The younger folks here don't realize how lucky they are. They're cheaper to keep, so they're safer. And if they do get cut, the job market is actually open to them. At 52, a layoff for me could be career-ending. It's a terrifying position to be in.
35 replies (most recent on top)
@b1 You would think that people who really need a job would be harder working.
@ea
You know what's funny about Boomers? We WORK. We (most of us) have worked hard all our lives. We went to the office. Sometimes we worked several jobs to support our families. And, along the way, we BUILT institutions like Wells Fargo.
Its only natural that we also talk about our experiences and shared history. Some of that is to teach you youngsters what happens when you get old and thrown away. Some of it is also a bit cathartic in that we can somehow find a way go move forward after letting it all out.
No one should ever scoff at Grandma or Grandpa sharing life's stories. Its how we kept our kids from making the same mistakes we did.
With respect to Wells Fargo (since this is that board) the new management has come in and totally disrupted the company culture, company morale, and frankly, institutional knowledge. Chainsaw Shart and Co. have really done a number on what was once a good bank. And a good place to work. I dedicated a large part of my life to making WF a sound and reliable bank for the masses. The new management is destroying all that. As someone who's been around, and thrown away, that's my take on what is going on.
@dw hey baby girl : Boomers are already retired. People in their 50s are GENX .
@af LOL
They don’t complain as much as you all. I mean sh-t. Never met a more entitled generation than Boomers. Let’s not forget the economic mess this country has been in the last 15 years is a direct result of your cohort. Cry me a fu--ing river you old fu-k.
So many fu--ing boomers. Good god, you all are a bunch of snowflake crybabies!
The company and world cannot wait until you are gone.
At a certain point, the raise is just not waking up afraid.
@an
WORD!!! ^^^
Mid sixties, in tech.
I probably get one oldster comment a day.
Vibe has been slowly changing as the generational gap becomes apparent.
I don't get asked for opinion much any longer, social convo's are geared toward stuff I know nothing about, and I got my first IM.
I am on my way out.
I know it. The bank knows it.
I either get the axe or retire from here.
Either way, I am done with tech.
Next chapter will be something totally different, part time, age agnostic, and fun.
@af
You for got #3....
- The " I heard tech is affected" guy.
@b0 I got my biggest raise last year because they told me I was getting paid way below my US based Indian peers.
It is traumatic. 11 months since my final severance. Unemployment ended 5 months ago. Age discrimination does exist.
Found this poem on Google last night.
An Ode to the Unexpected Exit
“The desk is cleared, the chair is cold, A story ended, prematurely told.
No golden watch, no parting speech,
Just dreams of leisure, now out of reach.
The calendar screams an open sky, With no more meetings to occupy.
A forced departure, a sudden slip,
Tightening the grip on a shrinking ship.
Oh, to have chosen the time to go, To walk away with a steady slow.
Not pushed by metrics or cost-cut rage, But forced to turn to an unread page.
Yet in this quiet, a strength might grow, To find a new rhythm, a different flow.
Though forced to leave the career behind, A new, uncharted purpose may I find.”
No luck finding a new position when you are almost 66 at time of layoff. Dreamed of working past 70 and capturing maximum social security of 25% more than retiring at 66.
Layoffs are going to keep growing with AI. Any position that analyzes data can be programmed in AI. There is no way to prepare for the layoff emotional roller coaster.
Over 55 and volunteered to get the package. Was told no because my skills are difficult to replace. Normally, that would make me feel good, but I want out with maxxed out severance. This place destroys joy.
@OP You were once one of the younger people that you seem to be lashing out at. Get over it.
@aj
U love their old j*zz on ur face don't ya?
52 is not old. Start looking now while you have a job, it’s much easier. I am the opposite of you I got hired a year ago at WF at 53 but I had a job. Believe me when I tell you the hiring manager can smell desperation when you dont have a job
We the young people are paid way less. God knows how many at lower title old timers are at high end of the range. Indians are kept in the team to be paid less.
