Phantom Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 About 16 months ago I quit my previous employer in Texas where I had been for 23 years. At the time I was one of the most senior people in a growing company. At my exit luncheon the VP commented that I was one of four people who had been responsible for shaping the company and the growth it had experienced. I started with a new firm as a technical manager in a small plant in Washington. The plan was to fill the tech manager role until the plant manager finally rolled out, apply for the plant manager position, do a few more years and retire. So much for plans. Two months to the day after I got here the plant had a RIF and I ended up the plant manager. I had left my secure job, my kids and grandkids in Texas, and a home that was paid for to move 2,000 miles and end up in charge of a plant that was on the verge of being shut down. Oh yeah - I had also taken on a huge mortgage. There are photos of the place in my album. It's worth every penny I spent. In the last year the plant became number 1 in productivity improvement in the entire company, reduced costs by nearly 20%, satisfied all state & federal environmental requirements, reduced safety incidents by over 50%, and got the highest rating by HR for employee relations. That got me an "exceeded expectations" rating by my regional director. The reward was that he flew in two weeks ago and announced that the corporation has decided to close my plant and I'll be unemployed sometime this summer. To be fair, I was offered a plant in southern California or a senior engineering position in Texas. I've turned them both down to stay with my employees until the end to ensure they get all the opportunities to retrain and re-employ elsewhere. Half my plant had been with the company over 15 years. Many know nothing else since graduating from high school. I should get a decent severance package plus I got an inheritance that will let me run a year without working plus my Navy reserve retirement will kick in this summer which will cover my medical insurance and provide some additional income. I'll also be eligible for unemployment the day I'm laid off. Evidently the severance package isn't considered employment income. I'm going to take some time off and then look at doing some consulting work. Either that will work out or I'll find something else in the area as I don't intend to leave here. If all else fails I can really retire and start drawing social security in a couple years. That with my military retirement and the interest off my investments will allow me to be just fine. I've had enough of the roller-coaster ride for now. Ain't it great? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSflyer Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Same sort of deal here. Semiconductor fab in the Phoenix area, part of a European controlled worldwide company. When the industry nosedived about 5 years ago, this site took drastic cost cutting and cost reduction actions. This goofy bunch even went so far as to turn off the lights in the Pepsi machines to save electricity. Well, after years of lost employee perks, lost Christmas parties, no raises, etc., we became one of the most (if not THE most) profitable manufacturing site in the company (out of approx. 20). Our reward... plant closure. We led the company in almost every manufacturing category, in innovation, in awards, but it wasn't enough. Last week was a worldwide satellite broadcast from the big cheeses in Europe to brag about their accomplishments, and during the Q & A portion the question was asked how management could justify closing one of the most profitable sites and moving our work to one that has lost money for 15 years. The answer, from the CFO.... "We don't look at profitability, we only look at cost". Because the receiving plant is in Asia and the labor costs are less, I guess loosing money is ok. 3000 people out of work in the U.S. just so they can pay less in Singapore because according to the top 2 guys in this 10 billion dollar compay "We don't look at profits...". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Phantom, thankyou for your contrabutions to our country, economy and labor force. You are a great example of what made this contry great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerryb Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Its bad all over....I spent last Wednesday and Thursday in Michigan....wow...now Ontario is announcing shutdowns weekly. Automotive is rough! Sorry to hear about your hard luck. Keep strong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdab Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 The reward was that he flew in two weeks ago and announced that the corporation has decided to close my plant and I'll be unemployed sometime this summer. Ain't it great? What a shame. Sounds like you have a contingency plan, so hang in there bro. It is good to have something to fall back on. I admire the fact that you are going to hang with your folks at work. Most would not. In my situation with young kids, I would be forced to take an opportunity elsewhere. I think this country is headed for recession and $4 a gallon gas this year. The whole current economic situation in the US is far worse than what started in early 2000. Not trying to take away anything from anyone who suffered on 9/11, but economically, the issues we have right now have teeth. With all the foreclosures and home prices falling by the month (for most), the next few years might be tough. Add to that, energy and food prices rising more the last year than they have the previous 10 years and you have an ugly picture. Disposable income is disappearing for the middle class. Everyone should cross their fingers (at least everyone with a 401k) that all the financial institutions can cover these bad mortgages. The first one that comes out and says they can’t is going to tank the market big time. I have been trading in and out of my company stock and funds since last October. If I would have held everything as it was, I’d be down over 30k. It took me 3 years to get back what I lost in 2000 and 2001 and that is all I have. Buy and hold is a joke, even with dollar cost averaging. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 The good news I guess is that I'll have time to work on all the projects around the place -both clean-up and improvement. I know my Z's will appreciate me having more time to spend with them and clear up some of the minor things wrong with them. Also, the housing market is fairly solid here as the area is in a growth mode from folks spilling over the mountain from the Seattle side trying to find a reasonable cost of living. Everywhere I look there are major devolopment projects in this area. I 've talked with a couple equipment companies I've worked with in the pst and both have asked me to let them know when I come available so they can use me for consulting with their customers. That's encouraging for the short term. I just need to make my liquid funds last about 5 years and then I'm retiring for sure if, for some reason, I'm not able to turn this into a permanent retirement situation. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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