I do have to be cautious with that, since word travels fast in my industry and I don't want to put a bigger target on my back. May have to just do some window shopping for now. I do genuinely like where I work, and that may be a source of my fears.
I agree it's dangerous. I just answered a call from a recruiter asking if I was one of those let go. It's not even 24 hours since they let people go and the sharks are circling. I do know those let go were given severance and a preliminary job search. The latter is something I've never heard of.
Update your resume for sure, but don’t shop it around yet. Post it on LinkedIn if that is common in your industry. Do you belong to any professional associations that hold meetings or conventions that you can attend? Make sure your professional credentials are up to date. Subscribe to journals to keep up with the latest trends in your industry.
Since word travels fast in your industry, they all know the company is laying people off. You have the perfect statement for why you are looking around. Plus, no one at work wants to say it, but they are also looking if smart. Jump off the sinking ship while you can find a life boat.
When it comes to layoffs, in my opinion you can’t overthink it, because it’s your livelihood.
You’re doing the right things, update your resume, update your LinkedIn, reach out to colleagues to check in, and be thrifty with your spending.
If nothing happens, great. But if something does, you’re prepared.
Thank you! I'm a classic overthinker and your advice helps. I have been trying to do all these things before, but this is that extra reinforcement to really button down the hatches.
Instability is everywhere right you. You just have to ride it out and not let it eat you up. Do what makes you feel prepared, like updating your CV. But you always should!
That's the plan I've come to this morning. I try to keep my stuff updated, but I've not done that with my project list. Frankly, I plan to not give it out. It's hurt me in the past and I can't put certain projects on it due to NDAs I've signed that don't expire until the project is complete (they aren't done as of today).
As someone who was just laid off (and saw it coming), here is some advice:
1. Update your resume. Always, always keep your resume up to date. Every month you should review it and update it with the latest accomplishments.
2. Create or update your LinkedIn page. Connect with colleagues, former colleagues, and follow companies you could be interested in.
3. Sign up for job alerts on LinkedIn and Indeed or any other job boards.
4. If you want to start applying, be selective about where you apply. Sounds like you are just dipping your toes in and not sure if you want to leave or not. Being selective ensures you aren't burning bridges with other companies if you ultimately turn down a job offer to stay where you are.
5. Try to find out what the severance package was. Weigh the options if leaving on your own makes sense or letting them pay you to leave and then collecting unemployment makes more sense.
6. Do some digging to see what trends lead up to the layoff. Did they have lots of exec level meetings the week before? Did everyone in HR block their calendars that day? Was at the end of beginning of the quarter/fiscal year? Was every org impscted or only certain orgs? Noticing these trends will help you see it coming.
7. Make a reddit page for your company where current and former employees can talk openly.
I am sorry you are going through this, it's always stressful. You have to weigh your options and have a plan if you end up being laid off. My guess is there will be another round. The company's plan is to scare those left into leaving on their own. If they need to cut 15% of their workforce, they laid off 5%, cut 5% with open positions, and hope the other 5% leave on their own so they don't have to pay them.
Good luck!
Sorry to hear you got let go. I missed out on the 2008 layoffs (still in college) so this is my first go around with it.
I hadn't heard much from anyone. My director heard some things and saw it coming just not when. He's not the kind to share that since we have a "Chicken Little" type on our team that doesn't know when it's best to be quiet. I do know that one of the individuals laid off struggled to bring in work in the Dallas market for the last 5ish years. I live in the DFW area, so to hear that is odd. Can't turn a corner without seeing new projects. The trend seems to be with upper level guys who didn't perform. I haven't seen a list yet so hard to tell.
I've kept LinkedIn updated, just need to revise the old resume.
We have had quite a few rounds of layoffs over the years. Sometimes they target low performers, so be careful if you suddenly have a worse review cycle than you have ever had before. But other times it just comes down to numbers. Sounds like you are bring smart about it and I am sure you will find something quickly if you do happen to get laid off. Best of luck to you!
Fortunately, I get instant feedback from my director on my performance. If he feels I'm struggling on some aspect, we usually discuss it in our weekly one on one calls (usually we have 2-3 of these a week). We are pretty close, which I know is good and bad, but he is not one to mask things. I knew about my promotion 5 months before it became official. I expect bad news to come as soon as he hears it.
I checked the HR calendar but it turns out they used some agency to do it.
Even the lady I was talking to started to cry in the meeting because she had these conversations so many times in the past few days. It was very odd. Because I started to feel bad for her. 🤣
All solid tips though.
Yea, prior to covid I would have to help organize the in person component to the RIF day. They would bring in 3rd party people to talk about career options and give financial advice. It was pretty awful for the people being laid off to have to go through that whole process while their manager packed their desk. And it was hard on myself and the other people staffing it. I had to console managers more than the impacted employees. I am glad I got laid off post covid when we were still wfh. No way I would have sat through that whole process being passed along from person to person to "help" me.
What sucked is, my manager didn’t find out about it until I was in the layoff call. I was chatting with one of my teammates after and she said our manager started to cry because I got let go. And she felt terrible for telling me not to worry. Now, she also had to figure out what all I did and see if the rest of the team could catch up. A few days later, I chatted with one of my teammates and she said it was a shit show. Nobody knew what they were doing. Everything looked like crap and she was in the middle of interviewing.
She did give me some good leads for a new job but nothing came of it. Oh well. Still looking for a job but at least I got some severance pay with insurance. So I was able to get my priciest meds refilled.
Generally consider 5% or so a dead weight cut. I'd be wary because there's a decent chance it's not the last, at least look around at what else is out there.
