Monday, October 6, 2008

A Rough Day...

Today, my company went through layoffs. It's the 3rd time this year and each time, just my floor of my office has had more than 10 people laid off. Today, it was 11 from my division's corporate office. Overall, I believe the total number severed today was in the hundreds in North America. Not just white collar. Not just blue collar. Just everyday people, who got up everyday just like me and came to work.

It's not a huge surprise.... Our biggest competitors and customers have done the exact same thing within the last few weeks. The automotive world has been hit hard. The Big 3 are no longer big and every company is doing what it needs to for survival. Since I have started with this company, just over 4 years ago, I have been through 9 sets of cuts. My prior company - I went through over a dozen, including a hostile takeover threat and eventual purchase. I was lucky to get it out before the company went south and declared bankruptcy. It has now been sold off in pieces.

I wonder if those who buy foreign, including my own family, understand what that means to those of us who work for American companies. I wonder if those in Washington, so quick to help out other industries, understand what the delay of help has done to this state's economy. It's not just one politician. It's not just the governor. It's not just the President or who will eventually win this election. It's not just about shipping jobs overseas. Like everything else, if no one is buying, we can't sell. It's not about quality - the numbers are there to support the fact that those "wonderful" foreign jobs are not that much better than the Americans. They just don't have to tell you they screwed up like the American companies do.

Sigh! People just don't get it. It makes me sad, really. Sad to know how bad things are going in this state. Our "one state recession..."

For me, this upcoming election is about more than what the sound bites, political emails, and humorous satires are... For me, it's about finding a way back to where we've been as a country. It's about making sure those who lost their jobs today can find a new one. It's about the fact that I have friends who have done the right thing but still might lose their homes because the government is only helping out the ones who got stupid and bought above what they could afford, not the ones stuck in adjustable rate loans exploding out of control. It's about my in-laws being close to retirement and now scared because they don't know if the money is there anymore.

I don't feel very good about the state of our economy or about how this country feels right now. I don't know who has my vote but I do know this... Who ever is elected - at any level of government - better get off their collective butts and do something to fix this country. A lot of people lost their jobs today that just wanted to do a get up, go to work and do a good job. So - you make their loss a priority and get this country straightened out. I, as well as every other tax payer, is not paying you to sit on your butt and do nothing. And unfortunately, that's all I seem to see anymore...

We'll be back to our originally scheduled posts tomorrow. I did have a blast scrapbooking this weekend with Tracy and Stacy and want to show you what I did. Today, I just have a hard time posting it.

1 comment:

Stacy said...

Wow - so glad you made it through this round of cuts...I was worried for you after our chat on Friday!

A very well written post - amen!