Losing My Job

[raggamuffin]

Hi all,

Got into work today to find out there's another "restructure" occuring in the company and another wave of redundancies is likely. We won't find out for another 4-8 weeks. Last time we found out on the day it was announced. This time they leave us hanging. Our company got bought out by a foreign company a few years ago and we get the feeling they'll be shutting our office down and opening another one in another country.

Needless to say this isn't helping my general mood. I'm nowhere near as anxious as I thought i'd be. Problem is that i've got debts with monthly payments. If I lose my job I don't know how i'm going to cope financially.

Ed

[em1]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that Ed
My that is very stressful,is there any jobs out there that you could apply for now just in case you did lose your job?

[raggamuffin]

Been my first and only job. Been here 9 years...

Ed

[Fourteen14]

Been my first and only job. Been here 9 years... Ed

It's a really stressful time when your financial security is under threat.

There are two ways of looking at it.

1. Worrying will make things seem far worse and will undoubtedly knock your confidence in applying for another job.

2. Every job regardless of what the job entails does give you transferable skills (even if it is a very specific job, your skill set can be adopted into other practices).

If the worse happens and you end up out of work there are several free organisations (such as CCCS) that will give you guidance and help you manage any debts until you find alternative work.

On the plus side, you may also find a job on more money and able to clear your debts sooner.

Fingers crossed the company can save everyone's jobs, but if they don't it doesn't necessarily mean this has to be a negative thing for you. (Although I totally get how this may not feel this way right now).

[Dahila]

It's a really stressful time when your financial security is under threat.

There are two ways of looking at it.

1. Worrying will make things seem far worse and will undoubtedly knock your confidence in applying for another job.

2. Every job regardless of what the job entails does give you transferable skills (even if it is a very specific job, your skill set can be adopted into other practices).

If the worse happens and you end up out of work there are several free organisations (such as CCCS) that will give you guidance and help you manage any debts until you find alternative work.

On the plus side, you may also find a job on more money and able to clear your debts sooner.

Fingers crossed the company can save everyone's jobs, but if they don't it doesn't necessarily mean this has to be a negative thing for you. (Although I totally get how this may not feel this way right now).

Nice post, 14 you are fantastic person, I am reading your answers and i like it. Good to have you here. Ed I hope you are not going to be the one to go. It is awful. I lost a good job, but very stressful and never again got a full time job. The economy is awful, wherever we are. I keep my fingers crossed, and hope you are going to be ok:)) Good luck with it

[trinidiva]

Ed, do we work for the same company? Im in the same boat. Ive just started keeping my eye open for other places that are hiring, and updating my resume, etc. Most bigger companies give their people some type of package when they are let go...any word of anything like that being offered? Also, you can file for unemployment which will pay you a percentage of your salary. As far as your debts.....if it comes down to it, can contact your debtors and ask for extensions or deferments....or reduced payments. Most companies would rather get something rather than nothing. Good luck to you.

[Enduronman]

Really sorry to hear this Ed but hopefully there is some other placement for you, or maybe it won't happen at all...Hopes your way bruh!

E-Man...:)

[raggamuffin]

We don't believe they will. They can close up shop and open a new office in Europe to merge our website with their others after the rebrand which is planned in a few months. That allows them to effectively close the company and nobody has to be given redundency pay.

I'm finding it difficult to muster enthusiasm now. I find the environment draining anyway and uninspired. But now with this possible bad news looming overhead for several months...it's hard to really muster the energy to do my job. I know I have to but at the same time I can't be bothered.

I really do want to follow the art route but that will take a lot of hard work. Paying off debt has been hard enough along with the anxiety and such. But I guess we can all make excuses and focus on the bad. I think the only problem is the "what if?" anxiety raises a lot of those and whilst I sometimes fear the future I know I can't control it. This is the same but the situation just feels very precarious.

Here's hoping we keep our jobs.

Ed

[Enduronman]

Oh s**t bruh,..maybe as Trin mentioned, start checking some other things out in your area especially with your skills. Or as you've said, follow your heart. I did that one day back in 1996 and just started a company because I was as you are, unenthused about working for someone else. I succeeded but it was in construction and everybody needed something built or fixed all of the time....just some thoughts.

Still hoping for a good outcome for you friend!

E-Man...:)

[raggamuffin]

Seems its worse than I originally thought. The company is broke. Went 20 mil over budget last year. It looks increasingly likely that very few of us are going to make it out the other side of this and keep our jobs.

Ed

[GeneAllen]

Hi all,

Got into work today to find out there's another "restructure" occuring in the company and another wave of redundancies is likely. We won't find out for another 4-8 weeks. Last time we found out on the day it was announced. This time they leave us hanging. Our company got bought out by a foreign company a few years ago and we get the feeling they'll be shutting our office down and opening another one in another country.

Needless to say this isn't helping my general mood. I'm nowhere near as anxious as I thought i'd be. Problem is that i've got debts with monthly payments. If I lose my job I don't know how i'm going to cope financially.