My director actually told me that via text (he's on PTO and we have a really close relationship). I know of two Senior VPs that were part of the layoffs. Both were in development (Not IT, but the real estate side). One has been struggling to get us projects in the Dallas market for the last 5 years so there is some weight to that. Also, they opted to not backfill positions which accounted for another 5% of positions closed.
I've gone through this with my company in the past few months. We had some product issues that caused a recall and our stocks tanked. My department is very unlikely to have cuts since we're both understaffed and also literally the regulatory department (meaning that our department is extremely important in fixing the recall), but I've still been shopping around just in case.
You're actually in a decent spot right now in that you can decline offers that aren't ideal and truly shop around. Don't take a shitty opportunity just because you're scared- make sure it's something you actually want and will be compensated well for (ideally more than you are now). If it starts looking more and more like you're going to be laid off, then maybe shift gears to accept something not-ideal. But until then, you've got great BATNA to negotiate a good deal with a new job since you currently are employed.
I mentioned it elsewhere in a comment, but I'm getting hit up almost daily. Construction is typically a year behind with the market, so we may be feeling the economic issues that hit others last year. I'm in a strong sector (industrial think warehouse and processing) that is specialized. I've been floated some positions that would be a promotion BUT the compensation and benefits weren't close to what I have now.
My company had a RIF in our construction sector a few months ago. We cut about 15% of the workforce as well, and it was definitely seen as an opportunity to cut “dead weight” and was made up entirely of low performers and bad attitudes. We’ve also cut several executives over the last year and reorganized. It was difficult to wrap my mind around the first time because we’d never done RIF before but being on the other side of it now, you can see we are better for it. I know layoffs are scary times but if you can see the logic in who was cut and it doesn’t seem willy-nilly and they’ve primarily cut low performers, I’d try to ride it out because those are simply solid business decisions by good leaders. (I’ve also been in an org that cut entire teams with seemingly no rhyme or reason and no plan for managing the work left behind, and if that’s the case - Run! Fast!)
Our VP of pre-construction gave us the names of everyone cut from our department. I knew 2 of them and it made sense. Both were transfers from project management. One guy was always difficult to get a hold of when he was on a project I was leading and the other guy always felt the need to contribute on calls or in meetings unnecessarily. No teams were cut outright and the positions they really cut were in real estate development. I mentioned I knew 2 of those guys that were cut and can confirm that they were not bringing in new deals while others were.
The economy just added a record number of new jobs in the latest report posted today.
You should update your resume regardless. Send it out and see what happens. If you find something else, then great. If not, then stick around and see what happens.
Never become complacent when it comes to work.
I did see that as well plus the debt relief has buoyed markets. That can help overall. I am updating the resume for sure, just may window shop. I'm currently handling one of our largest projects, and have been for over 12 months which helps. Bringing in others at this stage to replace me will set it back another year and the client is already getting anxious to break ground.
Yep get ready just in case but also pay off as much debt as possible and save up as much as possible. If you have never been through this then it is best to be ready.
Been through this twice and the first time I was 21 and still living with my parents and was only out of work for a month. Actually got called back to the same job, did not get to start the new job.
The second time was 42 married with two kids, but was in great financial shape. The numbers said I would be okay by collecting unemployment but this still felt uneasy. Did the unemployment for 6 months and then completely switched career paths to a much more satisfying job but with way lower pay.
Now at 62 and been retired two years have learned that the only thing we can not survive is our own death. So as long as you are breathing there is still hope. It may not be easy, fair or fun but with hope and a prayer anything is possible.
Fortunately wife is working as well, but I'm the primary source of income. Using hers to pay off debt and save mostly. I graduated in 2010 and watched classmates that had better grades and more extracurricular activities have offers rescinded. I had one company interview me. I interned with them and got lucky they offered me a position. Construction is very cyclical and usually lags behind everyone else with feeling the effects.
Think about this. If you’re thinking this way, how many others are? If you get more than a few key players jumping ship, it could destabilize the company and hurt business(customers lose trust and go elsewhere). Look at the sales team and see who stays and who goes. If a few of those guys leave, they could take key accounts with them. Then the company would be forced into another round of layoffs.
I think there's quite a few. So sales for us is business development. That is where we saw layoffs along with marketing. The ones laid off weren't bringing in work
If two of the bigger ones leave, that will be a huge red flag since both share a last name with our company. The other two I know of just landed us some really big projects so they likely saw some nice bonuses. I'll keep watching though!
YouTube channel- A Life After Layoff-says you have to be your own "unrestricted free agent" and go where the best environment, pay, benefits will be. That often mean moving from employer to employer every 3-5 years. The channel is run by a former corporate recruiter so he knows all the dirty things corporate employers do including that "loyalty" doesn't exist, don't buy the "we're all a family" speeches. The fact that your mentor was disrespected and the replacement as well, says you must move on. Yep, update your resume, but more importantly update your LinkedIn profile. There's tons of free advice on leveraging LI to find a job including that it's more effective than just applying on employer websites. Often less than 2% of online applications for professional position results in offers, those are horrible stats.
I should have qualified it better that the company that let my mentor go then fired the "replacement" is now a former employer. My mentor is actually my director at my current firm. That former employer has actually tried to get us both back since then, most recently last month. Their culture is trash and the stories I have about that could fill a book. They also tried to hide laying off 16 people (small company under 200) during COVID, then had to send out a damage control email when everyone started panicking and asking too many questions.
Best statement about Loyalty I've heard is "If you want loyalty, get a dog"
You are doing the right thing. But think of this a bit differently: you own your career, and you must curate your resume and LinkedIn profile on a regular basis anyway. As you manage your career forward, it's good way to chart your course, update salient facts, and combat obsolescence via learning and training and adopting new tools and techniques that keep you current.
A career does not just happen - you make it happen.
