Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with layoff

Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:06:52 -0800

Countdown to my annual review--and I'm a freaking out (sort of). What's the best way to get through it? My annual review is approaching. My employer (law firm) is doing OK, but many colleagues have been lost to "stealth layoffs" this year. There is an air of randomness to the whole thing, and everyone has one or two projects where their performance was not 100%, which is more than enough to give you an ulcer over your future. If I am going to be one of those unlucky stiffs who get canned, the decision would have been made in advance, so no amount of reciting my accomplishments will help me now.

At this point, I've been sweating bullets at work for long enough that I'm numb to the whole process. I don't want to lose my job, but I don’t love it or the environment anymore. I fear that this ambivalence is counterproductive when I go into the review--though, as I said above, I don't think there's anything I can say to keep my job if I've already lost it. My reviews in the past have been positive, but everyone's files have been papered to support a dismissal (this is an at-will state).

Any tips on getting through this? I'll definitely have a good breakfast, but other than that, I feel like I'm flying blind. If I were to be let go, I'd like to stay classy, though I'm not averse to playing hardball (but I am pretty certain I would be out hardballed). For instance, should I record the conversation? In general, do you negotiate for severance (or better severance) on the spot, or after the dust settles? I respect the people who will give me my review, but I generally feel that any performance-based justification for my dismissal would be mostly bullshit. Is it worth fighting back when they give you a trumped up reason, or just let it go? I'm not sure whether I would continue in this field if I were to look for a new job (do they even have new jobs these days?).

Thanks. Any advice is appreciated, whether or not directly in response to the specific questions above.

At least it was a shit job.

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:35:25 -0800

In Queensland, Australia: I've been laid off from a job for which I've never had a contract. No notice, no redundancy payments offered, etc. I'm screwed, right? I imagine so, but just checking. I wouldn't even be asking this but for a friend I spoke to last night suggesting I look into it. I never signed a contract at my current place of employ: contract-signing was put off because my employer was an IT start-up, intending on registering a new company name and having me sign a contract once that happened; however the aforementioned registration was put off and put off, and then just never happened (because we're all terrible workers and nothing got done as quickly as it ought to've, etc etc; insert terrible, emotionally manipulative boss here). I can't even provide any evidence of current employment there because in another dodgy move I've been on the books of another family member of the boss's for the past 7 months (doing work primarily for her organisation as well as just odd jobs for the regular boss who was concentrating on another project); apart from these 6 months with this family member, I'd been working where I was for 1.5 years. I was going to be returned to working 100% for the initial gig once work for the family member's organisation was completed; now that it has been, I've been told there's nothing else for me to do, and ta-ta now!

I understand YANAL, or my lawyer, but, sans contract, does employment on its own imply any rights? I've been getting paid holidays and sick pay and superannuation like any fulltime employee, and was assured (when I asked specifically) that I had no need to worry about the economic downturn impacting on my job security, which is why I was prepared to accept this situation in hopes of just remaining employed through this difficult period in the world's financial history.

Now that that's fallen through, is there anything I can expect or appeal to the employer's ethics (heh) to offer at the end of this engagement?

Please, to the snarks out there, no harping on about my stupidity in not having a contract thanks. Unemployed person at the receiving end doing what I can to remain cheery; I don't need taking down to make that more difficult. Assume the lesson is learnt; please be as nice as you'd like people to be to you in the same situation! Thanks!

What to do when your friends get whacked

crazycanuck — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:49:43 -0800

Layoffs: my best work buddy and right hand guy at work just got laid off. Have any coping strategies for me? I work on a 20 person team and one guy got the hit. I'm a bit stunned. Everybody on the team liked the guy, and we have no idea who is going to do all that damned work he was supposed to do. I had lunch with the guy 3 days a week and was on IM and talking to him every day, a real sweetie. Of course I need him to do work for me too. But now he is gone.

