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Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

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Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#81

Post by ddsea »

After 25+ years as a SWE in the SV, I realize that layoffs are a part of business as usual. Some companies do it regularly while hiring at the same time (often abroad these days), some do it more often than others, but whenever there is a hiccup, the easiest way to demonstrate "leadership" is to let some folks go. I've survived many "restructurings" on the inside (true, morale suffers, especially when the procedure is botched), and a few times being a part of it. It wasn't hard for me to find another job earlier in my career.

Now, having worked for more than a dozen years at the same Co., and being over 50, I found that getting a job is much, much more difficult. Finally, after _many_ months of actively interviewing, I've landed a position. The funniest part is, after a few short months the entire department has been laid-off. So I'm back on the hunt - only now it's even harder for some reason. I suspect that my last work experience is triggering some ATS filter.

Thankfully, I was able to save a few bucks earlier. Meanwhile, taking classes, playing with Leetcode, etc. "Nothing personal, strictly business" as they say.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#82

Post by walshemj »

reledi wrote: post #71
edent wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was - and still am - a member of https://www.prospect.org.uk/ It may be more appropriate for you to join a union which is recognised in your workplace. You can find one at https://www.tuc.org.uk/join-union

Could you clarify what it means for a union to be recognised in your workplace?

This may be UK specific, but as Vice chair of the New Digital division of Prospect the quick version is:

Recongnition is where a union has a formal agreement to negotiate collectively either by mutual agreement or via the legal process (similar to the us system)

However unions will still represent members individually I have done so in the past.

The union that has the majority of technology workers who are union members is Prospect - this is tech in the widest sense.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#83

Post by ultrasounder »

edent wrote: post #42

Yup. Happened to me. Big corporate decided most of our floor were surplus to requirements. Got an email on Sunday telling us to be in early on Monday for an off-site meeting. Got handed my redundancy / compromise agreement and told not to return to the office. And, the kicker, told my non-compete meant I couldn't work for a competitor during the redundancy process. It was devastating and emotionally wrecking. It was…

Kudos on starting out on your own and love your landing page design. Very minimalist and mobile friendly.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#84

Post by bigred100 »

alchemism wrote: post #41
trollied wrote: post #23

I took voluntarily redundancy 15 years ago & got an ok payout. The company that let me go paid me handsomely at a contract rate for many years after Laws are different to America though. In the UK you’ll get a bit of cash & they have to give you notice. France basically have to give you a few years wages to get rid of you. I guess America essentially is a zero hours contract, because you don’t get any compensation if…

In the US, you are legally obliged to nothing more than the right to quit freely, and the right to be fired freely. Though ‘Severance Packages’ are very common for skilled/high-salaried employees, where you receive a payout of x weeks or months, negotiable but usually based on length of employment. This is done in part so the employer does not get a bad reputation in the market for skilled/high-salary talent. For a s…

That seems odd. I worked at a pretty bad (in terms of salary, working conditions) large tech firm and got 6 weeks severance.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#85

Post by redisman »

I entered the workforce full-time in 2007 so, yes. At my first company I was a Jr. Developer on a doomed project and was let got after my probation period of 3( or 4?) months. The rest of the team was let go a few months later. I had just moved out of my parents place so making rent was pretty stressful. Thankfully the market hadn't crashed yet so hiring was decent in my area.

At the end of my next job 1.5 years later. The financial crisis was in full-swing. We had a few rounds of layoffs, which was a scary and depressing experience. Compared to my first layoffs where it was just a quick matter-of-fact meeting with my manager, this time layoffs were announced and then we were left to stew about it for weeks. Our team made it for a few more months of uncertainty until the investors pulled out and the whole company went down immediately.

