I got the letter to move or be added to the surplus list, and I have to reply in the next 2 weeks by a certain date. My manager noted that I could let them know before the date and get more information sooner. Any thoughts on if this puts me into the system quicker or speeds up the timeline? I don't yet have another job, but I'm looking. If I stay and find another job, I must wait until the date they say I'm off payroll...so thoughts on what is the best course of action? I'm trying to read vacation and other policies so I'm sure what to do in case I find something else quicker, but highly doubt it will happen.
Management employee with over 24 years, just trying to do the right thing in the right order.
17 replies (most recent on top)
Before divestiture, many folks were tapped to go to New Jersey. Company pai great relocation and a promotion probability. My how times have changed. Glad Im out.
thoughts?
You are lucky.
I'm bargained for and wish they'd offer me to leave.
The point I took from my surplus, in a large wave years ago now, was that if you are given that ultimatum, the company has decided they really don't want you, for whatever reason. I was surprised at the time because there were many dedicated, smart, and good employees in their positions. It didn't matter. And there wasn't any option to move anywhere. It was just, "If you are 50 miles or more from one of the designated company locations..." That was it. Just something to keep in mind.
@e4 "couple of folks from Chicagoland jumped at it"
yeah. i know the birds yer talking about. They should have stayed in chicago
No, not really. Just a rational person who's not keen on the idea of forcing employees to take an experimental vaccine under duress; and then forcing employees to divulge their medical records and/or religious beliefs.
Please leave and take your old ideas with you paw paw
@f2 sounds like you've already decided. Bummer they have you in this position.
“Key question, if you didn't already have this job would you move to get hired?”
Over 20 years ago? No.
Now? Yes.
Key question, if you didn't already have this job would you move to get hired?
The math works in favor of you telling them no and I wouldn't tell them until the last day. Telling them early in exchange for possible information (which I doubt they would give you) only helps the company that is about to fire you. If you had been there where you would only get a couple of months of severance, I would tell them yes and then use the time to find another job and count that as my severance and get fired. Unemployment is only a fraction of what you would make prior to "moving" and it is easy to say that circumstances have changed since I said yes.
I would take the next 2 weeks to get my finances, health, and job hunting in order. Go get a physical, go to the dentist, and the eye doctor. If you have family on the insurance, have them do the same. Take advantage of the healthcare benefits and make sure you are healthy. Then I would do the absolute bare minimum until they tell you to leave.
The fact they are willing to put you in a position to either move or fire you (and withholding information from you), should tell you what they really think of you. So if you say yes and move you will likely be gone in the future when the company decides to fire more people.
It's always a personal choice in the end. In my opinion, it's never a good idea to move for the company, on your own dime to a new city/state. If it was a large promotion and there was job security around it, they would pay to move you. It would mean you are of value to the company. Also, if it was your dream to live in said city (say Dallas, or now Plano), that would be a personal consideration. But if you have a family, children, friends network, you like where you live now, personally, I wouldn't move. Years ago, there was an offer for some in my group to relocate to a lab in Austin, TX. It was like a $10K assistance to move. None in my team went, but in a sister team, a couple of folks from Chicagoland jumped at it, less taxes, no winter. For them and their families, it was a preference. Keep in mind, there have been multiple postings here of people who have moved and were still surplus'd 6-12 months later; and/or didn't like the working conditions there.
Remember, this company threatened to fire employees multiple times regarding a private and personal medical decision during Covid.
They deserve no loyalty.
If you choose to relocate, it's only a matter of time before they threaten to surplus for something else.
My advice: Take severance and find something local. There's actually companies out there that respect their employees and offer JOB SECURITY.
I left a year ago and check in on the gossip because I left my 401k with the company. Definitely considering rolling it over to my new employer. T never gonna change.
Good luck to all you guys still hanging in there.
Moving to Dallas was the biggest mistake of my life. What a terrible experience it’s been. Quality of life decreased in every aspect. Take your money and run. I’m not fu--ing kidding! FML
I just waited until the deadline to decline. The information my leadership had at the time was, separation date could either be 2 weeks from then or X (basically they didn't know). So it's in your best interest to wait as long as possible and you can be like, oh I'm still deciding, it's a big decision blah blah.
Use this time to find another job while still on the company payroll. Ideally you get a job offer and timing works out where you can be collect your severance too. But if not, remember that any earned vacation you didn't take yet gets paid out. So if you leave in June, you get paid out for half the year's allotment of vacation days. But if you don't care about being paid out and prefer the time off, take the full year's allotment before giving notice otherwise you end up having to pay it back.
Also take sick days when you need it. Paid caregiver leave etc too.
One guy I know on my layoff call also timed his payroll deductions wisely. It can take a few pay periods to update so if you have any clue of when you're getting laid off, this can help your taxes burden (but if not, no biggie, it just means you'll have to wait until tax refund time to get that money back)
OP re:vacation policy…you will only be paid out for what you accrued to that point. Even though you get an annual allotment, it’s not truly given in a lump sum on Jan 1st. If you get 4 wks a year, take 1 week in the 1st half of the year, then go off payroll on June 31st, you will get paid for 1 week, not 3.
Strength is in numbers. The more people who say no the more likely they are to reverse action. If an entire team declines to move they will revoke the letter.
I plan to decline, I just wondered if I should do it at the time it indicates or let the manager know as soon as possible.
Pretty much my entire team was RTO'd a couple years ago. You're better off taking the package and getting your severance. Off payroll date for my team was determined by business need, so it depends on how long it'll take to transition your work and replace you basically. Hope this helps. Sorry the company is still doing this to people.