I’m new at this site, having just discovered it. It’s disappointing to see so much finger pointing of old vs. young and vice versa.
I’m in my mid-50’s. I started in the business as a contract worker 30 years ago and was hired direct at GM a short time later.
As a young employee, I treasured the experience of the older workers and was eager to learn from them. I was very blessed to work with the people I did. I ran into my share of deadwood, but they were nothing more than a handful and everyone knew who they were. It’s true GM was slow to shed these, instead moving them around for years.
About 5 years ago, GM started hiring, direct, 5th and 6th levels which my field hadn’t seen in well over 15 years, if not 20. Now, I not only still had people at my level and above with diverse experience in my function, but young people with another skill set I found intriguing, given how they grew up with tech.
It is foolish for the young to stereotype every older worker as deadwood and equally foolish of older workers to see younger people as having nothing to offer and just wanting to play games.
There will always be people in every demographic who are hard-working and highly skilled in ways others are not; and there will always be a handful of people who don’t appreciate the fact that no one owes them a job.
My suggestion to old, young, and everyone in between, is to judge everyone as individuals. Stereotyping comes in many forms. Don’t fall for it. The vast majority of people being cut in a mass layoff like this are not poor performers. More than likely, they are the wrong demographic, at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
I saw entire groups called into meetings during the bankruptcy and told they were all being separated. A few people had just transferred there.
Let’s not be at each other’s throats at this time.
God bless you all and best wishes to everyone.