I have not had experiences like that since 2008-2009. With the next recession, I and many others who have actually worked their whole careers in a bull market will get a taste of some pain again.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#86

Post by YZF »

I was one of the few remaining people in a startup that employed close to 200 people at its peak. This was during the dot com bust and we faced customers cancelling orders and weren't able to raise any money or find any other way to continue. This wasn't a pets.com story (we weren't an Internet company) and we had a pretty good product with a great outlook 6 months earlier. We had a couple of waves of letting people go while trying to re-focus and somehow survive.

It wasn't great but the writing was on the wall. Those of us that stayed knew it was a long shot. I (and everyone else) got severance pay and I also had an exciting new job lined up by the time we officially closed through contacts I made while working in this startup. Pretty much everyone who worked there did OK as far as I know (some people from later waves went to places people from earlier waves went to...).

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#87

Post by sizzzzlerz »

madengr wrote: post #53
ido wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want to state how amazing it is that you could have a 40 years career as an engineer in SV while working in only 3 companies (I assume you are in your early 60s). I'm 36 and the longest I ever stayed in a single job was 4 years.

I not in SV, but an EE working same place for 24 years. Been through 2 rounds of layoffs, stack ranking, etc. Still here. The older I get the less I give a crap. I have zero debt (no mortgage) and 6 figure college savings for 2x kids. I’m really just here for the health insurance and technical challenge. Maybe I’ll get lucky with the next round of layoffs and get a buyout, then start a job-shop or consulting business…

You sound like my alter ego. I'm biding my time, looking for a good point to pull the plug. Like you, health care is my primary reason for staying even though I do like my job. If I was to be let go tomorrow, I don't think I'd really care all that much.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#88

Post by sizzzzlerz »

ido wrote: post #17
sizzzzlerz wrote: post #2

I’ve been working as an EE for 40 years, for 3 companies who worked or work with the US intel community in S.V. and have never been laid off. That’s not to say I haven’t been impacted. All 3 companies experienced layoffs while I was with them and some very good friends and colleagues were let go. Those hurt, often quite badly. They leave you shaken and wondering why them, not you, and am I next. It’s not being actual…

I want to state how amazing it is that you could have a 40 years career as an engineer in SV while working in only 3 companies (I assume you are in your early 60s). I'm 36 and the longest I ever stayed in a single job was 4 years.

Some of it is luck but I think my career path choice was a solid one, I am pretty good at what I do and I'm well paid for that, and I've never really cared to go chase those bright shiny jobs that promise a lot but rarely deliver. If I had, maybe I'd be wealthier but, all in all, I satisified with my career.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#89

Post by jkp56 »

edent wrote: post #42

Yup. Happened to me. Big corporate decided most of our floor were surplus to requirements. Got an email on Sunday telling us to be in early on Monday for an off-site meeting. Got handed my redundancy / compromise agreement and told not to return to the office. And, the kicker, told my non-compete meant I couldn't work for a competitor during the redundancy process. It was devastating and emotionally wrecking. It was…

The way you said it - "join a union" - made me think that unions may be a good idea in software if anyone can join and leave any time. This would be like insurance that funds a big nonprofit with very motivated (and well paid) lawyers. 250 usd / month shouldn't bankrupt a software dev and 100k such devs (a large corp) would bring 250 M/year. There's definitely a room for a few unions in the US with 200-500 m/year budgets. The first thing to do would be banning non competes at the federal level.

Re: Ask HN: How many of you have been impacted by a layoff?

#90

Post by yardie »

massung wrote: post #31

Personally, I haven't been laid off, but wanted to recognize that a layoff also affects those who weren't: morale drop, worry, survivor's guilt, stress leading to physical symptoms, etc. Sometimes, this can quickly lead to a downward spiral effect at the company. Productivity falls and whatever issues the layoff was intended to remedy end up being magnified instead. This is usually the case when - before the layoff -…

> Recruiters watch for these moments and jump on them like piranhas.

Really, that would be the best outcome. You’re retained because you’re valuable. Recruiters see that and think here’s someone I can make more money. Leaving a company for one that’s on better financial footing makes business sense.

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