Job eliminations

[Cusser]

My job was eliminated yesterday, after 40.5 years.

I will get the maximum severance based on my years - so 52 additional weeks of pay - so I'd only be in reality missing a few months of pay until my planned retirement at 65, as that pay won't run out until in 2017. But the fact that the corporation - owned by Europeans since 2004 - didn't have the courtesy of letting me have the "dignity" of deciding my own retirement date - that's what really sucks. Wife commented that letting me just retire at age 65 would’ve meant like them getting almost 2 years work from me with very little added cost.

I knew something suspicious was up a few hours earlier when I got a meeting notice on Outlook from a Vice President not in my chain of command - my first E-mail ever from her - and the topic was that she "had something to share with me. Thanks.", so I was rightfully suspicious.

The VP turned me over to an HR person I didn't know (sharing the dirty work), and she wanted to discuss "outplacement services", and I informed her that very few 63+ folks are hired in the job market, and especially employers in my field are scarce in in Arizona, and I wasn't going to relocate for another year of work. I think it took them both by surprise because I wasn't too surprised: my age, their US R&D has shrunk for several years. Folks who leave are not being replaced, our travel budget is zero, appears all stuff will be run from Europe (of course, two high-ranking Europeans did come over to US to speak to us so far in 2016, but remember it is winter in Europe). I was likely the highest paid scientist too, even won their career achievement award a few years ago for scientific advances, pretty funny. I think that in itself will kill morale way more: ditching their top scientist months before retirement.

At least I'm financially better off than most of the other folks let go (a fair amount of that security from fixing stuff myself and driving "vintage" vehicles over the years); the HR person asked me if I "was OK" to walk back to my office by myself. I responded that I was NOT going to go postal or anything, and HR person responded that statement "was inappropriate". I stopped her and said: "no, the company is who is inappropriate, in the way they are treating me after the career I've had here".

I looked up age discrimination, seems that since 2009 unless someone has been hassled/treated badly by supervisors/others because of age or maybe directly replaced with someone younger, that Supreme Court decided that it was just a fact that older workers do get paid more, so age alone doesn’t qualify. And if I fight, that gives the company a tiny victory by having me "want" to stay with them. Co-worker and I have discussed a few times that if the Henkel offered a voluntary package that it would be time to listen (they've had three such planned voluntary retirements in the last 6 years, and reduced staff in addition if enough did not volunteer for that). Had our director or HR discuss that our department would have a staff reduction, and asked for volunteers to take the package, maybe I would've been heroic and accepted that to save someone else's job, but I wasn't even given that courtesy...

It turns out that 5 others from R&D had their jobs eliminated yesterday too, and of course 2015 profits WERE record highs too. But the company is very greedy. The Americans here are afraid to question anything, the Europeans want Europeans to run everything, feel that they’re better than Americans. This cut was about 8% of remaining R&D, doesn't count the 3 who left Laundry development and a high-level in the last month.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[VOLKSWAGNUT]

Just another example... of how really NO employee has any type of security or appreciated loyalty with an employer or company.

Those of us that work for the man..( or woman)... are pretty much just one manager away from someone not liking us or crunching numbers to suite the bottom line..

Sucks.. but that's the facts..
Pensions and employer loyalty are things my Grandparents spoke of... and enjoyed..

I hate to say it.... but lots of us skilled and educated workers have priced ourselves right to the edge and one shaky step away from being unemployed..
Easy to replace us with two younger fresh off the boat or out of school at half the price.. and half the experience.. or not at all..

When those of us that are 40+ are out looking for a job.. . you hear lots of "you're over qualified"..
Which means... yeah you are probably exactly what we need.. but you cost too much and are a little old..
My legal full benefit retirement is 67.
Ill be crippled by that age at the rate I work now...
Im sure I'd be pulled in and given "the talk" where I work now.. way before that anyway...

You younger ones take note... it really doesn't get any better...

[TDCTDI]

Sorry to hear that, I'm glad you're in a position where it won't impact you as badly as it would many others. You're possibly part of the last generation to spend the majority of your working career at one job. Now go find something that you love doing & turn that into you're next career, this might have been the best thing to happen to you.
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Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[Jon Schmid]

I've been at my current company for 20+ years. Compared to you I'm still wet behind the ears. That stinks that they not only let you go but the total lack of class in how they handled it. It seems like Human Resources is a contradiction of terms these days. I hope you have something to tide you over once the severance is up but at least they gave you that bone. Good luck, Cusser--as they say, you can't keep a good man down.

[Zundfolge1432]

[WooleyNelson]

Well, Cusser, I feel for you.
I was in the same (or at least a similar) position 3 years ago.
29.5 years with the same place, kicked out with 6 months severance.

Sometimes God smiles on you, tho.
3 weeks before the severance ran out, they called me back (on contract).
That was (of course) at less pay and considerably less benefits.

But, 2.5 years later, I'm a *WHOLE* lot closer to retiring than I was then.

(and, yes, I understand about the AZ job market for us older folk. Even tho I'm in Indiana, I have a place in AZ I'm hoping to retire to, and during that 6 months of I looked for and interviewed in AZ with no results)

Best of luck to you!

Wooley

[Q-Dog]

Cusser, you'll be fine. It stinks, but it seems this is the way of the world now. You and the Mrs. should hop into that convertible of yours and take a little vacation. Then, find something you really want to do and enjoy yourself.

I was downsized once when the company began eliminating the division I worked in. I was in my 40s. I scratched my head for a few days, then went back to school to finish the degree I gave up on 20 years before. Most of my classmates could have been my kids. I worked my ass off, and enjoyed it so much more than the first time I tried college. The degree didn't really help me in my future employment, but it was a great accomplishment and the experience reminded me that I never really wanted to work in a corporate environment anyway.

