I can't believe what is going on with the company that I have worked with for over 15 years.
They terminated over 300 of us a couple of weeks ago.
They are closing their doors on Dec 7 and the rest of the folks will be let go as well.
It's just not stopping, everyday it's a new company or another friend being laid off.
This is just horrible, I cant remember ever seeing anything like this.

That is awful! I hope everything works out for you,Darius. The experts continue to predict things will get worse before they get better. Here in Michigan they are predicting that the unemployment rate will get up to 10 % next year. These are not good times.

They've laid off about half of our staff in the last couple of months. I just thank God I still have a job. My best friend is facing indefinate lay-off at a steel mill. It is really scary out there, but I've got a lot of faith in Obama. I think just his appointments to his cabinet are already having a positive effect on the economy, and he's not even president yet! Take that, useless, gimp-president GWB!

2009 Will be a double whammy for my husband and I. He has already been told that his job is being outsourced, and that he will have a choice of moving to the new company, at a 50% pay drop, or taking early retirement, as he is less than 1 year away from age 65. My point to him is why take a tiny package, and move to a new company for so little pay, when he can stay on full pay until age 65, and then start to collect his pensions.

As for me, my department is being looked at to be outsourced, and so far my job is flagged for elimination.

Oh well, we've faced this before, and we'll get through it again. We might have to sell the house, but to me, that's just "stuff". And stuff has never held much importance for me.

My job was outsourced to a high school graduate. I have an M.A. and was a librarian. The company saved a lot of money there....the long term effects...they don't care. And my 401k lost 50% of its value, so I can't retire when I wanted to...in July. Unfortunately, I don't have a husband to help bear the blow. That would make it better anyway.

Hope...for a better future.

We've just been mandated to reduce staff by 10% in all departments. Now comes the task of determining whose jobs will be eliminated.

I am glad that I am not the only one out there. I have had some positive leads/interviews and I have an excellent resume but it looks like I am going to take a huge pay cut.

Also I am part of a class action law suit because the company I worked with is in violation of the WARN act as well. But that could be a while if and when I see anything come from that.

It's a depressing fact what is happening to our jobs here in the US.

I think George Bush was and is a horrible president.
Our markets are a mess, we are in a war that we should never have started, there was no regulation and I believe that he thinks he did a good job. This all happened on his watch that makes him responsible. Someone tell me something positive he did please.
Thank God Obama has the sense to give the world at least an element of something getting done.
He hasn't even been inaugurated and he is giving us more confidence then W ever has.

It really is a grim situation out there. My heart goes out to anyone who has either lost a job or fears they will soon lose their job. Its got to be very stressful. I think most everyone has had to alter their lives a bit due to the financial crisis. Even for those with good and stable jobs, there is a sense that you have to pay more attention to what you spend, and focus on increasing savings accounts. Suze Orman said that everyone should have 8 months of their salary to be put in their savings account, but how many people can really do that? For those making good money, there is no excuse. But for the person making under $50,000 I don't see how its possible. Many people are living paycheck to paycheck and barely have enough to pay their current bills. How on earth do you save money? I am NOT a fan of these bailouts but if they are going to be implemented, I pray to God they work the right way. People are going to turn to doing some really desperate things I fear in order to make ends meet. I just scratch my head on how it was able to get this far out of control. In a country that is supposed to have such a "sophisticated" systems of laws and organization, people need to have their hides tanned over this foolishness.

What's also a shame is that this situation seems to have empowered management to be a little more abusive since the job market is weak and some of us don't have as many options.

Amen, Eddie. All of the sudden, we are suppose to be falling all over management just because we still have jobs, while they feel they can now use us as doormats. Just try refusing overtime nowadays and see what happens. I pray for all those looking for work. It always sucks to be unemployed, it's downright tragic during the holidays.

Just because there are a ton of folks looking for work, management hurts their company financially if they abuse their employees by holding "job security" over their heads.
I was pretty high up in the food chain at my last position and I estimate that it costs at least $3,000 to turn over an employee.
With the training of a new employee comes a bunch of head aches not to mention the loss in productivity for the company.
It's better to keep and empower the folks that are in place now.
Happy people make better workers and investing in your people is the best way to go.

