My head is on the chopping block.

[JINKSTER]

If It makes ya feel any better take a read of my career as a Precision Sheet Metal fabricator and Tool & Die level Machinist.

'85-'87 Turbocombustor Technologies Stuart, Fl (Sheet Metal/Burner Cans..left for better job offer)

'87-'91 Pratt & Whitney Aircraft West Palm Beach, FL (Precision Sheet Metal R&D Large Military Jet Engines/S.T.O.L. Nozzel Project...Laid-Off)

'91-'95 Dexter Tool Mangonia Park, Fl (Supervised an FAA Licensed O&R Department....Place got bought out and run into the ground by a woman president/owner who stripped the governments loan money and then shut it down..I found a better job just months before that happened)

'95-'97 Consolodated Precision Corp. Mangonia Park, Fl (Proto-Type Manual Machinist, Cryogenic Valves and Manifolds for handling LOX & Liquid Hydrogen...and???...Pratt & Whitney Called Me Back)

'97-'01 Pratt & Whitney Aircraft West Palm Beach, FL (R&D the F119 engine and Vectoring Nozzle Assys for the F-22 Raptor and then???...Plant shut-down...general lay-off)

'02-'04 Elliot Energy Systems Stuart, Fl (CNC Programmer/Machinist making all machined details for 100KW Co-Generation Micro-Turbine Generators..fantastic product...Company grossly mis-managed...and still dying a slow death...with only 18 months seniority I got nailed on the 3rd wave of lay-offs)

'04-'04 Piper Aircraft Vero Beach, Fl (Precision Sheet Metal Fabricator....got blown out from the Hurricanes and been unemployed ever since)

Feel better??? LOL!!!

The fatcats are selling us out...china is now the new frontier.

Drink cheap whiskey, buy stock in walmarts and learn how to speak chinese.

 

[PaceMaster]

Hang in there Jim--I hope you survive--not fair---best regards.

 

[sageronin]

Good luck to you Bro ... let us know what happens.

 

[jwcfbd]

UPDATE

Well the axe fell today but it missed by 55 people.

  First, thanks for the concern it means a lot.  

  Even with the outsourceing they are going to restructure what we are going to be doing.  The cut off date for the layoffs is late July 98 and my hire date is April 98.  If things go the way it looks right now it will miss me by 55 people.  If they go all the way to 7/98 that will wipe out around 800 people.  This will take the total number of people laid off to 2000 and upto this point they have been telling us that it would be somewhere between 1600-2000.  The one good thing is that they will be offering packages like early retirement and voluntary furloughs.  This will have a major effect on the number of people that will get laidoff.  To me this means that the buffer will be bigger.  I may not be totally out of the woods yet but atleast things look a lot better for now.



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[Revlis]

HEy Bro, Denver Colorado Rocks, and United is big stuff out there at DIA.

 

[Revlis]

Oh hell, Glad to hear it Bro, I'll cross my fingers for ya... I know how that kind of stress sort of turns your whole world on it's ear.

 

[shenoyp]

jwcfbd... hope everything works out bro... !!

 

[BigBSBusa]

Saw the story on the news tonight. I don't know a lot about outsourcing, but I am still skeptical about it. I know Delta (along with the rest of the airline industry) has enough problems, so this must have been a very good deal.

 

[BusaFever]

Glad to hear the good news J!

My father got laid off after 18 years of service in one of the largest steel mills in the country. Man, I know it sucks.

 

[SmiLyPR4U]

God is blessing you!

 

[Charlesbusa]

Sweet, glad you're still in!!

 

[Southside Playa]

Glad it is working out for now, hope it works out permanently. Always remember, God doesn't close one door without opening another.

 

[flrider]

That is good news Jim.

 

[paulos]

good luck m8

 

[jwcfbd]

Thanks everyone. Things looked a little better for me today as well. The so called master list shows over 100 people below me so that gives me an even bigger cushon to fall back on. As long as the company continues loosing money it is going to be tough on everyone but atleast for now there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[VaBusa]

I wish you the best...so sorry you have to face the unknown like this; sounds like it's far too common...

My Dad faced it for years and years, watched guys he'd worked with for years fall by the wayside. Luckily, he socked away as much as he could and paid off his home/cars before it was his turn...I just remember how hard it all was on him, but everything worked out...

Keep us posted; we're thinking about you...

 

[jwcfbd]

Thanks Michelle,
I'll be in the same boat as your Dad was. I'm trying to sell my house and if I do it will bring enought money that I can get caught up will my bills.

There have been a lot of people here that have been affected by layoffs in one way or another. I'm glad to see that it has worked out for all of you. This does help hearing from other people. When I heard the news all I could think was that I'm screwed and now what am I going to do. I now know life will go on and thing will work out.
Thanks again everyone.

 

[jwcfbd]

Here it is almost 7 months later and the ax is swinging again.  I'm not sure about layoffs for now but they did tell us that we are going to take a 7% pay cut.  This is on top of the 10% pay/benefit cut we took at the first of the year.  They are also changing our benefits again but I don't know how much that is going cost me yet.  By the time it is all said and done I am guessing about 10% cut total.  

  So that means a 20% cut in pay in less then a year. According to a news paper there are talks of layoffs totaling up to 8000 jobs.  If this is true I don't think I will survive this time.  I am down to less then 600 mechanics from the bottom.  All I can do is wait and see what happens.  Delta filed Chapter 11 last week and now they are making all kinds of changes.  The rumors are flying left and right at work but no one knows for sure what is going to happen to us.  All I know is I am sick and tired of this stuff.  Between the rumors, general attitudes, moral and stress involved in the past couple of year I've had it.  I don't want to quit but I am ready to move on.  This is a very difficult position to be in.  I like what I do but I hate going to work.  I don't to willingly take a pay cut by quitting but at the same time how much longer can I take it without going nuts.  I've reached that point that I hope I do get laid off.  That way I don't have to quit but I can get on with my life.  I do know if I do get laid off I will be heading back up to Maine and looking for a job up there.  Hopefully I will be able to find something close in pay if not more then what I will be making here in the near future.  We'll see what happens.   I'll post more info as I get it.

I did finally sell my house so all bills are paid off and all I have is my truck payment. I moved back home with my parents for now so atleast I have that going for me. One less thing to worry about.



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[PACIFICBUSA]

aaah crap....

pisser, J-Dub...that fuggin blows.

 

[stkr00]

Dam...

Good Luck to you. Hopefully things will settle down, or you can find something more stable.