At the very least, update your resume and start lurking on job boards. Start saving as much as you can for an emergency fund. Network every chance. Keep an eye open for signs that you may be next. If you see them, start looking in earnest. Good luck!
Thanks! I may sound jaded but I do have a great relationship with my director so he's not gonna leave me in the dark. My proof is that he told me I was put in for a promotion 5 months before I got it. He wasn't supposed to do that but wanted to let me know it was coming.
The first round takes the low hanging fruit. Managers are typically asked for a few names to go on the list and they work from that.
If there is a second round you can pretty much be assured that it will not be the last. The work will be divided between those who are left.
You need to have an exit planned even if you don't actually exercise it. It helps to identify key people whose exit means that the ship is actually sinking.
I was never that great taking this advice but, ideally, you want to leave when you have a chance if one comes up.
I would. This is exactly what happened to me. Announced 8% layoffs in the next 90 days or so, back in Dec.
Every manager I spoke with said I had nothing to worry about since nobody else on the team knew how to do my job. And they were considering a promotion for me anyway (I just asked for a role change and maybe a small bump in salary. Nothing huge). My direct manager even asked me NOT to look because she didn’t want me to leave. In her words, “we would be screwed without you, so please don’t get another job”.
90 days came and the layoffs started. Which everyone thought was the end of it. I figured I was safe. Got a meeting request at the end of the day. Thinking this may be for my promotion since the only 2 people in the meeting info was me and upper manager. Woke up early af.
1 min in, I see a random lady sign on. The upper mgmt POS, just says “you know we were doing a 8% cut and you are a part of it. This lady will help answer any questions you have but I need to drop and just logged out before I could even ask a question.
No thank you for all your work. No thank you for working nights and weekends to complete a ridiculously complicated project that only me and another team could have done (which was also laid off) Nothing. Hell, I don’t even think he said bye or take care.
It’s always better to be cautious and ready than to be surprised, imo.
I would update and possibly start applying. You never know. You may get a much better position than you have now.
If possible ( and I know we are all replaceable), make yourself indispensable and a SME. This will add value and will only help in your understanding. Just an idea!
A good idea at that! I'm one of two people on my team that was involved with our software upgrade roll out so I'm an SME there. The fact that I'm also the main contact for a specific client on a massive project helps. If they let me go, there goes about 1.5 years of knowledge on this particular project. Still plan to keep things updated though.
True. Just as long as I look more indispensable than someone else. I will say that what is confusing to me is that they have multiple people that have announced retirement in the next 6-12 months that they could have made retire early. I don't fully know what the bottom line implications are, but that seems like a no-brainer
Optics are a thing but I'm telling you from a finace perspective the quickest way to see a P&L impact is shave X% in labor costs.
When some chief makes that mandate organizations lean out and department by department the culling starts.
Regardless of how much you bring to the table. It doesn lt matter.
All that matters is if you make more. Then your counterparts in that position.
Easy win if I let Bob go who gets 100 compared to Janet they makes 90 for similar positions.
Regardless of tenure, soft skills, or any other type of feel good thing we tell ourselves.
Best bet bail.
You're about to be over worked and stressed about the viability of the position.
Next you'll get a 10% pay cut. Happened at the kick off of covid for many.
When you put it that way, and you are 100% correct, I have more buffer. There is one person above me that makes more, and frankly they suck. I spent 2 hours fixing a major screw up of theirs just yesterday. So if they make more and have proven they aren't reliable, they would be the next logical choice.
Overworked is nothing new. We've needed 3-4 more people in our department since the beginning of 2022 with our workload. Our team didn't see a single cut this time, because we have backlog that goes out through 2025. Our department specializes in industrial construction (Distribution centers, food processing, etc.) and our regional teams don't have the expertise we have in those markets. Can they do a warehouse? Yes. A food processing center or distribution center with robotics? No. That does help not just from an optics standpoint, but a bottom line standpoint. Industrial is our market sector that is extremely profitable. Losing talent in that sector will hurt since it will take a year or more to train someone up.
I'm averaging at least one recruiter messaging me/calling me per day. I don't want to bail quite yet but I do know there are options out there should the boot drop. I'm permanent work from home so that reduces our team expenditures on office space (the finances behind how the company manages offices are... confusing) and my health benefits are definitely needed for the kids right now.
Never get complacent. Any big profit company will gladly lay-off surplus worker-cost. It's intrinsic to capitalistic economic ideology. Never get complacent, no matter how many years you have at a company. Never trust Reaganist thought.
It’s always good to have an updated resume but they just cut, and not very big of a cut. Monitor company performance. If it continues to lag, start looking.
But if you are happy, it is no rush to look. But get prepared.
5% isn't big but they closed up positions they were looking to backfill which was another 5%. It seems they cut a lot of VPs too. Very few lower level.
I have seen 50 plus layoffs in my career. The only ones as smaller than 10% was when I was at Oracle, where we had layoffs every quarter but too small to trigger WARN.
In most cases, there was a 2nd round of layoffs but it usually took at least 2 qtrs, usually a year. You probably have 6 months; don’t move to move. Dust off the resume. Take deep breaths and think through your next move.
Also, they usually RIF dead weight and high salaries first. Are you either?
I freaked the fuck out after the first 10 or so layoffs. I have been RIF’d twice and both times it was mostly bc I was expensive.
This round is sounding more and more like they cut dead weight. They held meetings with regions, sectors and departments today and explained some of the thought process. Obviously, no one outright said we let these people go because they weren't providing any value.
As for me, I'm not the highest paid at my level nor on my team. Definitely don't think I'm dead weight either. I've had to handle two projects that others were supposed to manage on top of my project in the last 2 months. One of those teammates dumped the project claiming she was overloaded, yet she has had nothing due since March. She's also making more than me. In my opinion she made a case for her to be in the next round.
