Thread regarding Baker Hughes Inc. layoffs

My husband applied for a position with Western thinking that he would make more than the $7/hr he was making at his old job and for 2 months he did, until the market turned and they started calling people in to lay them off and cut his hourly wage to less than $5/hr. He kept his head down and took any job they give him because it was a company he wanted to build his career. He was kept at the wage for almost two years, but he enjoyed his job and the people he worked with and when BJS bought Western, he moved over to them and worked his way up the ranks in the pressure pumping side. It was hard work, long hours, most times under harsh weather, but he did well and was very proud of being a part of BJS. He knew that if the market changed, with his seniority, he would be allowed to stay with the company, taking the position of a junior person, at less pay, but he would still be employed and he knew that when the market changed, he could move back into his former position. But in 2009, when the market changed, so did the philosophy of the Company. Suddenly the opportunity to take another person's position wasn't available. They weren't trying to hold on to the more experienced person, it was more about reducing the department staff, it was all about cuts. He received a very good package and was told he was eligible to be hired back, but it still was a shock and it hurt like hell because he thought that the Company would find a place for him during the downturn. After a year of working menial jobs for far less than he made a year before, he was called back and received all that he had lost. He was happy to be back with a company he was proud to be a part of but he came back wiser than when he left. He understood that when he was RIF'ed, it wasn't personal, it was that the company climate had changed. It wasn't about always keeping the most senior, or most experienced, it was now about the bottom line. When Baker Hughes took over, it was certainly a change. BH's perks and pay were fewer than BJS. BH didn't really understand the PP business that BJS was very good at, and let's face it, BH wouldn't have bought BJS if it wasn't good at what it did and wasn't making money. He wasn't upset that BH agreed to be absorbed by Halliburton, even though the BJS in him does come out and believes that BH could have done better. He decided to retire because chances were very good, given his age and his pay grade, he wouldn't survive the merger. He knows that it really doesn't matter who you know, or how long you have been with the company or how good you are, if your time is up, it is up, it's not personal, it's just business. For most of you, when the market turns around, you will be back because the pay is too good not to come back and let's face it, like him, most of you love the business, it's in your blood.