some process set forth in the employee handbook

If there is no employee handbook or other written policy, it's at the discretion of the employer, as long as the rationale is related to legitimate work priorities and not based on discrimination against specific individuals for prohibited reasons - like the employer can't say "finally a chance to get rid of all the women who might want pregnancy leave" or "at last we can dump all the blacks"
 
Often company decisions are based on short term needs. What will get them through the current crisis without reducing current revenue. They assume that if they lose anyone with critical skills they can hire back someone equivalent when the crisis is over. Since they consider everybody but themselves as interchangeable and replaceable they tend to fire higher paid workers. They can lose fewer people that way and they see replacement costs as so much per head.

I'm in integrated circuit design. In this industry it is assumed that the ideal worker is 25 to 30 years old with a master's degree and 5 years experience. He will have a fresh technical background and lots of energy to work uncompensated overtime (50-60 hours a week is normal, 60+ is a motivated worker). The only time I got caught in a layoff virtually everyone laid off was a senior engineer with 25 years experience--and not immediately in a critical path on a project. I got caught since they decided to leave my design block out of the final chip. I was immediately expendable.
 
fishface5 said:
if you are a union shop then the union contract controls the layoff process

If not, then there should be some process set forth in the employee handbook

If there is no employee handbook or other written policy, it's at the discretion of the employer, as long as the rationale is related to legitimate work priorities and not based on discrimination against specific individuals for prohibited reasons - like the employer can't say "finally a chance to get rid of all the women who might want pregnancy leave" or "at last we can dump all the blacks"
Click to expand...

Took the words right out of my mouth!
 
In most states talking to an attorney is a waste of time and money. Employers are not responsible for an economic crisis like the current one. They will get a free pass for letting go of just about anyone right now. If you are a minority woman who has recently filed a whistle-blower action against your employer you are protected. In most cases you are not.

Living in fear or not is a matter of your attitude not a matter of your control of your employer or the economy. In this economy even working for yourself doesn't give you control unless you have are in a hot market. I have talked to my favorite professional head hunter and she says that if you have a job try and hold onto it for now. It is a lousy time to be looking to move on. When the market starts to upturn you can look for that better paying job. Personally I look for jobs that look good on the resume rather than simply for money. A good resume is a form of professional security.
 
Try and find out your company's short term and long term objectives and try to see how you fit. Find out why they are in the doldrums, if it is the down turn or if it includes for management muckups.

No they won't necessarily keep you if you are good for long term growth if they are dealing with making it through the month. If your company goes into survival mode they will shift to immediate survival and that is a wild card causing good people to job hunt elsewere and if you are kept on you could be carrying a huge load.

I faced some rounds of laying off in 2000 and was considered a valuable asset keeping well clear of the cut but I bailed and found a new life elsewhere. Others needed their jobs and they would have been on the street if laid off - as eventually they were.

You need to feel secure in your job, part of good management is to manage the process and reduce uncertainty. Companies that don't follow this process get abandoned by the better staff who don't want that uncertainty and there are alternatives available. HR people mouth the lingo but often fail to consider the stress on the company is also on staff that could cause them to jump ship. I tried to turn round a company that had good projects but a poor cashflow. Getting a bridging loan was possible but the good staff had gone and left were the dregs so we had to liquidate.

It is your future, look around for options and if there is something great move on before your colleagues will be competing for that position.
 
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