Forums Archive Index > General Chat > Dunno what to say...
Date: 27 Oct 2006 6:32 pm
The owners of my company has deside to close down our stainless steel pipe mill and last bit of the melt shop.
Over 250 ppl will be effected by this desision at the company,and maybe over 200 workers that are hired from other companys that work with repair,wellding,construction,transport,building and other layed out work .
So maybe more then 450 ppl will lose their job/source to money in a town that has 13000 living there,maybe i will be one of them.
I dont work for the melt department or the pipe mill anymore but this is the same company so who knows, i have worked for the company for 27 years but my job will be at risk.
Maybe i will be unemployed in the summer 2007,well negotiation with the union will start next week.
The negotiations will be finished befor christmas,so some ppl will get a very sad christmas present this year.
Wish me luck
Regards
HGK
Date: 27 Oct 2006 6:35 pm
Lots of luck there. There is a lot of job insecurities around here and there have been major employers shut down. It's not nice at any time, but like you say Christmas is coming and that just plain sucks!
Sherri
Date: 27 Oct 2006 11:23 pm
HGK,
We hope and pray the best for you......please keep us posted, because we do care.
You may have to go "world-wide" with your cooker guys..... :shock:
Frank D.
Date: 27 Oct 2006 11:33 pm
Best of luck.
I've been there 3 times myself.
The only thing one can tell themselves when/if it happens is..
When one door closes, another will open.
Keep the faith and just start looking at your options as you are.
Date: 28 Oct 2006 3:55 am
HG
My thoughts and prayers are with you. Changing jobs is scary - I've been through it a few times and every time has been for the better, though it didn't always seem like it at the time. You are obviously intelligent and loyal....and any company would be lucky to have you.
Paula
Date: 28 Oct 2006 6:52 am
Best of luck HGK. As Ramit said, I've been there a couple times too. Company closings are never good for a family, or a community. I'll be praying for yours.
Walt
Date: 28 Oct 2006 1:50 pm
You're not alone as you can see, we all have been there, and may be again someday. The future is never certain, for any of us. I'll be praying for you as I do for Will and his family, Walt and his, Joe and his and Emmo and his, along with all of our members.
Date: 28 Oct 2006 5:33 pm
Thanks for the support guys and gals,it feels good to have a place were you can let out some steam.
Dont know whats wrong with me but i havent told wife and kids yet about whats going on.
I have had problems on focusing on what im doing this weekend,wife asked me today if i still was on this planet.
I said yes and whent out to the garage and tryed to get some bodywork done on my sons Pontiac Firebird.
But all that happend was that i smoked some cigars and had some beers,feels like im gonna be paralyzed untill December when the final word of this is matter is set in stone.
Anyway i have to talk to the family tomorrow before they read about this in the mondays newspaper,if they read about this and i havent told them i will feel like coward.
Happy Halloween...
Date: 28 Oct 2006 6:43 pm
HGK,
I feel like you described my own feelings when I have uncertainty in my life. I hate it. But you know, it does no one any good including yourself and you can't do a single thing about it, it's out of your hands.
All you can do is try to get something else lined up, just in case. I have found that if you take proactive steps to any problem that arises, it at makes you feel better.
Do things like update your resume, start watching the ads, talk to people you know, etc. Small steps do wonders for the old outlook on life. You might want to think about who you could talk to at work to try to get a better handle on what the future may or may not bring. Dig around, play Columbo. :wink:
I do understand though. A hug from the wife can do wonders too.
Date: 28 Oct 2006 7:09 pm
Some poeple says that i have skills...
Anyway the problem with my so called skills is that i dont have them on paper,all i know is what i have learned from trail and error so im just selflearned.
No company would hire me for my skills without any papers/licens on what i can do.
Guess i can do some under the table money work for some time to help my economy,but if things go bad i need a real job.
During my life i have learned a lot of stuff like car mechanics,electric installation,plumbing,carpenting,weelding,metalwork,rooflaying,cooking and lots of other stuff.
So im gonna take a week vacation soon to think and focus on what i will do or what i would like to get an education to get a new job.
I need to come up with a plan what i should do if i get unemployed next year,thats it...
Date: 28 Oct 2006 7:25 pm
HGK,
I've been there, and we all care.
It is normal to feel like you do. Here are some things I have found helpful.
1) You have no control on the outcome of this, so worry is a useless emotion. Use your energy to prepare for the worse, and then pray for the best.
2) you cannot do much about what the company does, but there ARE things you can do. Prepare your resume. Write down contacts who could help you with a possible needed job. Check into job retraining. Check out the local college to see what they offer.