My wife just retired and she kinda wants me to do the same, though I do still want to work some. As it is, I now work when I want (which isn't very much) and have lots of time to do other things, like vacations, or working on the cars, or volunteering at the local natural history museum a couple of days a week. Heck, I'm busier than when I was working!

And I'm still learning! At the museum I'm learning about the megafauna of the Miocene. A year ago I didn't know what a Megatylopus was (it's a giant ancient Camel). Now, I'm one of only a few people that has actually seen and touched one. This past Summer I went on a fossil hunting expedition and we found some amazing stuff. I am now helping prepare this very rare 7-million-year-old fossil for display at the museum.

Getting downsized was the best thing that ever happened to me, even though it didn't feel like it at the time. Good luck.
_________________
Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[KTPhil]

[vwracerdave]

You should be smiling and counting your blessings. Sounds like after 40 years you have become Institutionalized. Sounds like you are scared to death of the retirement lifestyle change. I would burn up any sick leave you have till they hand you your walking papers. With 52 weeks of severance pay I would be calling a travel agent to book a cruise. I have my private retirement portfolio above the company retirement plan and I'm gone on my 60th birthday.

To all the young people reading this, You had better make the sacrifices now and invest in your own personal IRA so you have something when you hit your Golden years.
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2017 Street Comp Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble, OK
2010 Sportsman ET Champion - Mid-America Dragway - Arkansas City, KS
1997 Sportsman ET Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble ,OK

[jspbtown]

I know it might be hard to see now but its not really HRs fault. The decision to let you go came from multiple sources and was only communicated by HR.

Trust me...letting someone go due to "cutbacks" (versus job performance) is no walk in the park. Take the emotions in your situation and think of doing that over and over. Not an easy way to feed your kids.

My company is in the same boat. We make about $1 billion (yes...billion) in earning per year. Last year we bought back almost $500 million in our own stock. Yet we cut our workforce significantly over the year. We have compressed our physical location to reduce expenses, and cut all ancillary expenses like worker recognition programs. Heck...its hard to get pens.

What matters most is the stock owners. The workers are irrelevant.

[spanky324]

Volunteer somewhere it will feel great!

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[andk5591]

I feel bad for you, but also congratulations. If you decide to do something, do something completely different. Trust me I have been in your shoes and was not in any kind of solid financial footing after a divorce. And similar situation - my skill set was not very marketable in my area....

I made it and you sure as hell will. Good luck

And a general note to anyone reading this - there is no job security anywhere so you damn well better plan accordingly. That's why I started my own business 20+ years ago. If I am out of a job, its my own fault.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[TDCTDI]

[Tim Donahoe]

I retired at 63. I should have retired at 62.

Remember summer vacation when you were a kid? Now's the time to repeat it.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[Dwayne1m]

My friend was in middle management for a large company and he was the hammer for upper management. One of his responsibilities was to come up with a reason to fire employee X, and to trim the workforce by X%. He often told me that upper management told him to look at the employees as resources and not people. It was all about stock options.

[itskyle]

Cusser,

I wish you the best. I know how much losing a job can suck, coming from an at-will employment state.

As far as the cliche goes about "this is the best thing that could happen to you,". I can relate after being involuntarily let go from a few different jobs, that only once did the next job end up being way better than the previous job.

And, after the merger, even that didn't last.

I always dreamed of retiring in Arizona, but I know it will never happen. Truth is, I work harder at home for my wife and family than they ask me to do at work.

Getting a severance package is nice, though. That's never happened for me.

It isn't just your industry or your locality, here in Indiana, my sister in law got let go from a prestigious university known to raise their tuition every year.

It is wise to save for retirement, however, it can be difficult in a at will employment state. The best advice for surviving the at will employment state is to have 6 months worth of pay saved up for that ultimate rainiest of days.

Kyle
_________________
--
69 or 72 Autostick Bug current
66 Bug (We both miss it)
74 SuperBeetle Auto Stick (I miss that car)
73 SquareBack, Straight Stick (Wife misses this one.)

[widefivebug]

Very sorry to hear this happened to you. At least you were prepared finically and hopefully this is not a burden now for you. You should count your blessings that you had over 40 years with this company. That alone is a rare occurrence in this day and age. As others have said, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone to be treated like this from these employers because the truth is, were all disposable. There is always someone in line waiting they can pay less and have do twice the amount of work.

[andk5591]

Now, the next few months is where things get interesting for you. My sister and I went through the same thing. In my case, I retired early because I was bored to death. You take a couple months and bang out the "honey do" list and then what? Yeah - you can play with the cars, but do you really want to tear one apart just because?

This is when you need to start thinking about "what's next." Whether you want to get back into the work force, do volunteer work, or just sit on your ass in front of the TV.

If you do this right, you will fully understand why retirees say "I don't know how I had time to go to work, I am so busy." Shit, my day starts at 6Am and I try to get done by 8PM. We do try to take at least one weekend day off completely.

And if you always wanted to shake up your life in a big way, this is a good time to do it. For example, do you know there is a network of retired folks that simply move from campground to campground as seasonal help? They may be at one place for a couple months, another for a month, then 6 months at another one....They travel all over the country....and get paid. If she and I didnt have so many commitments here, we would do that in a heartbeat.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[gt1953]

Mr. Cusser and I had a great phone conversation last evening. Yep it is a shocker for sure. He does have a honey do list. Take your time relax watch the grass grow so you can cut it with a small pair of scissors. If you don't get it done today it will still be there next week.
Like others 40 yrs is from last century for sure. Severance package is not in todays market either. Today workers are replaceable over night, by a younger person whom feels they are entitled.
Sitting on the couch is today is compared to smoking. Don't do it. Do hope he chimes in again.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
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