I've been through a layoff before but never as a survivor. I'd almost prefer to be laid off, there are rumours that the layoffs will continue. I'm surprised I feel so upset about having one of my friends laid off. What are some coping strategies you have for surviving layoffs?

Post layoff "career transition program" - any words of advice?

8dot3 — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:01:30 -0800

Post layoff "career transition program" workshop, funded by the former employer. More inside, but mostly I just want to know what to expect. Last week I was laid off from my job, along with about 25 other people. The company is providing us with a 2 day workshop with a "career management consulting firm" this week. Aside of giving us something to do so we don't go all postal on the guys who canned us, what is the purpose of something like this for a professionally mixed crowd of people? Have any of you ever been to something like this? Was it invaluable or was it excruciating?

Do I ditch the joint or not?

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:35:21 -0800

I've been told I will be laid-off in the May to July time frame if no new work happens. I like my job a lot and I really don't want to move, but I like being able to pay my rent more. Turns out there are several jobs that I think I can handily win in another city, but I think they'll all be filled by the time I find out if I will be laid off or not. Do I leave now or hope for the best here? Here's a few more details to "sweeten the deal":

My partner is currently in graduate school with 1 year (hopefully less) until graduation. She won't move before 1 year and I would not expect her to.
Partner has fairly good job prospects around here. I have bad job prospects around here. Place with potential job has fairly good job prospects for me, average job prospects for her.
I have about 6 months of living expenses saved up and depending on unemployment, I can go probably another 3 months more before running into problems.
The mood at my work seems uncertain, but noone is willing to look for new jobs yet. I'm rather new to the business; most seem to think it's just a "down year," but I fear they might just be not willing to talk about the realities of the future here.

Laid off.

GooseOnTheLoose — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:24:14 -0800

I found out that I'm getting laid off and need advice about the whole process. I found out today that they are doing away with my whole department at the end of the year. I have about a week left of work, but they wanted to let us know in advance so they could address any concerns. They said that on the 30th they'll be calling us in individually to discuss and finalize everything, including severance.

What do I need to know for this meeting? Am I negotiating with them or should I just be happy to get whatever they give me? Are there any questions that need asking, or do I just smile, nod, and sign on the dotted line?

Some additional information: I work for a rather large and international hotel chain. I have a very marketable skill for this industry in this location (speak Japanese, live in Hawaii), but it seems like there are cuts all over so chances of staying with the company are slim. Also, the department I work for is one of the two non-union departments in the hotel.

Any additional insight and information would be appreciated as well.

Unemployment for an unpaid startup co-founder?

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:05:23 -0800

Do I qualify for CA unemployment as an unpaid founder of a startup? What if the company goes under or lays me off? I started a company (a California C-Corp) over a year ago. We're self-funded. I'm co-director and an executive officer of the company. My co-founder and co-director and I have not taken any salary, only stock.

Everything's above board - we have a tax id, we keep our books, we pay our contractors, we've sent out invoices, and we may have our first revenue soon.

However, the company has insufficient cash flow to pay me, after it's paid our contractors and our other bills.

Do I qualify for unemployment in California? What if the company ceases to operate?

What if the company did pay me a salary, or agreed to do so at some future date? Would I then qualify for unemployment the company could no longer do so? What if the company terminated my employment as a CxO?

What's a good rapid reaction strategy to implement before leaving the office for the last time?

tenaciousd — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:05:11 -0800

"We're going to have to let you go." What do you do before leaving your boss's office? Two of my coworkers were let go last week, and the company said that there will be "significant shifting of responsibilities in the near future." I live in Illinois, where the unemployment rate in August reached 7.3%, compared to 5.4% nationally. Although I'm not in finance, the events of last week certainly made me think even more about job stability.

I don't think my job is in jeopardy, but if it were, and I went into my boss's office tomorrow and found out that I was being laid-off, what would you say? I was thinking it would be helpful to have a wallet-sized card to pull out right after they deliver the news. I would imagine that the element of surprise works in favor of the employer, and the laid-off worker looks back days or weeks later thinking, "I should have done this" or "I should've asked for that." I'm not talking about telling off your now-former employer, although that could be reasonable.

