A casualty of the oil bust

[undeg01]

Well, my wife was one of the 700 Devon employees in OKC that lost their jobs today. I can understand the reasoning for the layoffs, etc, but cannot get behind what they did to some people.

My wife had been there 13 years, but what gets under my skin is not necessarily her losing her job, but them $#!+ canning those long time employees that were within just a year or two, or even months of retirement, while keeping some of the new, inexperienced people that have been there for less than 2 years. One of my wife's coworkers had been there 32 years. Gone.

We will be fine. My wife is young enough to start over someplace else and keep building toward her retirement. But for some of these older folks...this will be a severe hardship for them. And one that could devastate them and their livelihood from here on out. That $#!+ ain't right!

 

[chigger digger]

My next door neighbor AND his Mrs. were both laid off today . She's currently in long term rehab after a stroke a few months back .

 

[dennishoddy]

Well, my wife was one of the 700 Devon employees in OKC that lost their jobs today. I can understand the reasoning for the layoffs, etc, but cannot get behind what they did to some people.

My wife had been there 13 years, but what gets under my skin is not necessarily her losing her job, but them $#!+ canning those long time employees that were within just a year or two, or even months of retirement, while keeping some of the new, inexperienced people that have been there for less than 2 years. One of my wife's coworkers had been there 32 years. Gone.

We will be fine. My wife is young enough to start over someplace else and keep building toward her retirement. But for some of these older folks...this will be a severe hardship for them. And one that could devastate them and their livelihood from here on out. That $#!+ ain't right!

That's the current business model. Put the senior employees out to pasture at an age where its difficult to get a decent job because of age, and keep the younger lower paid employees.

Back in the day of Tboone Pickens, and Carl Icon, it was called Corporate raiding. They made fortunes doing it.

 

[TwoForFlinching]

At some point, we wee each the young, unexperienced employees that got a shot when they canned seniority. Circle of life, sucks when it comes back around.

 

[Okie4570]

That's the current business model. Put the senior employees out to pasture at an age where its difficult to get a decent job because of age, and keep the younger lower paid employees.

Back in the day of Tboone Pickens, and Carl Icon, it was called Corporate raiding. They made fortunes doing it.

Yep, grew up in Bartlesville. Pickens was a lot of noise, Icon was a little more for real and came really close to being successful. My wife's dad was a research chemist for Phillps 66. He made it through and was able to retire in 1988. He started there in 1955. He had several friends/co workers who were transferred out of state or even over seas only to be laid off with in a year or so of retirement. More cost effective to lose the senior guy and hire two college grads for the same price I guess.

Sorry to hear undeg01.

 

[Larry Morgan]

Sorry to hear it.. I have a friend who is just waiting for the axe to drop too..

Dennis is right on this one. I've worked with a lot of salty dogs in my industry who have survived this stuff. They all warn me many times it's the senior ones to go. They are making the most and look like the biggest expense ON PAPER. But when you only look at the balance sheet, you are asking for trouble. You might think it'll be better to pay less for the younger employees, but you can't put a price on the tribal knowledge and wisdom that walks out the door when the experienced ones go.

 

[Shadowrider]

Sorry to hear your wife was let go. 13 years is a good start to just have disappear on you. I have a colleague whose sister was let go today too. She's still there, but once their divestitures close, she's gone. Sucks...

I saw this trend a long time ago, it happens in manufacturing too. I've managed to get myself self employed so I don't have a corporate retirement to fall on, but then I don't have to worry about losing it either and it's on MY terms. There are 2 sides to every coin and I'd rather set my own terms on my retirement.

 

[dennishoddy]

The only reason my wife still has her job of 40 years, is because the college grads can't or won't handle the work load she has to burden. She has no accounting degree, so every new corporate manager thinks she needs replaced with a wet behind the ears college grad. They stay there a year trying to keep up, and quit or transfer to another department.

Another reason that Icon and Pickens made millions is because when they hired on to companies, they promised a 10% increase in profits in the first year for a huge bonus if they could.

They did that by firing the older, higher paid workers, and hiring new young at low wages. Instant bonus, and they moved down the road for another business to rape.
They also did away with pension programs that workers were relying on to survive their retirement years.
Fortunately the 401K program that is mobile took that option away from the raiders.

All of you pickens worshipers that adore him for giving to OSU need to know it came from the sweat of the middle class that he screwed over to make his billions.

 

[Shadowrider]

They also did away with pension programs that workers were relying on to survive their retirement years.

Pickens and Icaan didn't invent that practice. Not by a long shot.

What got it going was the big unions demanding unrealistic wages and bennies after retirement. That's what got the ball rolling the direction it's going.

 

[dennishoddy]

Pickens and Icaan didn't invent that practice. Not by a long shot.

What got it going was the big unions demanding unrealistic wages and bennies after retirement. That's what got the ball rolling the direction it's going.

I'm not denying that some of the unions like GM and others priced themselves out of the market, but other unions like the sheet metal workers union my ex wife belonged to and worked for 30+ years gets a retirement from the union of $250 a month for the rest of her life.

Had she worked for a non-union company that offered a 401K for that long, she would be making well over that chump change retirement. She now is one of the retired people that live on SS.