Go to the library and checxk out books on job retraining, interviews, etc. you are not the first one to face this. Doing these things may not seem like much, but it gives you control over some things.
You do not know if a storm is coming, but you can prepare for it, and if it comes, preparing is what makes you land on your feet when it is over.
3) Tell the wife and kids...and tell them what you plan on doing. They can be your biggest strength. your wife married you for better or for worse....she can help you through this.
I hope this helps. Try to eat and sleep and live healthy. That keeps your emotions on track. Do not give into a defeatist attitude. You can and will prevail. Just doing these things helps keep you in control.
4) Find a good friend or two that you can lean on and be a compass for you. keep prespective.
Keep us posted, we care.
Frank D.
Date: 28 Oct 2006 10:21 pm
I can understand the hesitation in not telling the family.
The 1st time it happened to me, I just didn't want to go home.
Never mind the shock.
There was no real warning. 10 of us , the newest in the company got it.
Then the other layoffs that were coming, were rumored and happened about every week.
But as the other folks said before, it's nothing you've done or haven't done. Companies small and large now adays are concerned about one thing, bottom dollar at the end of the day. Company loyalty to the workers just doesn't exist now a days. If it does, it's a rarity and or a very small company.
You and your family have time to get a plan in place. Start saving, figuring where you can cut back. Get some plans into place. Right now you have time on your side. That's a good thing in a tough situation.
I'm not sure what your government offers. But state by state in the US it's different. In NY when your laid off from a company closing/jobs being outsourced, the state offers training/schooling. Twice the closing companies I were laid off from offered outplacement services that helped with resume writing and mailing lists, job searches, job fairs and even stationary/envelopes and postage. So if you do get laid off, listen carefully to what they maybe offering. Even if you think something like an outplacement service maybe not be to fruitful, it does offer another avenue for meeting new people.
Two other items..
Basically covered it the above posts....but in summary:
Networking..
Now's the time to start.
Nothing wrong in telling the connections outside of work that your looking for a new situation.
If you are laid off...
Treat the job search as your new job.
Start at your normal starting time each day.
Put in 8 hrs towards it each day.
Make tasks lists, get organized.
Having lots of different talents and skills as you do along with a good work attitude really helps. That's a huge plus for being a key person in smaller shops, or to do freelance. Smaller shops will look for a more diversified person and just want to know you can do the job... less worried about the paper hanging on the wall.
As you, I have a lot of skills in different areas I built over the years. All have helped me open new doors after each layoff/company closure.
Keep blowing the steam.. good to vent.
Date: 29 Oct 2006 9:55 am
Bob,
Thanks. That was what I was trying to say, but you did it better then I did.
That was what I did 22 years ago when I got laid off. My wife just left her job and was 6 months pregnant. Just bought a new house. I spent three days per week job searching, and three days per week doing small construction jobs under the table, just to pay for the health insurance we would still need with a baby coming.
The Lord got us through. As a christian, you believe that He supplies all of your needs, and He puts you to work where He wants. He is your real boss.
Anyway, I really feel for those who are tested in this way. Even with my job, the city is always threatening job cuts, etc. we haven't had a contract in two years....arbitration now is a given.
Frank D.
Date: 29 Oct 2006 10:55 am
faithfulFrank wrote:
Bob,
The Lord got us through. As a christian, you believe that He supplies all of your needs, and He puts you to work where He wants. He is your real boss.
Frank D.
I believe in the Lord coming when needed too.
I had been laid off because my company closed, looking for work was tough, as people who were far more educated (more qualified) weren't even getting rejection letters because the market was so flooded with resumes.
I was doing my drywall, but found out that my soon to be born child was missing the middle of his heart. I needed insurance... fast. People kept telling me that I had to do more to look for work, although I was doing all that I could, and praying my rear off too.
Christians said that I have to do more than pray about it, I had to do something. I told them that if I say I believe, then I also have to trust too; otherwise I am saying "God, I believe what you said, but I don't really trust you..." (that's not a good thing to do with God!) and I was doing all I could as well
With interest rates rising, I figured I'd try to do a refinance while they were still low; although my wifes income was all that they would use because I didn't have 2 complete years of self employment, and I knew with 2 dependants we probably couldn't do it, so it had to be done while we still had only one child. Luckily, the numbers worked, and it was enough to refinance our house if things worked out.
Still no job and refinance not complete, My mortgage guy called and told us that the refinance could go through the next morning, all I had to do is pick up papers that night and drop them off the next morning.
