L@@k!
:bummed:
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 65,827
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From: FCUK
Another bummer thread starting here 
I hate layoffs, it really brings down everyone else in the office, as well as the person that gets laid off .......
I was very lucky in the UK about 11 years ago, I was the last person to join the company, and then they started layoffs about 6 months later. I survived, but many of my friends didn't. I felt very guilty at the time that I was still in a job while my friends were being laid off around me .....
I hate layoffs, it really brings down everyone else in the office, as well as the person that gets laid off .......
I was very lucky in the UK about 11 years ago, I was the last person to join the company, and then they started layoffs about 6 months later. I survived, but many of my friends didn't
. I felt very guilty at the time that I was still in a job while my friends were being laid off around me .....
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 42,315
Likes: 45
From: Central Massachusetts
Unfortunately, it's become a standard practice in high-tech companies in the US these days, James. There aren't any labor unions for the kind of jobs many of us do, and management uses layoffs as a tool to thin the herds of folks who do the real work.
I'll tell you what really chaps my ass... When a company hires a bunch of new executives, and then lays off a ton of people. This is why it's good at the top.
That said, a company must react to major changes in economic forces. However, I contend that layoffs are almost certainly the result of unchecked expenses and bad hiring practices. It's the damn nature of "growth" which all companies seem to target.
I don't really understand growth. I say do one thing and do it well. Sometimes, sure, you can do more than one thing. But what good is a company that diversifies beyond all product recognition...
I point at the latest disasters in US telecommuncations. Companies that gobbled up other companies, and are now shedding weight. It's sickening.
I'll tell you what really chaps my ass... When a company hires a bunch of new executives, and then lays off a ton of people. This is why it's good at the top.
That said, a company must react to major changes in economic forces. However, I contend that layoffs are almost certainly the result of unchecked expenses and bad hiring practices. It's the damn nature of "growth" which all companies seem to target.
I don't really understand growth. I say do one thing and do it well. Sometimes, sure, you can do more than one thing. But what good is a company that diversifies beyond all product recognition...
I point at the latest disasters in US telecommuncations. Companies that gobbled up other companies, and are now shedding weight. It's sickening.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 65,827
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From: FCUK
[oink]I agree Charlie, many companies in the UK are now getting back to their core business and outsourcing their non-core activities. This is something that our company are getting involved in, we will basically take full responsibilty for all real estate needs for a company from development to management of the building. We are specialists in this work so can do it more effectively than having an in-house team, who don't have a banchmark to work against.
Too many companies started taking on work that they weren't specialised in, in order to try to take the profit from every part of the process, only to find that they couldn't turn that profit at the end of the day.[/oink]
Too many companies started taking on work that they weren't specialised in, in order to try to take the profit from every part of the process, only to find that they couldn't turn that profit at the end of the day.[/oink]