New data shows 24% of people laid off between ages 50-65 can't find another job.
Those who do? Average 11% pay cut.
Men take 15% hits, women 7%.
The wait is worse: 55-64 year olds spend 26 weeks unemployed vs 19 weeks for younger workers.
Many settle for jobs without benefits, crushing retirement plans.
Half of older workers expect gradual retirement transitions.
Reality? 70% get the full stop treatment.
Save young or work forever. There's no middle ground.
- Source: Center for Retirement Research/Boston College/WSJ
10 replies (most recent on top)
I was in a late 2024 Rif, I was out of work for almost 10 months. I applied for over 230 positions with around 10 interviews and several of those were 2nd or 3rd interviews for the same position. I'd never experienced being out of work for so long before, of course I was older than 49 at the time. I had really thought that I wouldn't struggle to find another job, I was a recent Masters graduate. How wrong I was, it got to the point that I was going to take the first job offer I got.
@b5 I hope you are joking. There are plenty of qualified Americans looking for jobs so the last thing needed is more H1B workers and jobs being outsourced. The Feds should deny the majority of Elevance’s H1B applications and start fining them for every single job they outsource
I was in a RIF last year. Out of work for over 8 months, and it’s hard out there. I had a number of interviews where I lost out to an internal candidate… when I really thought I was going to be hired. I came back, managed to secure a substantial pay increase in the process. I took the job without hesitation, after being out in a very tough job market. > 50, > 20 years in…. I have a radically different view now of this place. I’m going to just try to hang on until retirement, I will move afterwards 2 years into a different position, no more loyalty to the area I work in.
The trend at this company is that employees are expendible. Sr management doesn't see us as humans. They see us as property or objects. There's no regard for the lives they destroy as a result of their poor business practices and poor leadership.
The company’s new practice of rebadging older employees to other organizations while eliminating severance pay is unacceptable. It demonstrates a blatant disregard for long-term employees and undermines the company’s integrity. This approach is not only concerning but reflects a troubling shift in how the company values its workforce.
Sometimes you can be a high performance employee. But if you upset a staff VP on your day off, prepare to be rif’d, even if it’s 6 months later.
I did find a job after 6 months, it was 20% less. But my salary rose quickly and I was back up in 3 yrs. I retired last year and am truly enjoying the peace.
But I was surprised at timeline to find a new position.
Anthem isn’t really hiring young anymore, most people are likely over 40. The company is going to be in trouble in a couple decades.
FWIW I’ve never seen age as a contributing factor in how who to layoff
is decided at this company. I can only speak for the areas I’ve worked in but typically the direct manager assesses the team and the bottom performers are in scope. The thing is the manager can rank the associates however they want.
I know many will respond that they were a high performer and still got let go, I am just saying how it’s worked in the areas I’ve been in.
Labor shortage, need more young h1b workers
this is a huge common denominator for a class suit