Isn't it great to see that Paul just bought another company. I believe this is the 3rd since last September when he changed the lives of 550 people forever with the a layoff that wasn't needed. He not only caused lifechanging impacts to these people but he also messed with those left behind. No more trust for the everyday peon. All we care about now is a paycheck. I've been with RJ for nearly 20 years in IT and it used to be my pride to make sure things I am responsible for functioned properly even at night and on weekends. I used to logon all the time to check things even when I wasn't required to. I just wanted to make sure. Since last September I can count on 1 finger how many times I logged on outside of my required "on call" and that is "1" and it was for a major incident at 9PM that was holding up batch and the call had over 40 people on it. The solution wasn't in my area but it took the proverbial "96 questions" for senior management to agree to do a change that took 10 seconds to implement. Such is day to day life now at RJ.
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Not sure if anyone reads this anymore, but I too am in my 50s, and worked at RJ for 20+ years, and I was one of those 550 laid off. Retirement is too far away for me to consider it a viable option. I always received good evaluations and was truly dedicated to RJ. I have interviewed about 15 times but the first question I get is why were you at RJ so long. The interviewers think I am stupid for staying so long at a firm that is questionable at best. My advice to those still at RJ, don't stay long. Get your experience and knowledge and take it somewhere else where they actually care about employees.
Worked in IT supporting the old technologies. So far I think that if after a year I cannot find a job in this area then I should take an early retirement. I would even consider to retire later on to a place like Costa Rica.
Since we are telling our story, here is mine. I to was at RJ for over 15 years. I was one of the senior members of my team. I was the "go to" person for many issues. Then last September I got the boot. I was able to retire unlike many others. Since RJ in their severance information stated they would not contest unemployment I immediately applied and got the whopping $275 a week from Florida. After the 1st of the year I was able to get $300 federal unemployment. All this ends next week but I will be ok. I have spoken to a few other old timers that were let go and some are doing similar things. I also have spoken to a few still at RJ and they tell me how lucky I am to not be there anymore.
Worked in IT for several years and was laid-off. I have to say that some of the things I do not miss about my job are the extra hours to complete projects due to requirement changes, being on call and solve batch production issues as quickly as possible at 1 am and spend every now and then several hours of a weekend on DREs. I know it's usually part of the job but I hope to find a job where I do not have to do that anymore!
This is my situation, I am in my 60s and still with no job after the lay-offs. I have followed most of the common advice to find a job, I am working with recruiters, have submitted my resume for consideration with places like ZipRecruiter, have applied directly, have profile in LinkedIn, have taken video courses on how to find a job, etc. I know my skills are somehow rusty and probably I still need some improvement. All that stresses me and hope younger people won't find themselves in this situation when they are older.
My life has changed a lot. We just recently sold our house at a good price and downsized. Have downscaled in our expenses and now I am re-planning my life in order to retire sooner than I expected. Yes, this messed up my life but such is life, at least I think I have that option. I am sure many of you are still having a difficult time, hope things get better.
I am wondering how many of you out there are in a similar situation as me and thinking about retiring sooner than expected.
I was laid-off after more than 20 years of service, got a decent severance package but I still believe it was not fair to let 500+ of us go. I am not a young person and seems to me lots of the laid-off folks are in their 50s and 60s. As mentioned here I was a "peon" too and many times had to work extra hours, on weekends and after hours, I saw it as part of helping the company with the service first and my team. I felt I performed as well as anyone in my team but seems that management decided to get rid of the older folks in order to save money and bring younger people. Sadly thru those 20 years I saw the company change for the worst.
For the "old folks" still working there, it's not easy to find jobs so hang in there as long as you can.
Couldn't agree more. Laying off 550 people impacted more than just them. I'm part of a team that lost several senior people. We were left picking up the pieces. My manager didn't care. I had a private conversation with another manager that I knew and he said that the entire firm is on pins and needles. Whoever decided to layoff 550 people didn't think thru all the implications and impacts.