But are there certain terms and conditions you should demand before leaving? Local and state laws might influence what you say, and if you were a union member there would be another set of considerations. But I'm talking about across the board considerations. What's a good rapid reaction strategy to implement before leaving the office for the last time?

How to determine the last working day for a laid-off employee

binocularfight — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:20:51 -0800

I work for a very small company that has to lay off an employee due to budget restraints. I have heard that in firing someone, the day of firing should be the employee's last day in the office. This protects the company from any harmful backlash. Does this rule hold true for layoffs as well?

How to get fired?

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:46:16 -0800

Can I request to be laid off? I work for a large financial firm in New York that has been hit hard by the recent economic downturn. Like all companies in our industry, we are laying people off in an attempt to cut costs. I have been contemplating leaving my job (and the industry) to go back to school in an entirely different field. One thing that has prevented me from doing this is the loss of salary and health benefits that I'd be faced with until I start my grad program, as well as financial concerns about the future. My company is offering laid off workers in a similar position as mine 4 months severance pay plus an extension of health care for 6 months. If I quit I will receive none of this. Is there some way of signaling to my employer that I would "like" to be laid off, besides not performing well (which would probably get me selected in the next round as a "poor performer")? I'm fairly new to the corporate world so I am not sure whether this is inappropriate - it definitely seems weird to "request" being laid off. Have any mefites been faced with a similar situation? How should I go about this - or is this a stupid idea and I should either quit or do my job and shut up?

If I had said that, I would have been wrong.

bingo — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:19:00 -0800

I was recently laid off and given only one week's severance. Several people have told me that this is not legal. Could they be right? Some details:

New York City.
Part of company-wide layoffs affecting many people, although I was one of a few who were full-time with benefits.
I'd been working there just over a year.
I worked harder and stayed later than just about anyone else there, and everyone in the company would probably testify to that fact.
My whole position was eliminated. The CEO explicitly told me that the layoff was not related to my performance.
I am eligible for unemployment, and I have already filed for it.
The layoff happened about three weeks ago.

I realize that NY is an 'at-will' state, and companies can axe whomever they please...but my question is only about severance.

Is there any legal standard requiring them to give me more than one week's salary? Does it depend on anything? Do I have any redress? Is there any solid precedent for such redress?

Why are we sending work to Canada?

The_Partridge_Family — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:17:20 -0800

I work for the US division of my company; there are also divisions in Canada and the UK. Recently we laid off a few people, and were told that the work they did would be handled by the Canadian division. But we work with large video files (up to 10GB) so transferring them electronically is reasonably time consuming and often results in transfer failures. So why would my company do this? Why is it desirable for them to lay off people in the US and "send" the work to Canada? If it makes any difference, my company is owned by a larger European company with 60 000 employees in 30 countries.

Who really owns your cell phone number?

ad_hominem — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:40:37 -0800

My former employer won't release my personal cell phone number. Last week, I was laid off as part of a restructuring at my company. My email access was turned off immediately (no surprise), and on Monday, my cell phone access was turned off as well (also no surprise, since they were paying the bill). The problem is that my former employer is refusing to release my cell phone number so I can get it reassigned to a personal account.

I've had my cell phone number since 2000. In 2002, I added it to the corporate plan at Company A. When I changed jobs in 2006, I moved my number from Company A to Company B without trouble. In 2007, Company B was acquired by Company C, and our phone accounts were consolidated under one provider. At no time was it ever suggested that I keep my personal number on a separate, personal account.

Of course, I use this number for everything. It's listed on my credit cards, bank accounts and tax returns. It's what far-flung friends use to contact me after months or years. As a renter with ro ommates, I can't be certain of keeping my home phone number, so this the only number I give out, and it's a very memorable combination of digits. So I don't, if at all possible, want to give it up.

