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03-06-2009, 02:50 PM
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#41
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1974 Boler 13 ft (Neonex/Winnipeg)
Posts: 3,008
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I take your point about choice, but if the unhappy fellow is the one who got sent home for a year at full pay and then got his company retirement, I'm.... staggered.
I'm down to half time, and if things get worse I'll be gone. No back pay or plush company retirement* Just your basic thanks and a wave.
Raya
*This is not to say that people who have a good company retirement plan have not earned it, just to be clear.
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03-06-2009, 04:39 PM
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#42
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1984 Fiber Stream
Posts: 183
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Gina,
So are you going to try to sell your house? It sounds like you are doing some major cleanout. How soon do you have to be back in AZ for your new job? (Pet the puppy for me.)
Pamela
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03-06-2009, 10:02 PM
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#43
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Senior Member
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 3,072
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If the guy hadn't qualified for retirement, he would have been let go with some kind of severance package -- He just took the whole thing personally, but the two guys in the management chain above him who also got the same deal didn't and were quite happy! Truth be known, he just wasn't mentally prepared to retire and then he and wife did a lot of travel (Needed a new truck to pull his trailer, of course) and effectively blew the year's salary.
He was sure that if he had held on for a few more years with retirement in mind, he would have been in better financial shape, but I believe otherwise. In fact, the retirement deal that we all got was the second-best one the company ever offered (They did it slightly wrong the first time around and we were the second go, mostly volunteers). Then they went back through and did selective cutting of people (Now, that got personal!).
My friend didn't look ahead and see that would happen and that with hiring freeze a lot of work was going to have to get done by a lot fewer people and it would get slipshod, which he disliked. He also didn't recognize that many of the people who took the inducements were the people who didn't have any reservations about being able to get another job elsewhere (Small local contract engineering companies were hiring to fill some of the gaps; one guy never left his desk, doing the same job for a new company -- Those companies were happy to take on people as contractors who had retirement medical, etc.). The guys left behind who were eligible for retirement were not the best employees to be sharing an increased workload with.
BTW, what was fueling this was that the company had kept up with funding the retirement funds during good investment times and were actually over-funded, but couldn't use the money for anything but retirements under federal law or agreements. So some bright person came up with the idea of using the money to buy out employees and get the head count down.
What also angered him was that they put his position back after two years because they found they needed it. He's still angry and I am at the point where I can't even remember how to spell GTE...
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03-06-2009, 10:11 PM
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#44
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1974 Boler 13 ft (Neonex/Winnipeg)
Posts: 3,008
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I see.
I probably sounded a bit cross up above. Just... times are tough and here he was complaining about a sweet deal. But you gave a good glimpse into his take on it. Sounds like you knew how to retire gracefully and enjoy it
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03-06-2009, 11:13 PM
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#45
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Senior Member
Trailer: Former Burro owner and fan!
Posts: 9,015
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Pam, I have the house on the market but there is little hope of selling it. It will sit for sale until someone makes an offer for a short sale, but most likely.. I will lose it to the bank.
I will be leaving here on thursday next. And not coming back. I'll do what I can until then.
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03-07-2009, 12:33 AM
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#46
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Senior Member
Trailer: Burro 17 ft Widebody
Posts: 868
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Gina, I'm speechless.............
I guess you have what it takes to do what needs to be done, but I'm thinking about the millions who are in similar situations and many of them unable to function from the shock.
I wish you success and good fortune. Hope to see you thriving in the future.
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03-07-2009, 01:59 AM
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#47
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Senior Member
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 3,072
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Raya, remember, that was 15 years (actually 16) ago and times were somewhat different -- Corporations were just starting to find ways to reduce headcount (Quote from new-at-the-time IBM president "You mean we are paying good people to LEAVE?" -- Many of whom went to work for competitors )
Gina, any chances of renting house out to someone, perhaps retired, who has lost their home to foreclosure or wants to downsize?
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03-07-2009, 09:32 AM
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#48
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Senior Member
Trailer: Former Burro owner and fan!
Posts: 9,015
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Pete, not really. Too much competition. Rentals are a dime a dozen here. I would need more than what the rest are getting to pay the mortgage.. as do most of the rest trying to rent theirs. If I tried, it would be throwing good money after bad.
It is my understanding this is the most affected housing market in the country right now.
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03-09-2009, 03:42 PM
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#49
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1984 Fiber Stream
Posts: 183
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Gina,
I had heard that the California housing market was really, really bad. Many, many people in "upside down" or "underwater" mortgages now. It sounds like parts of Florida are also as bad. Hearing about your experience makes it all the more real, even though I know we haven't met in person, just through this forum. My best wishes as you start the new job and make this difficult transition.
Pamela
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