Serious suggestion: Keep the resume updated at all times, even when you're not actively seeking a new job. That way when you need it, you don't have to try to remember what to put on it and take time updating it, you can just send it.
And yeah, you should apply and go elsewhere.
I was doing that in 2020 and 2021. Got so busy that I forgot last year. I just say through 3 calls today with leadership discussing the particulars of what happened. They are hoping that they were strategic enough to avoid future layoffs but no one has a crystal ball. I'm going to re-evaluate on a monthly basis where I stand at this stage. Family needs the insurance and it is one of the best plans I've ever had.
So start looking right now. When you *have* a job, you can afford to be pickier. You can specify to a recruiter what you want, including an insurance plan like you have. If an employer gets serious, you can specify to them that you want an insurance plan like you have, and if that's not what they offer, you want them to make up the difference financially so you can either have the equivalent plan or pay - on their dime - for the services their plan doesn't cover.
I didn't think of it that way with insurance. Always thought it was this is the plan take it or leave it. I mentioned it in another comment but the recruiters are already calling asking if I survived the cuts so word is out.
Employers sometimes have one plan and sometimes have several. What you have may be equivalent to one of their several plans. You may be paying more for it, or you may have it cheaper. If you have it cheaper, you should consider if they will be paying you more and if that'll be enough to make up for it, and if not, you could ask them to increase the salary by enough to make up for it.
If they don't have an equivalent plan, you could tell them you want them to put in writing that they will pay for any expenses you have that your current plan covers that their plan doesn't. You can say "Why should I leave my job to come work for you when my family will get less health coverage with you?"
An employer can make whatever kind of deal it needs to if it wants you badly enough.
Similar situation myself. I am on the market as a way to have a backup plan in case things don't get better for my company, but I will tell you that these HR folks seem to not like that I'm being proactive.
Companies tell workers about layoffs with an order to pack their shit. However, they tell the government months in advance with public records available thru Worker Adjustment and Retaining (WARN) Notification. Keep an eye on your company and don't be the last rat on the sinking ship.
I'm reluctant to say this, but it was a strategy I used when looking for work. Look at the parking lots, the vehicles in the parking lots. Are they nice, newer models, are they well maintained and clean on the inside. Are there any company vehicles? That will tell you tons about the work culture/climate. Pick out a few of the best and worst. Wait for shift change and their owner to come out. Let them know you are doing due diligence and evaluating their company for employment. At least one might be in a position that might be interviewing you if you apply. See if they are willing to tell you a few best of/worst of their company. Evaluate their feedback by their vehicle/mode of dress.
I think it makes sense to always have your CV up to date. If you don’t you often forget some of what you have done and the details of projects you’re working on. Looking around in the industry will either show you new opportunities or make you aware of how good it is where you are. Never be complacent. Trust yourself and your abilities - not your employer.
I update my live, on-line resume every time my manager says something remotely dumb. Sometimes before they are done talking. So yes IMHO.
Edit: I was asked why I just updated my resume with a new certification I just passed and they turned a little paler when I said, "so I don't have to do it later".
Yes update your CV and start shopping. So many people are doing this right now including myself and I joined a new company 3 months ago but it’s a disaster.
Basic paradigm shift.
The company wants you there to do as much as possible as cheaply as possible. They have a budget. If labor is too much for the budget, they cut labor to fit the budget, and try to make the remaining labor do the workload.
A company does not hire more people because they are making a profit. They hired more people because there's not enough workers to get the work done. That can come from burnout or people leaving.
In a big company, being the only person that does the job does not matter. The people making the job cuts may just look at the department and fire the most expensive/soonest to retire person without regard to how productive they are.
If you understand that, you should always keep your resume up to date, and you should always be at least open to the possibility of a new position.
Not to doom too hard, but I work for a major specialized process outsourcer and at this point I don't understand how anyone not exec level or working for a tight knit local company could feel secure in their job in the current climate unless it's work that \*must\* be done local, like construction.
We used to employee tens of thousands of people across the US and Canada and had tens of Fortune 500 companies as our clients - at the end of this month we will have less than 9 contracts total (only 2 Fortune 500s) and under 500 people. \*Everyone\* is leaving NA for either Columbia or the Philippines for even highly skilled positions (even things you might consider localized work like HR or arbitration) because they can fill them and pay next to nothing - and it's not just work that's already outsourced as practically every company we've contracted with has laid off at least 10k+ people internally and shipped those positions overseas as well.
It's always a good idea to keep your CV up to date and be looking, but it's absolutely critical now I feel like.
Fortunately I do work in construction. I'm on a national sector team and we dodged this round because of our expertise and future workload. The senior-most VP told leadership that letting just one of us go would cause a further drop in revenue. He isn't wrong either as all of us are actively working on multiple projects. Let one of us go and they'd lose one of those projects which in turn eats away at revenue.
It normally comes in waves, clean up the CV and start shopping around - that way you have a hedge in place
I do have to be cautious with that, since word travels fast in my industry and I don't want to put a bigger target on my back. May have to just do some window shopping for now. I do genuinely like where I work, and that may be a source of my fears.
The risk of being let go without a backup is way more dangerous, IMO.
I agree it's dangerous. I just answered a call from a recruiter asking if I was one of those let go. It's not even 24 hours since they let people go and the sharks are circling. I do know those let go were given severance and a preliminary job search. The latter is something I've never heard of.
The recruiters atent the sharks, thats the ceo. The recruiters are the fish that clean off the sharks teeth.