Also these managers need to be careful because even though we are in tough economic times there are still good positions available.
Jobs are tight but there are still companies looking for good people.

A'ight

Edited for the following:

Oh shoot! I just thought of something positive that Dubyah did: this.

This has been discussed before, but I question the sincerity of Bush fighting this so strongly elsewhere but not in the USA- why not so visible here in America?

Anways- there are too many people that I have asked in my life that indicate that Bush has/had the penultimate worst presidency in their adult lives.

Back on topic- this economy is so frustrating.... people are so upset and stressed all the time (including me)- being in Michigan- this has the potential of being f**king unbelievably miserable compared to the baseline misery we already have.

Layoffs are going on all around the country now. Somehow I managed to hang onto my job when we did our cuts, although not doing the same role as before. It was a stressful time knowing that the cuts were coming and not knowing if your name was on the list.

All cuts came from management level including a number of VPs.

Good luck to everyone facing this or had their jobs cut. The economy is not going to get better anytime soon.

So the company that laid me off on 10-31-08 (after 15 years) has definitely pulled another fast one. They terminated another 600 employees on Tuesday and royally screwed customers who already paid for goods and services. They also did not honor agreements with employees/managers who stayed thru liquidation. They are not paying them owed wages, retention bonuses and accrued vacation after promising that if they hung in there through the closing phase that they would paid this money.

The retail stores were supposed to stay open until 12-7-08 and the corporate office was supposed to stay open and tie up lose ends until 12-31-08.

The owner of the company instructed them to lock all of the stores and walk away leaving millions in inventory behind, deposits not yet made and customers paid items abandoned in these stores. The company used in the liquidation is apparantly not being paid either.

3 Attorney generals went to the bankruptcy hearing and informed the mediator what this company is doing to its employees and this may have a bearing on the Chapter 7 filing.

Also someone hacked the company website and put a picture of George Bush and the owner as 2 of the most hated men in America. A lot of my friends saw it but I didn't get there in time.

What a friggin nightmare.

How a company can treat human beings like throw away trash is astonishing to me.

After 15 years of uninterrupted full-time employment, I was laid off in early April. Job hunting is an entirely different beast now, and in 2 months I've had only one interview, for a job which would require 4 hours of commuting a day and a 40% pay cut! (Fortunately I don't think I'll be offered it.)

The popular job listing sites (Monster, Hotjobs) seem like longshots because they must be getting hundreds of applications per opening, though I have been checking them daily. Any tips (especially in the editorial / proofreading realm)? Yes, I've tried to let everyone I know, or ever knew, that I'm jobless, and registered with three different headhunters / staffing agencies.

Anyone else new to the Recession Blues club?

While not new to the club, I have had a very trying year. Iam actually back to waiting tables full time to attempt to make what liitle ends I have left, meet. I made great money, and had a pretty easy job (commission based) that allowed me a great living for minimal hours. I would do 3-4 deals a year and make in excess of 100K, 2006 was 3 deals and well over 150K. 2007 I did 4 deals, and made about 80K, I thought, OK thank god for the savings, after I paid my work expenses and taxes, I earned about 40K. The S class lease did not get renewed when it was up in April 2008, and I went back to my paid for Subaru. I had a bunch of great prospects, and I thought OK its early in the year and you will be OK. Again I thought, well thank god for my savings. I let my health insurance slide to save money by July, stopped all excessive expenses like trainers, eating out, even coffee became a luxury. In 2008 I did ONE deal and made about 12K, after expenses I was in the negative earnings.

By October I had sold my furniture to pay the rent, been socked with a 28K bill to Thomas jefferson University hospital for liver failure, and had moved into a friends house. I was on the committee for my HS reunion, of the seven people on the committee, two lost jobs, one lost a house and a fourth moved in with her parents. The high powered clothing buyer is now doing facials in Manhattan, I am back to waitering and working in the recovering real estate market, (thankfully my island is recovering VERY quickly and things are moving again, so I should have a better year), the guy that owned a software company is working IT for a university now at a 300K paycut, but we are all moving on, and back. I will never have a credit card again, and the possibility of a mortgage is not a reality for a few years, but life will go on...

