The package is not that attractive to many of us in our 50's. We are not that close to retirement age but too old to find a job with a good salary. Many in my office share my view. While staying will also mean risks, most people I talk to see it as a better option. If I took the package, here in Dallas come January I would be one of potentially hundreds of ex-Verizon employees looking for a job. I know Telecom is not the only industry where one can find jobs, but again, at my age, it would be very difficult to find a good paying job in any industry. If they had not capped it at 60 weeks many of us would immediately sign up, but as it is, if I manage to stay for at least 4.5 months in 2019, it would be the same as if I took the package now so I'll take my chances. I'll hold on to my great salary and benefits for as long as possible.
17 replies (most recent on top)
40k?
Don’t forget benefits.
A job I looked at is 35k
2 weeks vacation (3 max)
6 holidays
Generic 401k no match
Bad medical with high employee paid portion. No dental.
No other benefits.
I go into this decision with the assumption I won't make over $40k/yr which will work for me for another 4-5 years. Mid 50s, 17 years. Is thinking I can find $40k job a dream?
Adding a little to the discussion. I would highly recommend waiting until you find a job to leave unless your heading into retirement. There is a stigma is laid off employees. Also especially for those over 40 the labor market gets worse. Let's face it that most jobs don't require senior level work and can be done by a 30 year old as well as a 50 year old. Good luck to everyone
I'm 55 and in Dallas and I'm taking it and running away from Verizon. with 2 more RIFs scheduled and 2 more rebadging rounds planned there won't be much left of IT.
Of 12 people riffed a few years ago in my group half have no jobs and are looking, 3 have part time junk jobs, one contracted back with the company eventually rehired and got the voluntary and the two people in their twenties took a year or two to get a job.
Where people wouldn’t hire 40 and over and definitely not 50 and over before I’d almost say the shift is lower than 40. So many college grads willing to work for minimum wage anyone a few years out actually wanting money is passed over.
There are exceptions in certain areas which may change to other areas in a few years.
A company complaines of a labor shortages in my area but they want experienced high skilled machine operators to work for 11$ an hour with no benefits. Others want similar high skilled, college degree, experience for the same.
So if I take it I know I toss my career any career. My friend got his CPA on to ofnorher experience and all it’s got him is short term gigs to outsource companies finance departments and him.
If you are mid 40s or later, and a white male, the job market is not looking to hire you. Regardless of what the news says, companies are not so desperate to hire an old white guy. I took a package in 2016 to leave. I am an early 50s white guy. No luck finding a replacement job at anything near the wage I was making even though my skills are current and I continue to update. Lucky for me my kids are grown, my home is paid for, and I have no debt. If I had to do it all over again I would have stayed and kept looking for new opportunities to hang on at VZ or found a replacement job before leaving. Maybe you take the Infosys offer suspecting that you will eventually get laid off, but maybe it does work out and you will make a descent salary in the mean time.
If you are an old white guy and ready to leave, I would recommend keeping your job until you find a replacement. Don't let a package tempt you because once you are unemployed it is not likely you will find a job quick, and the offers you do get will be for less than $50k a year. Companies want a young diverse work force and old white guys are usually excluded from their search regardless of skill set.
I struggled with this decision for the past two weeks, and after creating a detailed spreadsheet with various long-term scenarios (either taking the package or staying with Verizon), the numbers clearly indicate that from a purely financial perspective I would be better off staying two years with Verizon than taking the package.
That being said, this decision can't be viewed strictly from a financial basis - there are other things to consider such as what guarantees are there that I would be able to stay two years or more with the company even if I wanted to, what will working for Verizon be like after this (and potentially more) layoffs take place, how will staying with the company impact my health (you know you will be 'asked' to cover the workload of those who left - someone has to...), and what potential opportunities outside of Verizon may I miss out on if I stay?
I will be 57 years old shortly, and although I would rather have had this happen a year from now so that I could have had more time to prepare for the exit, after discussing this with my wife and kids (thankfully they are all grown and on their own) I decided my health and quality of life matter more than just money, so I pushed the green button on Friday.
I plan to go back to school and work toward a Certified Financial Planner certification and take my life in a new direction - you're never too old to learn, and change can be a good motivator to get people out of the ruts that they find themselves in.
I will definitely miss the exceptional people that I have had the privilege to work with over the past 12 years that I've been with Verizon, but I won't shed a tear for the company as I walk out the door.
fcx,
God is more concerned with your holiness, then your happiness.
40s with a lot of years are pretty on the same boat At least I feel that way.
Yeah if you’re within 5 years of service pension eligibility you will lose health insurance for life. It makes sense this is where the company will save most (since VZ is self insurance except for high cost cases)
Don't go. Stay!
Hans is bluffing. Worst game of poker ever. Your job is safe if you don't give in to fear and take the package.
Remember...."God is your source..." - Joel Osteen
"You and God are a majority" - Joel Osteen
Very well stated and so true across the company footprint. I'm in that early 50s group. When you sit and look at this offer the only extra to me is 60 weeks versus the normal 35 weeks. So if we say we really only have to get 25 weeks into 2019 and then we are whole. The hundred percent STI award? I have never gotten less than 85% so that figure is not that great I'm going to stick it out.
Agree, 1 wk extra is not enough to walk away, for some of us, if we can survive for a few months in 2019 it starts not to make sense to walk away in Dec.
I agree that for those in their early 50s, this is a tough choice. Especially when there is still a mortgage and/or kids in school. I really do believe that no job will be safe in the future and I can see Vz outsourcing even more than IT. They can survive without most of us by using contractors and offshoring. Don't kid yourself. IT used to be a really good field to be in. Today I would not advise any kid to go into that field. But even those outside of IT are no longer safe. I'm at the other end of my 50s with an almost paid off mortgage and kids out of school. I was aggressive with the 401k over the years and have many years with the company. I had planned to work for a few more years, but I don't think I could take the stress of worrying if I'll get tagged in the next RIF anymore. I am positioned well, so it's time for me to go. It was a good run while it lasted. I wish you all the best.
I was selected as an Infosys re-badge, so the choice was taken out of my hands. With the update, I either go to Infosys, or I stay until they are done with me (they are trying to get us off payroll before July), then get the package. I am 51, 24 years in. I need to keep a job w/healthcare, but I can afford to take a little less $$ as long as I get decent benefits for the family I am still on track for my retirement plans. What I have in the frozen pension is earmarked for college (and/or extreme emergency) - so the kids should be ok. I hate to HAVE to leave, but in some ways I will be relieved, and hope to find something with a much lower stress level than working in IT for VZ. Good luck to all!
I agree. I plan to transition to IS and use 2 years to finally add some new skills that today's market asks for (even my skills are more than enough to provide results in any environment). The key is how much I can get outthere on the street. My best guess is 20-30% less than what I have today. With kids in college and high school I can't afford it. In two years, with one kid out, I will see how it looks.
I don't have too much confidence in IS but could be they can find something else after VZ. Although I don't see how VZ can survive without certain number of us.
The beauty of this package is the guys have IT / management level skills so they should be able to find work in most any company and most anywhere they would want to live. As craft I have made 3 geographical moves to keep a job with this company. Anyone leaving on this package really needs to step away from the fear or the mind block that they cannot move to another city or state. I never regretted any of my moves and each offered new opportunities.
For us craft people, most of our skills are limited to the telco industry. We are for the most part stuck in this industry or a smaller business that may provide communication / tier 1 / tier 2 support to other corporations.
That is why we hang on for as long as we can.