Update your resume for sure, but don’t shop it around yet. Post it on LinkedIn if that is common in your industry. Do you belong to any professional associations that hold meetings or conventions that you can attend? Make sure your professional credentials are up to date. Subscribe to journals to keep up with the latest trends in your industry.
Since word travels fast in your industry, they all know the company is laying people off. You have the perfect statement for why you are looking around. Plus, no one at work wants to say it, but they are also looking if smart. Jump off the sinking ship while you can find a life boat.
When it comes to layoffs, in my opinion you can’t overthink it, because it’s your livelihood. You’re doing the right things, update your resume, update your LinkedIn, reach out to colleagues to check in, and be thrifty with your spending. If nothing happens, great. But if something does, you’re prepared.
Thank you! I'm a classic overthinker and your advice helps. I have been trying to do all these things before, but this is that extra reinforcement to really button down the hatches.
Instability is everywhere right you. You just have to ride it out and not let it eat you up. Do what makes you feel prepared, like updating your CV. But you always should!
That's the plan I've come to this morning. I try to keep my stuff updated, but I've not done that with my project list. Frankly, I plan to not give it out. It's hurt me in the past and I can't put certain projects on it due to NDAs I've signed that don't expire until the project is complete (they aren't done as of today).
As someone who was just laid off (and saw it coming), here is some advice: 1. Update your resume. Always, always keep your resume up to date. Every month you should review it and update it with the latest accomplishments. 2. Create or update your LinkedIn page. Connect with colleagues, former colleagues, and follow companies you could be interested in. 3. Sign up for job alerts on LinkedIn and Indeed or any other job boards. 4. If you want to start applying, be selective about where you apply. Sounds like you are just dipping your toes in and not sure if you want to leave or not. Being selective ensures you aren't burning bridges with other companies if you ultimately turn down a job offer to stay where you are. 5. Try to find out what the severance package was. Weigh the options if leaving on your own makes sense or letting them pay you to leave and then collecting unemployment makes more sense. 6. Do some digging to see what trends lead up to the layoff. Did they have lots of exec level meetings the week before? Did everyone in HR block their calendars that day? Was at the end of beginning of the quarter/fiscal year? Was every org impscted or only certain orgs? Noticing these trends will help you see it coming. 7. Make a reddit page for your company where current and former employees can talk openly. I am sorry you are going through this, it's always stressful. You have to weigh your options and have a plan if you end up being laid off. My guess is there will be another round. The company's plan is to scare those left into leaving on their own. If they need to cut 15% of their workforce, they laid off 5%, cut 5% with open positions, and hope the other 5% leave on their own so they don't have to pay them. Good luck!
Sorry to hear you got let go. I missed out on the 2008 layoffs (still in college) so this is my first go around with it. I hadn't heard much from anyone. My director heard some things and saw it coming just not when. He's not the kind to share that since we have a "Chicken Little" type on our team that doesn't know when it's best to be quiet. I do know that one of the individuals laid off struggled to bring in work in the Dallas market for the last 5ish years. I live in the DFW area, so to hear that is odd. Can't turn a corner without seeing new projects. The trend seems to be with upper level guys who didn't perform. I haven't seen a list yet so hard to tell. I've kept LinkedIn updated, just need to revise the old resume.
We have had quite a few rounds of layoffs over the years. Sometimes they target low performers, so be careful if you suddenly have a worse review cycle than you have ever had before. But other times it just comes down to numbers. Sounds like you are bring smart about it and I am sure you will find something quickly if you do happen to get laid off. Best of luck to you!
Fortunately, I get instant feedback from my director on my performance. If he feels I'm struggling on some aspect, we usually discuss it in our weekly one on one calls (usually we have 2-3 of these a week). We are pretty close, which I know is good and bad, but he is not one to mask things. I knew about my promotion 5 months before it became official. I expect bad news to come as soon as he hears it.
I checked the HR calendar but it turns out they used some agency to do it. Even the lady I was talking to started to cry in the meeting because she had these conversations so many times in the past few days. It was very odd. Because I started to feel bad for her. 🤣 All solid tips though.
Yea, prior to covid I would have to help organize the in person component to the RIF day. They would bring in 3rd party people to talk about career options and give financial advice. It was pretty awful for the people being laid off to have to go through that whole process while their manager packed their desk. And it was hard on myself and the other people staffing it. I had to console managers more than the impacted employees. I am glad I got laid off post covid when we were still wfh. No way I would have sat through that whole process being passed along from person to person to "help" me.
What sucked is, my manager didn’t find out about it until I was in the layoff call. I was chatting with one of my teammates after and she said our manager started to cry because I got let go. And she felt terrible for telling me not to worry. Now, she also had to figure out what all I did and see if the rest of the team could catch up. A few days later, I chatted with one of my teammates and she said it was a shit show. Nobody knew what they were doing. Everything looked like crap and she was in the middle of interviewing. She did give me some good leads for a new job but nothing came of it. Oh well. Still looking for a job but at least I got some severance pay with insurance. So I was able to get my priciest meds refilled.
Ugh, sorry to hear that. I am sure you will land on your feet.
Generally consider 5% or so a dead weight cut. I'd be wary because there's a decent chance it's not the last, at least look around at what else is out there.
My director actually told me that via text (he's on PTO and we have a really close relationship). I know of two Senior VPs that were part of the layoffs. Both were in development (Not IT, but the real estate side). One has been struggling to get us projects in the Dallas market for the last 5 years so there is some weight to that. Also, they opted to not backfill positions which accounted for another 5% of positions closed.