I had planned to retire this Saturday (55th birthday), but my retirement plans have lost @ 60% of their value. Right before the "recession," I was recruited to live in a horrible city (no gay culture at all) for a great job. I loved the job, so the city didn't bother me. Then the job was cut and now here I sit. I am screwed.

Wow guys. Sorry to hear your many trying stories. I'd go bonkers, that's for sure, if I were in your shoes. Becuz I'm an educator lots of cuts have happened. Luckily--so far & finger crossed--becuz I've been w/ my school district for 19 years my union "seniority rules" have protected me. The worst that has happened is that I'm only teaching @ 1 school this summer rather than 2, like I normally do & have for the past 19 years. So I've had to tighten the belt, so to speak, & dip into some of savings to survive for the next couple of months. In the fall, I'll go back to my regular hours. I was angry & complaining about my situation, but your stories have helped me put it into a realistic perspective. I'm in no way gloating, but simply empathizing. & truthfully, from what I hear my school district is nowhere near out of the woods yet. Thus, my employment status could easily change @ the blink of an eye. These are trying times, indeed, for all of us. I wish you guys all the luck in finding employment soon. Hugs & smooches!

My partner has been unemployed for two years. His COBRA has now expired. He recently fell in the shower and after waiting two weeks, finally went to the county hospital that provides indigent care and was treated for a broken wrist (he still had to pay a small fee). Our lifestyle has changed drastically down to the brand of toilet paper we buy. We are thankful for what we have and most especially that we quit buying anything on credit at least 10 years ago.....not sure how much longer we'll be able to keep that up as our savings are down to the nub. I need to be putting more money in my retirement fund, but we can't afford to do that right now....just as well I guess, it's lost 27% over the past 12 months.

Yeah, I'm going to several different stores to buy things on the cheap. My shopping includes going to 99 cents stores, buying generic brands of cosmetics & over-the-counter drugs, & ethnic markets for food (ie, Mexican & Armenian markets) are part of my weekly shopping routine now! If bulk is worth it in the long run then that too is a plus! Sales, sales , sales are part of my research & of course, who can forget coupons when need be, especially when they double them. As far as clothes & shoes are concerned, those are on MAJOR hold as of now!

I'm sorry to hear about all your losses.
I am a journalist and lost my job in March when my newspaper closed after being in business for 138 years. I've been doing OK so far but my severance package ends in mid-September. I don't know what I'll do then.
My colleagues who have been hunting for work since March tell me how frustrated and depressed they are because they have been unable to find jobs. And those few who have found work have had to take major pay cuts and hate their jobs.
We experienced journalists are competing against recent college grads who will gladly accept $30,000 a year. I hate looking for a job in an employers' market.

We are all gonna have to just ride out this terrible storm & truly believe that there's light @ the end of the tunnel. Otherwise, we'll drive ourselves mad, literally!

Ditto ... I hope all of you hang in there in this awful mess -- not of our making -- and get whatever strength you need from your loved ones.

My partner just got laid off today....after 27 years with the company...
Job eliminations, and cutting high paid people who had been there a long time to bring in people who will do the job more cheaply....
Very tough times still....

Yikes, I'm sorry to hear that, MS. I think there's no doubt companies look to eliminate higher-paid (read older) workers under the guise of "layoffs." My first job after grad school in the '80's was with a huge Wall St, firm and my then-boss, who was overseeing a "restructuring" my McKinsey, said to me "make sure by the time you're 50 you are financially secure because no company wants a 50-year old around." Luckily, I took those words to heart. I'm 48 now and I know that if I were to lose my job I'd be OK. I'd have to make adjustments to my lifestyle, but I'd be relatively secure and not in danger of losing my home or not being able to pay my bills.

While the financial "crisis" has definitely abated a bit, it's still a very scary world out there for too many.