I truly feel bad for the circumstances many are now in. This is harder than most people ever anticipated. Some of this eradication is very necessary, some of it is irrational. Having family and friends that work there the stories are now constant and the uncertainties and anxiety quite real. Honestly, many people never get to experience working for such a fantastic company and never knew what being treated so well was like in this town unless you worked at the farm. The rest of us have been dealing with low pay, no perks, no bonus, no parks to play and swim in, no time off, no discounts (because of where we work), being treated like dirt this list goes on and on. In my younger days I had to tolerate and deal with farm employee's that treated us common folk like worthless peasants who should bow down and be forever thankful for having the opportunity to be of service for farm employee's. Welcome to our world would be cruel to say now, and self-indulgent. However, after this dust has settled, I hope as you continue, you now understand that we both put our pants on one leg at a time, both pay taxes, and both know what it's like to suffer. I wouldn't wish on anyone what you are going through. For those that get to continue employment with the farm, and any perks you get please be grateful for it. Someone only getting 40% of their retirement is most likely 95% more than us common folk get. And yes, I worked my entire life, just as hard or harder and did the best I could. Some of us make poor choices early on, and some of us are dealt a very different hand, and some of us just never knew the right people. Go to work as you wait for fate to happen. Do the best you can. Remember your job is what you do to make money, it's not who you are.
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The mindset displayed by the OP and a few other posts in this thread is indicative of what happens when there is one gigantic employer in a town and everyone else is working in lower paying jobs. Being from a big city myself, its very strange to see this. This type of mentality, where there is widespread animosity between people who work for "company A" and everyone else who is considered "common folk" does not exist in a city with ample employment opportunities.
One could just as easily point out that without State Farm contributing to the tax base, Blono would be a wasteland like the rest of central Illinois. And when SF leaves (and it might), what's going to happen there?
Liberal agenda and diversity? The people making these cuts are neither liberal or diverse.
State Farm is their own worst enemy. They have become more interested in liberal agendas. They have replaced striving for excellence with striving for diversity, they have replaced treating people as individuals to treating them as groups of mindless robots. They have forgotten the #1 rule of business, take care of the people who take care of your customers. They need to stop with the carp of change is coming and be honest with their employees and let the chips fall where they may. They show no loyalty to their employees which is the way most large corporations operate now.
Downsizing does not have to be without character and integrity. SF has taken dark turn last few years. Many have sacrificed much for careers not “jobs” over the years so transition is tough. There is life outside of SF and definitely companies who treat loyalty with more kindness and character, integrity, and honesty than SF is these days. People just want the honest cold facts so they can make decisions and move on.
Having been in several operation centers outside the Bloomington area, this is not new. Bloomington based employees, and I was one of those people too for a while, really have been sheltered from most of this activity for a long time. It’s hard I know. But try to stay positive. It’s still a great company, it’s just a little closer to the bone now.
Very good post and I agree with it all. State Farm was a gravy train that is finally headed into the real world. I remember back when State Farm kids used to be called "State Farm brats" and I can understand why....it's hard to look outside of the State Farm bubble while everything is going good...now that things are bad it really makes you realize how great things used to be and how incredible of a company we used to be.