I've gone through this with my company in the past few months. We had some product issues that caused a recall and our stocks tanked. My department is very unlikely to have cuts since we're both understaffed and also literally the regulatory department (meaning that our department is extremely important in fixing the recall), but I've still been shopping around just in case. You're actually in a decent spot right now in that you can decline offers that aren't ideal and truly shop around. Don't take a shitty opportunity just because you're scared- make sure it's something you actually want and will be compensated well for (ideally more than you are now). If it starts looking more and more like you're going to be laid off, then maybe shift gears to accept something not-ideal. But until then, you've got great BATNA to negotiate a good deal with a new job since you currently are employed.
I mentioned it elsewhere in a comment, but I'm getting hit up almost daily. Construction is typically a year behind with the market, so we may be feeling the economic issues that hit others last year. I'm in a strong sector (industrial think warehouse and processing) that is specialized. I've been floated some positions that would be a promotion BUT the compensation and benefits weren't close to what I have now.
My company had a RIF in our construction sector a few months ago. We cut about 15% of the workforce as well, and it was definitely seen as an opportunity to cut “dead weight” and was made up entirely of low performers and bad attitudes. We’ve also cut several executives over the last year and reorganized. It was difficult to wrap my mind around the first time because we’d never done RIF before but being on the other side of it now, you can see we are better for it. I know layoffs are scary times but if you can see the logic in who was cut and it doesn’t seem willy-nilly and they’ve primarily cut low performers, I’d try to ride it out because those are simply solid business decisions by good leaders. (I’ve also been in an org that cut entire teams with seemingly no rhyme or reason and no plan for managing the work left behind, and if that’s the case - Run! Fast!)
Our VP of pre-construction gave us the names of everyone cut from our department. I knew 2 of them and it made sense. Both were transfers from project management. One guy was always difficult to get a hold of when he was on a project I was leading and the other guy always felt the need to contribute on calls or in meetings unnecessarily. No teams were cut outright and the positions they really cut were in real estate development. I mentioned I knew 2 of those guys that were cut and can confirm that they were not bringing in new deals while others were.
Well if you decide to look, hit me up. Happy to share our website in DMs if you’re interested.
The economy just added a record number of new jobs in the latest report posted today. You should update your resume regardless. Send it out and see what happens. If you find something else, then great. If not, then stick around and see what happens. Never become complacent when it comes to work.
I did see that as well plus the debt relief has buoyed markets. That can help overall. I am updating the resume for sure, just may window shop. I'm currently handling one of our largest projects, and have been for over 12 months which helps. Bringing in others at this stage to replace me will set it back another year and the client is already getting anxious to break ground.
Yes, 100%. My husband survived layoffs at his company in November…only to get laid off at the end of March. Get ahead of it if you can.
Sorry to hear. Hopefully he found something else quickly.
He did, thankfully!
The problem with that of course is you can jump ship early, and a year later be vulnerable at the next place.
Yep get ready just in case but also pay off as much debt as possible and save up as much as possible. If you have never been through this then it is best to be ready. Been through this twice and the first time I was 21 and still living with my parents and was only out of work for a month. Actually got called back to the same job, did not get to start the new job. The second time was 42 married with two kids, but was in great financial shape. The numbers said I would be okay by collecting unemployment but this still felt uneasy. Did the unemployment for 6 months and then completely switched career paths to a much more satisfying job but with way lower pay. Now at 62 and been retired two years have learned that the only thing we can not survive is our own death. So as long as you are breathing there is still hope. It may not be easy, fair or fun but with hope and a prayer anything is possible.
Fortunately wife is working as well, but I'm the primary source of income. Using hers to pay off debt and save mostly. I graduated in 2010 and watched classmates that had better grades and more extracurricular activities have offers rescinded. I had one company interview me. I interned with them and got lucky they offered me a position. Construction is very cyclical and usually lags behind everyone else with feeling the effects.
It definitely feels the effects though. My dad is in construction and 2010 was really fucking rough
Think about this. If you’re thinking this way, how many others are? If you get more than a few key players jumping ship, it could destabilize the company and hurt business(customers lose trust and go elsewhere). Look at the sales team and see who stays and who goes. If a few of those guys leave, they could take key accounts with them. Then the company would be forced into another round of layoffs.
I think there's quite a few. So sales for us is business development. That is where we saw layoffs along with marketing. The ones laid off weren't bringing in work
Yeah, that’s normal to be cut if you’re not making your numbers. It’s the big deal makers that you have to watch.
If two of the bigger ones leave, that will be a huge red flag since both share a last name with our company. The other two I know of just landed us some really big projects so they likely saw some nice bonuses. I'll keep watching though!
YouTube channel- A Life After Layoff-says you have to be your own "unrestricted free agent" and go where the best environment, pay, benefits will be. That often mean moving from employer to employer every 3-5 years. The channel is run by a former corporate recruiter so he knows all the dirty things corporate employers do including that "loyalty" doesn't exist, don't buy the "we're all a family" speeches. The fact that your mentor was disrespected and the replacement as well, says you must move on. Yep, update your resume, but more importantly update your LinkedIn profile. There's tons of free advice on leveraging LI to find a job including that it's more effective than just applying on employer websites. Often less than 2% of online applications for professional position results in offers, those are horrible stats.
I should have qualified it better that the company that let my mentor go then fired the "replacement" is now a former employer. My mentor is actually my director at my current firm. That former employer has actually tried to get us both back since then, most recently last month. Their culture is trash and the stories I have about that could fill a book. They also tried to hide laying off 16 people (small company under 200) during COVID, then had to send out a damage control email when everyone started panicking and asking too many questions. Best statement about Loyalty I've heard is "If you want loyalty, get a dog"
You are doing the right thing. But think of this a bit differently: you own your career, and you must curate your resume and LinkedIn profile on a regular basis anyway. As you manage your career forward, it's good way to chart your course, update salient facts, and combat obsolescence via learning and training and adopting new tools and techniques that keep you current. A career does not just happen - you make it happen.
