Going another direction

[NYWayfarer]

That’s the excuse the employers gave my wife last week when they let her go after 13 years of exemplary service. Her department is under new management and the wiped the slate clean. 

 

She is mad, sad, scared and relieved all at the same time. Feelings I had as well when I lost the job I was at for 15 years when we were only married for 4 years. Well 18 years later I am happy to stand beside her as she explores this new chapter in her life. It’s he least I can do as she did the same with me all those years ago. 

 

The new management let her go to bring in their crew. My father and I discussed this at length as he is a retired union worker. He blasts me with this wouldn’t happen in a union and I agree. I tried explaining how she wouldn’t want to work at a place that doesn’t want her but he doesn’t understand as he loves confrontation. 

 

In the end, I remember a conversation I had with a fellow employee that was let go the same time I was. She said someday you will look back at this moment and realize it was for the best as you ended up in a better place. I eventually did. I hope my wife does as well.

 

In the meantime we are a one income family. The chances of her finding a job that pays the same as her old one are slim. Even when she finds a job we are looking at a drastic reduction in the amount of money we were bringing in. Retirement seems soooooo much father away.

[Log Catcher]

Good luck and hope everything gets better for you.

[clark9312]

Hang in there buddy. I’m sure she will find something. My fiancé got into real estate almost a year ago. We were both nervous becasue she left a good job  that paid well but it was worth it! She’s made more money in real estate than she ever could at her last job. The real estate market seems hot for most of the country so that’s always something to look into.

[Jigfishn10]

Never seizes to amaze me how employers want loyalty to them but don't show any back?!?

 

Good luck bud, I hope it all works out.

[TOXIC]

As I wind down to retirement in a couple of weeks, your post reminds me of a conversation I have had with my Brother in Law who has been a top level executive with fortune 500 firms.  It revolved around who's job (his vs mine) was the best path to take.  He's now retired at mid 50's and I am retiring at 62.  I have been with the government for 34 years and he has bounced from company to company as is usually required with his level of employment.  There were a couple of his positions where he was let go for the exact same reason your wife was.  New management, new crew.  It's expected at his level.  No malice, no ill will, it just comes with the territory.  He was a top level exec at Pepsi and he told me there was a saying within the executive ranks that the day you got hired, HR fired a silver bullet and you spend the rest of your career dodging that bullet.  He made fantastic money but always knew there were no "older" execs at Pepsi and there was a reason for that.  I, on the other hand took the safe route and worked my way into an SES equivalent position with the government that I will be retiring from.  I don't have the bank that he does but my wife and I will be very comfortable in retirement.  His position is that although he is very well off, his job(s) caused a lot of stress, pressure and travel.  He missed a lot of his 2 daughters lives. Same for me but far less.  I relocated 4 times and spent 3 years away from my family.  Moral of the story is that every time he had to find another job, he did and so will your wife.  Look at it as an opportunity not a setback.   

[Crappiebasser]

Sorry to hear about your wife. I hope she finds something better soon.

 

Its sad the days of working 30 years for the same company and getting a decent retirement are over. Now days you have to keep your resume up to date and keep an eye out for better opportunities even if you're happy with your job. It's not always bad. I have been laid off 3 times in my life and landed in a better position everytime.

[greentrout]

she should not take it personal ... been there done that ... former stockbroker who watched up close and personal two big brokerage houses bought out ... big culture change ... beyond my control ... life goes on ... it is what it is ... hold her head high and go get another opportunity ... 

 

the best ...

[Sam]

Things happen for a reason.

 

You and your wife will be blessed with a better situation in the future.

 

Hang in there. It worked for you and it will work for her.

[Brew City Bass]

I don't have much life experience, but I know how much it sucks to get tossed out like a wet towel. 

You sound like a supremely supportive husband. It seems like a rough road ahead, but you've done it once, you can do it again. 

[lo n slo]

almost the same thing happened to my wife about 10 years ago. she then went to school to become a sign language interpreter, something she had always had an interest in. things were tighter for a few years but we made it through. she works for the public school system now and has her summers off....to babysit the grandkids. i hope everything works out for y’all too.

[CrankFate]

This stuff is normal now a days. Employers are no better than anyone else. Few people will have less than 6 or 8 careers now. Some people are screw ups and never have anything, no matter what they’re employment situation is. I can think of relatives who are broke, bankrupt, in debt and dependent on their parents to pay their bills, even while working and making good money. If you weren’t that type of people before, no matter what happens, you’ll never become that. 

