Another Layoff

I didn't expect to be writing about another layoff this week, but that is exactly what happened to 10 of my co-workers on Tuesday. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't 30% of the work force that was given 20 minutes to leave. Now the rest of us are trying to figure out how to do their jobs plus our own. People will find new jobs and we will figure out how to get things done, but seeing co-workers given such a short time to pack their things will remain a sad memory.

We are at the end of March 2010 and small companies are still struggling to make money. Larger companies are making it that much harder for smaller companies to remain in business. The lesson I learned this week is that successful companies do not want to buy unsuccessful companies. They would rather see them go out of business than risk attempting to turn them around. There are investment companies that specialize in making businesses profitable, but it generally starts with a restructuring, which usually means eliminating employees.

I may still have a job, but will most likely be working every other week starting in April. So, my pay will be cut in half. This is on top of reduction income because of the low interest rates. The only bright side I see, is that the time off will give me a chance to work on writing and web development projects. Hopes of getting a slightly used vehicle to replace my 13 year old gas-guzzling truck look like they will be delayed once again. Because I expect continued weakness for the economy, I sold a stock fund that I had purchased only nine months ago. It was up 33% and I wanted to lock in the profit. I will wait until late summer and then check into that one again.