In my job, I was not involved in the ongoing support of business customers. I rarely--if ever--received direct calls from customers or prospects directly on my cell phone, since most of our contact was in person, over email or via conference numbers. My phone number was published only on my business card, which I did not distribute widely. Furthermore, this number is currently disconnected, so even prospects that _might_ be trying to reach my former employer with concerns about a current deal will find themselves at a dead end.

I've written two very nice emails to the head of HR (whose decision this apparently is) detailing my case, and so far he has responded with a very short this-is-our-policy type of message, saying "It would be detrimental to the business if we released them." I'm not asking him to overturn the policy, I'm just asking for an exception on the grounds that this particular number is much more important to me than it is to them.

So at this point, what leverage do I have over my former employer? I have not yet signed the termination documents or returned assets like my laptop (they are based in another city), though I have already received my severance check. I don't really want this to get ugly: Except for the layoff (and of course, this phone issue), my experience there was quite positive.

So does anyone have any suggestions on what my next move should be? Has anyone heard of this policy at other companies? Thank you in advance.

How to file for unemployment benefits for temporary layoff

Joleta — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:31:51 -0800

How can my husband collect unemployment benefits for temporary layoffs, in Illinois? Mister joleta works for Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). Due to Dept. of Energy budget cuts and lack of funds, the lab is requiring all employees to take rolling unpaid furloughs rather than close down the lab entirely. As a salaried exempt worker, my husband will have to take one week of unpaid furlough every two months for an eight-month period (February through September). Things will be tight, but we'll survive. One of the FAQs on the Fermilab site says that furloughed employees can apply for unemployment benefits, but I can't find any information on the IDES web site about intermittent temporary layoffs of one week duration, other than than the following (see pgs 43-44 here):
"A local unemployment insurance office may instruct a claimant that he or she is exempt from registering in person with the employment service office for one of the following reasons (56 III. Adm. Code 2865.100):
. . .
"2. The claimant’s unemployment is due to a temporary layoff that does not exceed four weeks in duration."

This implies that one can receive unemployment compensation for temporary layoffs, but I can't find anywhere that explains how this is done. I know that in Illinois you don't get unemployment compensation for the first week of unemployment (the "waiting week"). But with intermittent layoffs, each furlough week is the "first" week, unless they can be somehow strung together into one period of unemployment. Can someone point me to a link explaining how this would work or give actual experiences. Three weeks of unemployment benefits is better than nothing.

What would you do at the crossroads?

forallmankind — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:38:16 -0800

After 5 years of working in the US, I was laid off last week. My chances of being able to stay here are slim, and I'm rather upset at the thought of returning to the UK. If you were in my situation, and had a bit of savings, what would you do? Some additional info:

I'm a DVD author, have 7 years experience, and it's a pretty specialized job so it's been a nice little earner. But there's not much legs left in it - particularly in the UK - so whilst I'd like to capitalize on my experience, I'm feeling it would also be a good time to change tack.

Prior to the layoff (which came out of nowhere) I had been looking into returning to school (in the US) to study counselling.

I do like to travel, I've been all over Europe, North & Central America, so one option I'm considering is taking off for 6 months to Asia (someone suggested teaching English, but I don't have teaching qualifications) and then returning to school the fall. But if I tried to go to a US school, I believe I'd have to be around to do whatever tests are required to join a program. Also, I'd be studying with a view to getting licenced in a country I'm not sure I would be able to work.

Part of me also thinks I've spent so long building up a good resume that I should return to Europe - perhaps try and find work in Paris (I can speak a bit of French and I have some friends there), or at worst try to find work in London (Note: if I could find work, it would have to be in media center like LA, NY, London, Paris. Possibly some locations in Germany or Australia too). And that part of me also is concerned about blowing a bunch of cash that's taken me a long time to acquire on travelling, and the collateral implication of then having to return to the UK with even less funds.