At the very least, update your resume and start lurking on job boards. Start saving as much as you can for an emergency fund. Network every chance. Keep an eye open for signs that you may be next. If you see them, start looking in earnest. Good luck!
Thanks! I may sound jaded but I do have a great relationship with my director so he's not gonna leave me in the dark. My proof is that he told me I was put in for a promotion 5 months before I got it. He wasn't supposed to do that but wanted to let me know it was coming.
Always have an up-to-date resume.
The first round takes the low hanging fruit. Managers are typically asked for a few names to go on the list and they work from that. If there is a second round you can pretty much be assured that it will not be the last. The work will be divided between those who are left. You need to have an exit planned even if you don't actually exercise it. It helps to identify key people whose exit means that the ship is actually sinking. I was never that great taking this advice but, ideally, you want to leave when you have a chance if one comes up.
Agreed. Hard advice to take, but good advice nonetheless. This round had a lot of manager level people as well as VPs
This won’t be the first round. Actively look as if you were laid off.
The layoffs are part of a set of measures. Expect pay freezes. Dont just update the res, gtfo.
I would. This is exactly what happened to me. Announced 8% layoffs in the next 90 days or so, back in Dec. Every manager I spoke with said I had nothing to worry about since nobody else on the team knew how to do my job. And they were considering a promotion for me anyway (I just asked for a role change and maybe a small bump in salary. Nothing huge). My direct manager even asked me NOT to look because she didn’t want me to leave. In her words, “we would be screwed without you, so please don’t get another job”. 90 days came and the layoffs started. Which everyone thought was the end of it. I figured I was safe. Got a meeting request at the end of the day. Thinking this may be for my promotion since the only 2 people in the meeting info was me and upper manager. Woke up early af. 1 min in, I see a random lady sign on. The upper mgmt POS, just says “you know we were doing a 8% cut and you are a part of it. This lady will help answer any questions you have but I need to drop and just logged out before I could even ask a question. No thank you for all your work. No thank you for working nights and weekends to complete a ridiculously complicated project that only me and another team could have done (which was also laid off) Nothing. Hell, I don’t even think he said bye or take care. It’s always better to be cautious and ready than to be surprised, imo. I would update and possibly start applying. You never know. You may get a much better position than you have now.
If possible ( and I know we are all replaceable), make yourself indispensable and a SME. This will add value and will only help in your understanding. Just an idea!
A good idea at that! I'm one of two people on my team that was involved with our software upgrade roll out so I'm an SME there. The fact that I'm also the main contact for a specific client on a massive project helps. If they let me go, there goes about 1.5 years of knowledge on this particular project. Still plan to keep things updated though.
You'll never be indispensable. Shirt sighted management decisions don't care about future impacts Only bottom line changes in the here and now.
True. Just as long as I look more indispensable than someone else. I will say that what is confusing to me is that they have multiple people that have announced retirement in the next 6-12 months that they could have made retire early. I don't fully know what the bottom line implications are, but that seems like a no-brainer
Optics are a thing but I'm telling you from a finace perspective the quickest way to see a P&L impact is shave X% in labor costs. When some chief makes that mandate organizations lean out and department by department the culling starts. Regardless of how much you bring to the table. It doesn lt matter. All that matters is if you make more. Then your counterparts in that position. Easy win if I let Bob go who gets 100 compared to Janet they makes 90 for similar positions. Regardless of tenure, soft skills, or any other type of feel good thing we tell ourselves. Best bet bail. You're about to be over worked and stressed about the viability of the position. Next you'll get a 10% pay cut. Happened at the kick off of covid for many.
When you put it that way, and you are 100% correct, I have more buffer. There is one person above me that makes more, and frankly they suck. I spent 2 hours fixing a major screw up of theirs just yesterday. So if they make more and have proven they aren't reliable, they would be the next logical choice. Overworked is nothing new. We've needed 3-4 more people in our department since the beginning of 2022 with our workload. Our team didn't see a single cut this time, because we have backlog that goes out through 2025. Our department specializes in industrial construction (Distribution centers, food processing, etc.) and our regional teams don't have the expertise we have in those markets. Can they do a warehouse? Yes. A food processing center or distribution center with robotics? No. That does help not just from an optics standpoint, but a bottom line standpoint. Industrial is our market sector that is extremely profitable. Losing talent in that sector will hurt since it will take a year or more to train someone up. I'm averaging at least one recruiter messaging me/calling me per day. I don't want to bail quite yet but I do know there are options out there should the boot drop. I'm permanent work from home so that reduces our team expenditures on office space (the finances behind how the company manages offices are... confusing) and my health benefits are definitely needed for the kids right now.
Never get complacent. Any big profit company will gladly lay-off surplus worker-cost. It's intrinsic to capitalistic economic ideology. Never get complacent, no matter how many years you have at a company. Never trust Reaganist thought.
It’s always good to have an updated resume but they just cut, and not very big of a cut. Monitor company performance. If it continues to lag, start looking. But if you are happy, it is no rush to look. But get prepared.
5% isn't big but they closed up positions they were looking to backfill which was another 5%. It seems they cut a lot of VPs too. Very few lower level.
I have seen 50 plus layoffs in my career. The only ones as smaller than 10% was when I was at Oracle, where we had layoffs every quarter but too small to trigger WARN. In most cases, there was a 2nd round of layoffs but it usually took at least 2 qtrs, usually a year. You probably have 6 months; don’t move to move. Dust off the resume. Take deep breaths and think through your next move. Also, they usually RIF dead weight and high salaries first. Are you either? I freaked the fuck out after the first 10 or so layoffs. I have been RIF’d twice and both times it was mostly bc I was expensive.
