I worked in a factory for a few months as a temp and a bunch of my co-workers that had been with the company for years had this exact thing happen to them, a few years after the 2008 crash. I believe it was a little different in that people were asked to take the change in their classification or leave, rather than being let go and then hired back separately. I know engineers that work outside of software that had to take mandatory unpaid time for the same reasons. I guess we just need to hope we end up with that "soft-ish" landing the Fed was talking about instead of a big recession or we're going to hear a lot more stories like this.
Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
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Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Contractors are well paid (per day) when they are in a "short term consulting role" for a company that doesn't need a permanent position. When the role is "a body for the shop when the workload is high enough", the contractor is the least valued class in the team, paid less with less benefits, and first to cut when load or funding drops.
Sadly, I've been seeing the opposite. My large company keeps hiring groups of contractors out of India. They are low-quality and low-paid and are there for minor feature conversions. However, we see the company keeping them over strong employees every round of layoffs. The levels of technical debt someone will have to deal with in the future is absurd.
> They are low-quality and
I think I know them, they are /producing/ low-quality /results/, but I woulnd't go THAT far.
Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#23Some places stipulates that if you return within some number of months after being laid off, you forfeit a prorated amount of your severance. This may make returning to the same company significantly less attractive.
Will this count if you're returning to work for a contractor, which is reselling your time back to your former employer?
.. it's almost as if auctioning off our collective talent to the highest bidder to build their machines of dominance and then getting kicked out of that bubble back into the world that now isn't allowed to hold their own opinions was a bad idea after all ..
Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#24Well if you are desperate for the job then go for it and just work bare minimum needed to keep your job. Don't go extra mile. enjoy some good family time. keep looking outside and dump them without notice once you get a better job.
Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#25I worked in a factory for a few months as a temp and a bunch of my co-workers that had been with the company for years had this exact thing happen to them, a few years after the 2008 crash. I believe it was a little different in that people were asked to take the change in their classification or leave, rather than being let go and then hired back separately. I know engineers that work outside of software that had to…
> end up with that "soft-ish" landing the Fed was talking about
That narrative died months ago.
At this point the odds of a recession are much higher than a 'soft-landing'.
Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#26Well if you are desperate for the job then go for it and just work bare minimum needed to keep your job. Don't go extra mile. enjoy some good family time. keep looking outside and dump them without notice once you get a better job.
Going the extra mile is rarely worth it anyway. A worker has to rationally evaluate whether their investment will see a return. Everyman can't be king, and not every employee can go the extra mile, else there is no such thing as the extra mile. There is nothing wrong with simply doing your job adequately. Let your more talented peers rise to their level, take opportunities as they come, and leave the workhorse attitude behind.
Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#27> There’s no way I want to go back ... making half the amount. IMHO, if a company lays off an employee, and then wants them back as a contractor/consultant, the tasteful offer is that the money doubles , not halves .
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Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#28> There’s no way I want to go back ... making half the amount. IMHO, if a company lays off an employee, and then wants them back as a contractor/consultant, the tasteful offer is that the money doubles , not halves .
1. Most companies aren’t in the business of making tasteful offers.
2. Why would they double this person’s pay? This person no longer has a job and needs one!
Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#29> There’s no way I want to go back ... making half the amount. IMHO, if a company lays off an employee, and then wants them back as a contractor/consultant, the tasteful offer is that the money doubles , not halves .
do you know why they are offering half instead of double? because they can the game has changed
well they might as well be heading into an extinction level event.
They might take their final crumbles before it all goes to 0
Re: Laid off by Big Tech, then recruited for contract work – at the same place
#30How does this pass the shadow employee smell test?
Because you are an employee, but of the consulting firm.
I guarantee that the consulting firm is getting a lot more for your time, than they are paying you.
This is becoming a lot more common, these days.
In many cases, doing this, is a good way to enter as an FTE, because the employer does a "try before you buy." I have a couple of friends that landed great FTE jobs, this way.
However, that is only if you are going to a new company, that doesn't know you.