I picked them up and had my wife sign them and before returning the "final signoff" in the morning, my wife started "pre-labor", still no job...
I walked into the house after dropping off the paperwork and the phone rang. It was the company that I had interviewed with, wanting to offer me a job. I gladly accepted the position.
Relieved and relaxed, and 15 minutes later, I put my wife into the car and drove her to the hospital to have our second baby. :)
Things worked out. Pray, stay focused and do all you can, and pray some more is what I found works for me... I strongly recommend it to others too!
Oh yeah, the day before this busy day was my other sons birthday! :)
Walt
(P.S.... I was smart enough NOT to say, "Honey, I refinanced the house, got a job, and packed the car for your trip, and all you did was sit there on the couch with your feet up and watch the TV the whole time!"
Date: 29 Oct 2006 6:20 pm
I'll certainly pray for you HGK.
Date: 29 Oct 2006 6:38 pm
HGK,
Can't offer you anymore advice than what the good folks here have already given.
But I will be hoping for the best for you.
I would hope that your 27 years seniority would count when it comes layoff priority.
Date: 29 Oct 2006 8:44 pm
HGK, I don't know what else to say because everybody else said it all in one way or another. I think taking a week off is the right thing to do and will work wonders. That was a good move.
Everything else will fall into place as the time comes. Best of luck to you and Godspeed.
If there is anything we can do, please do not hesitate to ask.
Date: 30 Oct 2006 11:13 am
I am also self taught in several skills, and had no documentation to prove what I knew. Here in the US, it is possible for a small fee to take college level tests to prove you have the knowledge you got on your own. I assume there are similar tests for technical skills as well to get advanced placement in a vocational college. That is something you might want to check into just to be able to show possible employers some paper work verifying what you know. I'll be praying for all to go well in your job situation. I've worked for 2 companies that "disappeared", been layed off, and been offered a transfer that was totally unacceptable from previous employers. I know EXACTLY the feeling in your stomach and the worry that comes with it.
Date: 3 Nov 2006 11:31 pm
Good thread. Been there twice over the years and somehow things worked out. I even got to be a Mr. Mom for six years and wouldn't change that experience for anything. I'm in my 8th year with my current employer and feel great about the company. But who knows what tomorrow holds.
HGK, as stated by others, get a plan in place while your still working. I know thats easy to say, but you'll probably sleep better. Tell the wife, then share with the rest together. You seem like a real talented guy. You'll be ok.
P.S. Nice story Walt.
Kevin
Date: 4 Nov 2006 5:25 pm
Well i have told wife and family,so they know whats going on and they dont looked to worried(maybe a good sign).
And Im gonna have vacation next week to work out my plan,and im gonna go to other possible companys to look for work.
Have asked lots of friends that works for other companys in the steel,lumber and mining buissnes to see if they can get me an job opening.
Date: 5 Nov 2006 2:41 pm
Good, I'm sure your wife and family have complete faith in, based on your talents and brains. It will all work out. Good reason to get out and meet up with some old friends and share a beer... the better part of networking!
Date: 5 Nov 2006 6:02 pm
HGK... and all of you...
...such insights and sharing through your experiences !!! :P
...if you are A GOOD PERSON INSIDE... THNGS WILL CHANGE FOR THE BETTER... ! ...regardless of the current seemingly "bad stuff"...
Dave...
Date: 10 Nov 2006 6:53 pm
This has been a very different/productive week for me in an odd way,i have called and visit 16 companys to look for jobs.
Today i got two phone calls,so next week im booked up for two job interwievs,one at a lumber mill and the other at a steel company.
So things looks a little better right now :D
Date: 10 Nov 2006 7:06 pm
HGK,
That's fantastic news! You earned an enjoyable weekend, please do so. :wink:
Date: 10 Nov 2006 7:09 pm
Thanks Marshall,im having beer and whiskey for the moment... :D
Date: 10 Nov 2006 7:30 pm
Well one more won't do you any harm. :D
Date: 10 Nov 2006 7:45 pm
A beer sounds like a good idea.
HG, I can't see how someone with your skill and personality is going to have any trouble finding something that you like if it comes to that. Cheers, here's to you my friend.
Date: 10 Nov 2006 11:02 pm
That's the way to get'er done!! great.
An impressive number of initial visits in just a week!
You have to be proud of that.. that's really hitting the bricks.
Best of luck on the two interviews!!
Keep us posted.
Date: 11 Nov 2006 6:40 am
HGK wrote:
This has been a very different/productive week for me in an odd way,i have called and visit 16 companys to look for jobs.