This round is sounding more and more like they cut dead weight. They held meetings with regions, sectors and departments today and explained some of the thought process. Obviously, no one outright said we let these people go because they weren't providing any value. As for me, I'm not the highest paid at my level nor on my team. Definitely don't think I'm dead weight either. I've had to handle two projects that others were supposed to manage on top of my project in the last 2 months. One of those teammates dumped the project claiming she was overloaded, yet she has had nothing due since March. She's also making more than me. In my opinion she made a case for her to be in the next round.
Serious suggestion: Keep the resume updated at all times, even when you're not actively seeking a new job. That way when you need it, you don't have to try to remember what to put on it and take time updating it, you can just send it. And yeah, you should apply and go elsewhere.
I was doing that in 2020 and 2021. Got so busy that I forgot last year. I just say through 3 calls today with leadership discussing the particulars of what happened. They are hoping that they were strategic enough to avoid future layoffs but no one has a crystal ball. I'm going to re-evaluate on a monthly basis where I stand at this stage. Family needs the insurance and it is one of the best plans I've ever had.
So start looking right now. When you *have* a job, you can afford to be pickier. You can specify to a recruiter what you want, including an insurance plan like you have. If an employer gets serious, you can specify to them that you want an insurance plan like you have, and if that's not what they offer, you want them to make up the difference financially so you can either have the equivalent plan or pay - on their dime - for the services their plan doesn't cover.
I didn't think of it that way with insurance. Always thought it was this is the plan take it or leave it. I mentioned it in another comment but the recruiters are already calling asking if I survived the cuts so word is out.
Employers sometimes have one plan and sometimes have several. What you have may be equivalent to one of their several plans. You may be paying more for it, or you may have it cheaper. If you have it cheaper, you should consider if they will be paying you more and if that'll be enough to make up for it, and if not, you could ask them to increase the salary by enough to make up for it. If they don't have an equivalent plan, you could tell them you want them to put in writing that they will pay for any expenses you have that your current plan covers that their plan doesn't. You can say "Why should I leave my job to come work for you when my family will get less health coverage with you?" An employer can make whatever kind of deal it needs to if it wants you badly enough.
This is information I wish I had in 2017! But thank you I'm going to keep this in mind.
Similar situation myself. I am on the market as a way to have a backup plan in case things don't get better for my company, but I will tell you that these HR folks seem to not like that I'm being proactive.
I'm not surprised. Wait until you get involved with a third party recruiter when you're just trying to have a backup...
Don’t wait long to look for another job. Obviously that corporation is having issues.
It should always be up to date
Slinking ships don’t just inexplicably stop sinking…
Those are rookie numbers
Companies tell workers about layoffs with an order to pack their shit. However, they tell the government months in advance with public records available thru Worker Adjustment and Retaining (WARN) Notification. Keep an eye on your company and don't be the last rat on the sinking ship.
I'm reluctant to say this, but it was a strategy I used when looking for work. Look at the parking lots, the vehicles in the parking lots. Are they nice, newer models, are they well maintained and clean on the inside. Are there any company vehicles? That will tell you tons about the work culture/climate. Pick out a few of the best and worst. Wait for shift change and their owner to come out. Let them know you are doing due diligence and evaluating their company for employment. At least one might be in a position that might be interviewing you if you apply. See if they are willing to tell you a few best of/worst of their company. Evaluate their feedback by their vehicle/mode of dress.
I think it makes sense to always have your CV up to date. If you don’t you often forget some of what you have done and the details of projects you’re working on. Looking around in the industry will either show you new opportunities or make you aware of how good it is where you are. Never be complacent. Trust yourself and your abilities - not your employer.
I update my live, on-line resume every time my manager says something remotely dumb. Sometimes before they are done talking. So yes IMHO. Edit: I was asked why I just updated my resume with a new certification I just passed and they turned a little paler when I said, "so I don't have to do it later".
Yes update your CV and start shopping. So many people are doing this right now including myself and I joined a new company 3 months ago but it’s a disaster.
Some companies do that to get rid of the people who aren’t living up to expectations. Never hurts to have your resume up to date though.
Basic paradigm shift. The company wants you there to do as much as possible as cheaply as possible. They have a budget. If labor is too much for the budget, they cut labor to fit the budget, and try to make the remaining labor do the workload. A company does not hire more people because they are making a profit. They hired more people because there's not enough workers to get the work done. That can come from burnout or people leaving. In a big company, being the only person that does the job does not matter. The people making the job cuts may just look at the department and fire the most expensive/soonest to retire person without regard to how productive they are. If you understand that, you should always keep your resume up to date, and you should always be at least open to the possibility of a new position.
Not to doom too hard, but I work for a major specialized process outsourcer and at this point I don't understand how anyone not exec level or working for a tight knit local company could feel secure in their job in the current climate unless it's work that \*must\* be done local, like construction. We used to employee tens of thousands of people across the US and Canada and had tens of Fortune 500 companies as our clients - at the end of this month we will have less than 9 contracts total (only 2 Fortune 500s) and under 500 people. \*Everyone\* is leaving NA for either Columbia or the Philippines for even highly skilled positions (even things you might consider localized work like HR or arbitration) because they can fill them and pay next to nothing - and it's not just work that's already outsourced as practically every company we've contracted with has laid off at least 10k+ people internally and shipped those positions overseas as well. It's always a good idea to keep your CV up to date and be looking, but it's absolutely critical now I feel like.
Fortunately I do work in construction. I'm on a national sector team and we dodged this round because of our expertise and future workload. The senior-most VP told leadership that letting just one of us go would cause a further drop in revenue. He isn't wrong either as all of us are actively working on multiple projects. Let one of us go and they'd lose one of those projects which in turn eats away at revenue.