Another part of me is highly concerned about not really having anywhere to go back to in the UK. Most of my friends from when I lived in London have moved away, and whilst I get on with my parents, living with them (they're in Scotland) would drive us all very crazy very fast. Part of moving so far away was about creating space for myself and I have an enormous fear that staying with them would precipitate some terrible regression. Also, I don't have any friends at all there.

And of course there's a part of me that's very sad that I put so much work into moving and building up a life here, and now it looks like all that's going to go up in a puff of smoke. :-(

Maybe I need to read more Camus.

Savings = $40K

Quarterly estimated tax?

not that girl — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:03:26 -0800

Recently laid off self-employed partner: should I send September's Quarterly Estimated Tax payment or keep it to buy food for my children? My partner has been working full-time for the last six months as a contractor in a position that we expected to be long-term. Since the employer hasn't taken withholding, we've been doing estimated quarterly tax payments.

Alas, partner was laid off yesterday. A quarterly tax payment is due in September, and I have the money for it set aside. But I am wondering whether I can skip it. Here are some relevant points:

We have already paid enough tax this year to avoid penalties for underpayment; we have already paid well more than 100% of last year's federal tax liability.

I recently realized that when I was calculating how much estimated tax to pay, I forgot some deductions. So it's possible that we have overpaid and will get a refund. Overpayment seems especially possible now since I calculated based on the assumption that he would be in this job at least through the end of the year, and now his income for 2006 is likely to be much less than I anticipated.

I think it is most likely that he will find regular employment with withholding rather than another 1099 job. But I haven't completely thought through how that might affect our total tax liability; it depends some on how much he earns at this new job which he will find soon.

If we could hold onto the several thousand I have set aside, it would nicely supplement our emergency savings for the (hopefully brief but we must plan for the worst) period of no income we are facing. I am assuming that even if we end up owing tax come April, next April is likely to be a much more convenient time to send off a big check that while our main source of income has fizzled out.

My question is whether there are any penalities associated with failing to send a quarterly tax payment after having sent the two previous ones, separate from any penalty for underpayment, which is not an issue in our situation.

Here's your check, goodbye

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 12:05:43 -0800

Non-profit worker: how to word a letter of dismissal? I'm on the board at my (Unitarian) church, and we have to fire our bookeeper. She has helped us a lot in the past year, but the job is clearly beyond her capabilities. Complicating this is the fact that she is somewhat older (late 60's, early 70's) and not always as sharp as she needs to be.
I have to write her a letter of dismissal, and I'm struggling with the language to use. We agreed that I would say something about "need someone with a a different skill set", but I'd like to be a bit more compassionate.
Although I've been laid off many times, I've never had to do this myself, and I'd like some help.

Can a master's degree be dusted off?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 08:59:03 -0800

How do I go about getting adjunct prof/tutor/instructor jobs with aging, mostly unused credentials? I got my MFA degree in writing ten years ago. The five years after that I spent doing instructional and business writing as a 9-to-5er. I also ran a couple of writing workshops for a continuing education program. Then I had a child, and I've spent the last five years goofing off in retail so that I would have a flexible work schedule. Beyond working with some people individually on composition skills, I've done little to nothing to bolster that area of my resume during this time.

Now that my child is in school and I'm facing a layoff at the end of the year, I think it's time to get off my duff. What do I do about references and letters of recommendation? Should I just forget about spring semester and shoot for the fall, finding some other way to make money in the meantime? Do I need to go back to school? Join professional organizations?

I've read this thread, but it focuses mostly on whether to go to grad school in the first place. Also, I'm not so much interested in carving out a career in academia as I am in doing something I've always enjoyed doing informally, and having it pay for my writing time and mommy time.

Thanks for any responses, even discouraging ones.

Where can I find employee layoff/termination letters online (free!).

HuronBob — Fri, 13 May 2005 10:27:58 -0800

I'm in the position of having to layoff/terminate several employees due to program structure changes at a small non-profit agency (thus the "free" part, we have a tight budget). I have spent a couple of hours searching for templates for layoff/termination letters online with no luck. Can anyone point me towards a good online source for this?