Displaced about a year ago, age 57, found another job in 2 months. Ageism is real. At the end of the day you have to rely on your contacts, that’s the only way I got another job. Thankful, as new employer is great. WF was a good gig for my first 6 or 7 years, while the last 3 were awful.
@a1+1kgqqrm0
Someday you'll learn that time is the most valuable asset, and when you're young you have a ton of it and don't value it. Youth truthly is wasted on the young. So you're not in peak earning years? Quote crying, it's still the best part of your life. Someday you'll realize that.
I was laid off at 64 in October 2025. The severance plus the older worker benefit protection act paid is paying me through February. I was able to get Medicare as well as supplemental insurance when I turned 65. It is tough out there for old folks to get a job in IT. I have decided to branch out and deliver food to people in my ZIP Code for some extra money to supplement Social Security. The best part of it all is no more toxicity and anxiety from Wells Fargo. I am glad to be gone.
What a joke. At 60's trying to find a senior role in IT is similar to mining for unobtanium. IT is a young person's world. At 60's one would be in their high earning, capstone role and starting to think about retirement. Jobless at 60's? Give me a break. Its over.
If you get laid off in your 50s, you need to almost expect to take a very large pay cut if you still have to work. I did.
Found a job that pays a lot less than WFB did, but it's also more secure AND I am happier here. I don't log in every day and wonder if I am going be laid off.
I worked for WFB most of my life; I would say the last 10 years were fear-based, despite having skills and knowledge in a lot of different areas. It feels good to wake up every day and not worry about if I will get that magical Tuesday meeting.
I am a millennial and save most of my paychecks in the case this happens. I believe this post as much of my team that was laid off was pretty much forced to retire. My advice to anyone younger is to take this as a lesson. Save as much as you can and expect this to happen.
Wouldn't be a boomer circlej--kwithout the projecting troll coming to the rescue with another minstrel show
There are a couple people on this site whose mental health I worry about
- The troll who lashes out at “boomers” and attacks any posts about layoffs (but for some reason hangs out on a layoff site all day)
- The Fanta lady
lol at OP pretending to be someone else in @aa but could only think of changing his age by 1
Ageism is real. Been proactively applying for months and nothing. Also tried internally but the postings were so specific it made mobility impossible. I have used resume writers, job boards, etc. The struggle is real for those older getting laid off or that will soon be laid off. I am taking some courses to up skill which I hope will help the resume. Good luck!
53 year old here- millennial, you’ll find out one day. The OP didn’t say pity him about his current job. He said he knows the reality and that a layoff at this job is basically the end of your career. But you can’t get medicare or SS yet so it’s a terrible position to be in. Age discrimination is real and it happens way earlier than you think.
I was laid off at age 62 and found a position 2 months later as Contractor which became permanent.
Know your stuff, enhance skills that are transferable, have a strong positive attitude, and stay in touch with colleagues past and present
The narcissism of boomers and Xers is something else. Thousands getting laid off but poor him, he MIGHT, because he gets paid too much! lmao
Gen X snowflakes are now whining about how they hypothetically could get laid off...because they make more. Unbelievable.
Are there careers at Wells Fargo? It felt a lot more like a job to me. They paid well, but there is no career.
That said I agree that it's harder to find something in general right now. Moreso for new grads and 50+.
401k as ATM
Age is irrelevant. If your skills are not up to par, why should any company keep you? Just because your old and might have to start over? Cry us a corporate river.
mid-50's here who was displaced in 2024. it IS extremely hard to secure another job after being laid off at this age.
too young to retire, but too old to hire.
the best thing you can do for yourself is stay up to date on tech, get any and all certifications you can for your area and upskill as much as you can while you still work for WF.
for me, it would've been career ending had i not had something to fall back on.
i pray you don't get let go!
"Cheaper to keep" i.e. "lucky" to be making less. The Xoomer self pity never ends.