Ed

I can relate Ed. I used to have mortgages, car loans, and things I could not afford unless I worked everyday sweating the next lay off. I got that shit outta my life, if

I can't pay for it with cash,silver,or gold I don't look at it. Life is much easier now. I have been laid off since October 2013, so 16 months. I thought you had been

given money (from parents) to begin a printing biz? I thought that was you, maybe not? I am still putting in place my welding, fabrication and blacksmith shop

here. This may be the kick you need to get you going. I know it's tough, and as I said, I got tired of others deciding when, where and how I get my money. So

someone told me live in your passion, if you don't live there, and trust things to be okay, you'll never get to see that life keeps on working at the best level, and

everything you need is supplied by your efforts and joy doing it. I've already been down to nothing before, so it isn't a new experience for me. I'm still kicking, just

going to trust life, it seems to go fine when I don't interfere anyway. You'll be fine. I can only say that cause I know. Get rid of all the payments, live simple, cut

firewood, eat beans and bread, and if you keep it up, in a five years you'll be able to heat with gas, and eat some burgers on the grill. Man that is living then, and

nobody calls asking to be paid. My truck is a 1987 and has almost 300,000 miles, I'm not out to impress anyone, and I don't define who I am by my car or house

and I find I still enjoy myself, my kids love me, my wife is thrilled, and I have time to play too. Be good to yourself friend, quit thinking it's the end, it is the

beginning of a new era. Lots of folks are going thru this too. I have an extra shack you can stay in until you get your footing. Yes you gotta cut firewood, and haul

water, cut grass but it's empty as I don't rent. It's not a handout, I'll put you to work, lots of things to do in these here hills. Peace

[Enduronman]

OK...You've gotta choose that new direction, path, plan then..As hard as that sounds, it is very possible to do. Start communicating with some other companys about your skills and inquire about any openings. I had done the same thing since I was 16 yrs so it wasn't as difficult for me to just start up a company in 96. I also don't know what your country has to offer for out of work people but in America we have unemployment benefits that run for 1 year that pays 80% of what we once made..and also we can wash away the debt too..called bankruptcy if worse come to worse and we can't pay for good reasons..

E-Man...

[John_Mark]

Man, I am sorry! But sometimes, after bad things, good things come forward.

[raggamuffin]

Well after a couple of days talking to people it seems the news is getting worse...

A rebrand of the company to the one who bought us out was planned for 2 months. But they never bothered with any real marketing since taking us over and wondered why we weren't selling well. They shut down our retail side of the business which again resulted in decline of popularity and profits.

We were 20 million over budget for the past 12 months. They've now scrapped the rebrand. This leaves them open to shut down the company permanently as they plan on taking their main company over to Europe and migrate over the seller's on our platform.

Problem is, if they close our company and don't sell us on they don't have to pay anyone and severance or redundancy pay. Secondly it was announced the day afterwards that the owner of Rakuten who is one of Japan's richest people has bought out a new company for 900 million dollars. This was sent to our whole company in an email from a PR Manager. How ironic that a public relations manager would manage to kick a hornets nest.

What is most frustrating is the lack of common sense in the company over the years and since being bought out the lack of any real funding to drive the website and its popularity. For years it was all about trying to save money then wondering why we weren't making any money. Investing 900 million in a new company when others aren't living up to scratch. Seems a bit odd as last year the owner of Rakuten wanted our company to be bigger than Amazon in Europe and yet now it seems they're going to shut us down and just let Rakuten JP go into Europe in force.

So we've got another 3-7 weeks till we hear what happens. Seems since we found out moral is shattered, people are upset, pissed off and most people are spending a lot of the day doing nothing or looking at job websites. I recently got put on taking payments for new merchants subscriptions. I feel like a thief for taking their money for a 6 month subscription knowing full well that in a couple of months we might be going under and we're just taking these people's money.

Ed

[Enduronman]

Take it...without remorse. Not your fault that they lost their asses, cover your own and move on bruh...

E-Man...

[raggamuffin]

Aye, well i've got 2 months minimum to pay off as much debt as possible. After that...who knows. I think i'll update my CV. Join a job agency if needs be. Look for something part time and focus on art n photography in free time until it's profitable enough to do it full time.

Shame the company might go under it really is. A few years ago it was main rival to Amazon for many years and then several years of terrible management has managed to ruin things for hunudreds of workers.

I think it's a common occurance in business. Oh well, office jobs aren't for me I don't think.

Ed

[trinidiva]

Aye, well i've got 2 months minimum to pay off as much debt as possible. After that...who knows. I think i'll update my CV. Join a job agency if needs be. Look for something part time and focus on art n photography in free time until it's profitable enough to do it full time.

Shame the company might go under it really is. A few years ago it was main rival to Amazon for many years and then several years of terrible management has managed to ruin things for hunudreds of workers.

I think it's a common occurance in business. Oh well, office jobs aren't for me I don't think.

Ed

I feel your pain man....like I said....im in the same boat. Im glad that you are thinking about other options though...and contracting through a job agency isn't a bad thing until you are able to find something more permanent. Just know that you can bounce back from this and be ok.