[Bluebasser86]

My wife lost her job suddenly and without much explanation this past winter. She had been a good employee for the company that touted themselves highly as a great place to work but on the inside it turned out to not be the case. As scary as it was to be a single income family for a few months, especially with 2 young kids to care for, I knew my wife was miserable at her job and could tell she was relieved. Still, this is the second time she's lost a job out of the blue. Makes me even more glad I'm not in the cooperate world. 

 

You might have her check with entry level stuff with your county/city/state government, benefits and retirement are usually really good and you can usually advance or transfer pretty quickly. 

[ike8120]

The same thing happened to me I was a supervisor with 15 years let go, rehired as an hourly employee in a different department, best thing that ever happened , bad thing was my pay was cut. I have managed to survive and now retirement is looking at me. 

You and your wife will do fine.

[NE-KID]

Good luck to you and your wife. You both got this! 

[N Florida Mike]

I can relate to what y’all are going through. Like others have said, it has become the “ new normal “ for companies to ditch long time faithful employees. The same thing happened to my wife in 2014. She had been at her dream job for 10 years and had been a great employee as a business analyst.( I still don’t understand exactly what that is) Her company began a merger and they began to micro manage and started trying to find faults in her performance so they could get her to quit. She toughed it out for a year until she got another job . It turned out the new job was even worse, and she was let go after working 24 straight hours and missing a meeting because of it !

Since then she has only been able to get contract jobs that end after 6 months to a year. 

Her latest contract ends in 3 weeks so we are in the same boat. She is trying to land another full time job. I could live comfortably by myself on what I make , and come close to supporting her too , but we have relatives that live with us that are a huge drain on our economy and apparently don’t care. And my wife won’t put them out on the street with her big heart .

 

So I will probably be working til I drop . My wife will probably retire in 10 years and get a modest SS check. Hopefully she will have something to retire from !

We have each other and have learned that things really don’t bring happiness. It has been a miracle time and time again that we somehow are just able to pay the bills.

Yall have my prayers and support. 

[Way2slow]

I went by the battery warehouse today I've been dealing with for almost 20 years, to find a big note on the saying that on 31 May the closed the doors and moving it to their location near Atlanta.  The guy that ran it and I had got to be pretty good friends over the years so I went around back, figuring they would be back there moving the stuff out, and they were.  I talked to the my friend and he said they came in the last of the month and told him they were closing that location and offered him a pittance of a severance pay, a step down in pay and a job at the Atlanta location, or unemployment and said he had two days to decide.  He had to take the Atlanta location is going to have to drive almost 200 miles round trip each day, through Atlanta traffic.  Needless to say, most of his income will go toward cost of travel, but he says he's got too until he can find something else.  That's what 20 years of loyal service means.

[TnRiver46]

Just remember you are more important in someone's eyes than the birds of the sky that don't plant nor harvest nor store in barns, yet they are taken care of. Don't hesitate to ask us for help if you need it! 

[NYWayfarer]

Thanks for the support everyone. We should be fine. I have been taking advantage of extra hours at work. Sad part is it means less time to read and post on these boards.

 

It is scary to see how many folks find themselves in the same predicament. Losing your job ranks in the top three emotional impacts one can experience in life. The other two being divorce and death in the family.

[TnRiver46]

5 minutes ago, NYWayfarer said:

Thanks for the support everyone. We should be fine. I have been taking advantage of extra hours at work. Sad part is it means less time to read and post on these boards.

 

It is scary to see how many folks find themselves in the same predicament. Losing your job ranks in the top three emotional impacts one can experience in life. The other two being divorce and death in the family.

My cousin used to work at a federal penitentiary and he says family stress is way more enjoyable than when someone is trying to strangle you with your own neck tie haha

[NYWayfarer]

Just wanted to update everyone.

 

My wife took a temporary job at a local hospital processing payroll a couple of months ago. They liked her work ethic so much they offered her a permanent position.

 

She has been very happy working there and comes home migraine free unlike the days she worked at her former job.

 

As I predicted the salary is lower than her former job however it's not as bad as I was imagining. We joke that the difference in salary is the cost for her migraine "treatment."

[TnRiver46]

Great to hear! You cant put a price on health and happiness