Today i got two phone calls,so next week im booked up for two job interwievs,one at a lumber mill and the other at a steel company.
So things looks a little better right now :D
HG
Good for you!!! I am a big believer in "One door closes but another door opens" - however we have to do what we can to make it happen as well - and you are!! 8)
Date: 11 Nov 2006 11:39 am
ramit wrote:
That's the way to get'er done!! great.
An impressive number of initial visits in just a week!
Guess i was tired yesterday cuz that turned out wrong,i have visited 7 of those companys the remaining 9 i have called and sent in my papers to.
Sorry if someone got confused...
Date: 11 Nov 2006 6:48 pm
HGK,
Good luck with your interviews.
An idea just crossed my feeble mind. Why not do a little research on these two companies.
See if they've been financially stable. Any news about earnings or losses? Last thing you want is to be a new worker in a company that is not doing well.
Have they been investing in new equipment?
Do you know anyone who works for them? Find out what kind of employee relations they have.
You may even want to interview them. Ask them how much business they have, how much work, and whether they have been growing their workforce to take on new work. Maybe ask about the type of equipment they have. Get them to show you around the place so you can see the working conditions.
Date: 11 Nov 2006 7:05 pm
Highwind wrote:
HGK,
Good luck with your interviews.
An idea just crossed my feeble mind. Why not do a little research on these two companies.
See if they've been financially stable. Any news about earnings or losses? Last thing you want is to be a new worker in a company that is not doing well.
Have they been investing in new equipment?
Do you know anyone who works for them? Find out what kind of employee relations they have.
You may even want to interview them. Ask them how much business they have, how much work, and whether they have been growing their workforce to take on new work. Maybe ask about the type of equipment they have. Get them to show you around the place so you can see the working conditions.
No problem HW thanks for asking
The steel company has been around since early 1800 and they are big in the flat area of stainless steel.
Lumber mill has been around since early 1900 and has mills in 4 other countrys,and they are expanding both in Sweden and the other countrys.
So on Wednesday i will go to interwiev on that lumber and sawing mill,Thursday its time for the steel work...
Date: 17 Nov 2006 5:49 pm
:(
Wednesday morning i was out at that lumber mill to see what kind of job they where offering me.
Well it turend out in a disaster real quick,first of the boss at the lumber mill asked if i can drive a 18-000 Kalmar forklift truck.
I sad no problem,he sad well we have to wait and see,so i took the truck out for a test drive and unloaded some conwayerbelts with wooden planks and beams.
We have the same truck at my work and i drive it almost every day,so he was impressed with my handeling of the forklift truck.
After an hour of driving we when back to the office to disscus my employment.
Thats when the problem started,he just offered me a fill in job till the end of march.
The regular guy driving that forklifter had broke his leg,so i was just a fill in for him till he gets back.
And i would only get minimum salery because i was new at the site,it dosent matter to him if could manage the job in a week or two.
After we disscused the salery for some minuts he aked when i would sign up for the job.
I said on this term i will never sign up,then he made another move,told me if he reported me to the unemployment department i would loose my unemployment money.
Thats when i told him that i wasent unemployed yet and would still have a job to the end of July 2007 if things go bad.
More or less i left the lumber mill office saying f**k you.
The job at the steel works was another fill in job for a guy that was on sick leave till end of April.
So i told the boss at the site to call me if they had some jobs that would last to September or October next year,and he was very understanding.
So if something turns up at the steel works i will grab it
Date: 17 Nov 2006 6:56 pm
HGK,
Sorry to hear about your experience. You don't want to work for a guy that threatens you into working for him anyway...
On the other hand; Anyone stupid enough to hire you under a threat would certainly regret it when you dumped a pallet of wood all over the driveway on your first day, accidently hit the overhead garage door on the second day, and put the forks right through the drivers door and engine block of his car on the third! (Of course it would be an accident... the controls of his lift are just a little "slower" in responding than the one you drove at the steel mill!)
He would feel like a real smack after firing you, and then having to pay your unemployment himself!
(Then before you leave, you raise the forks and put them in an upper pallet, raise the forklift 10 feet in the air, flush the key down the toilet, and dump about a quart of super glue into the key hole)
Of course you would shake his hand and thank him for the opportunity to work for him before you leave...
(Of course this is a joke, and I don't support violence, or intention damage anywhere... so please don't do this, although it would be funny in a movie!)
Date: 17 Nov 2006 8:16 pm
yes, sorry to hear about running into a creep..
But it'll happen during your search.
Just makes you sharper for the next interview.
Consider them warm ups for the right one that'll be coming.
Date: 18 Nov 2006 6:40 am
Walt, you sure have quite an imagination.
Date: 18 Nov 2006 2:12 pm
mrmom wrote:
Walt, you sure have quite an imagination.
"There is no great genius without some touch of madness" :D
I guess that's why I get paid to "think outside the box"... sometimes I am so far outside the box I need a map to get back home!
Date: 18 Nov 2006 6:12 pm
Walt wrote:
On the other hand; Anyone stupid enough to hire you under a threat would certainly regret it when you dumped a pallet of wood all over the driveway on your first day, accidently hit the overhead garage door on the second day, and put the forks right through the drivers door and engine block of his car on the third! (Of course it would be an accident... the controls of his lift are just a little "slower" in responding than the one you drove at the steel mill!)
He would feel like a real smack after firing you, and then having to pay your unemployment himself!
(Then before you leave, you raise the forks and put them in an upper pallet, raise the forklift 10 feet in the air, flush the key down the toilet, and dump about a quart of super glue into the key hole)
Of course you would shake his hand and thank him for the opportunity to work for him before you leave...
(Of course this is a joke, and I don't support violence, or intention damage anywhere... so please don't do this, although it would be funny in a movie!)
:rofl:
Date: 28 Nov 2006 5:31 pm
Well no new job offer yet,but the company owner and the union will have a meeting with all the employers Friday this week.
Hope it will bring some answers to all the questions i and the rest off employes have...
Date: 28 Nov 2006 8:20 pm
Keep your fingers crossed HGK. Best of luck!
Date: 28 Nov 2006 9:07 pm
We're pulling for ya!
Date: 29 Nov 2006 12:24 pm
I sincerely hope that things work out well for you HGK. Hang in there.
Date: 29 Nov 2006 1:53 pm
Walt wrote:
HGK,
Sorry to hear about your experience. You don't want to work for a guy that threatens you into working for him anyway...
On the other hand; Anyone stupid enough to hire you under a threat would certainly regret it when you dumped a pallet of wood all over the driveway on your first day, accidently hit the overhead garage door on the second day, and put the forks right through the drivers door and engine block of his car on the third! (Of course it would be an accident... the controls of his lift are just a little "slower" in responding than the one you drove at the steel mill!)
He would feel like a real smack after firing you, and then having to pay your unemployment himself!
(Then before you leave, you raise the forks and put them in an upper pallet, raise the forklift 10 feet in the air, flush the key down the toilet, and dump about a quart of super glue into the key hole)
Of course you would shake his hand and thank him for the opportunity to work for him before you leave...
(Of course this is a joke, and I don't support violence, or intention damage anywhere... so please don't do this, although it would be funny in a movie!)
Walt...will you marry me? :shock: If your wife says its okay? :D
Date: 29 Nov 2006 1:54 pm
HGK wrote:
Well no new job offer yet,but the company owner and the union will have a meeting with all the employers Friday this week.
Hope it will bring some answers to all the questions i and the rest off employes have...
HG
You know I'll be thinking of you and hoping for the best!!
Date: 29 Nov 2006 3:09 pm
Paula wrote:
Walt...will you marry me? :shock: If your wife says its okay? :D
Walt,
Do you have a Utah Mormon's membership card? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here.
Better hurry, her Bacardi's cough medicine will wear off in a few hours. She takes it as a preventive measure, even when she doesn't have a cold...every day... by the bottle.
One wife can be enough trouble for most, and two wives, isn't double trouble... no... its an exponential increase.
Date: 29 Nov 2006 4:49 pm
[quote="HighwindOne wife can be enough trouble for most, and two wives, isn't double trouble... no... its an exponential increase.[/quote]
Windy
Leave my expotential increase out of this... :oops: :D
Date: 15 Dec 2006 7:59 pm
Sorry if i have been away for some time,but i have been following my plan looking for jobs.
And i have got nothing that looks like a real job,only temporaty ones to fill in for ppl on sickleav or in ´heavy work loads.
Benn to two union/company meetings the last two weeks and only had more questions when i left the meetings then i had before.
But the final werdict will be next week Dec 20th,thats when the negotations is ower and the union and company will tell us what will happen.
Who knows,maybe Santa will bring something nice to me...
If not im prepared to start the life as an unemployd soon.. :(
Date: 15 Dec 2006 8:56 pm
Sorry to hear the recent new HGK.
Don't over look the temp work.
You just never know what connections can be made.
Are there any trade meetings or halls you can visit to start rubbing elbows?
Date: 16 Dec 2006 8:00 pm
Good luck next week HGK, and let us know how things turn out.