It's all over people. BK this week... no severance, no nothing.
Thanks Eddie!!!
6 replies (most recent on top)
When you're a billionaire, money is just a number for keeping score. Eddie will never need to worry about money for the rest of his life, regardless of what happens with Sears, but he has gambled - and lost - quite a bit of his money on trying to prove his philosophies by keeping Sears afloat this long. He won't lose as much as he deserves to, but I don't think he comes out ahead overall.
Ayn Rand would tell you to leave SHC if you don't like it.
That's not a Randian ideology. I am no fan of Rand, but I would tell anyone on this forum to get out, and get out ASAP.
For people at our level, there is no parachute. We are used and cast aside. The days of being loyal to a company and being rewarded for that loyalty by having a decent, stable wage, benefits and a pension died decades ago. I know. I saw it happen myself (being in my 50s).
If you are on this forum, and reading this, take this as your sign from Above.
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Before you go to bed tonight, dust off your resume. Spend the week updating it. Research the latest formats and philosophies for cv presentation. You have ⅓ of an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper to make a first impression. Don't squander that with a 50 year old bullet list format.
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Dust off and update your network. Reach out to old associates and folks who moved on with whom you have had decent relationships. Most jobs are gotten through networking, not "cold calling."
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Research and have bookmarked your local DoL Unemployment site. Have all the paperwork and back up ready so if you get RIFfed, you can pull that trigger ASAP.
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Start firing up all the job search engines, and NEVER let them stop. Create a business email, one that looks professional (first name.last name@domain.com, not luvz2party@domain.com). Be prepared to go on interviews on your days off. You have a better shot at a job WHILE YOU ARE EMPLOYED. Don't squander this time!
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Go through your finances and figure out what the cost impact would be for loss of job. Identify now, while you still have stability, what can be cut. Devise a "disaster plan" budget. if you are main or sole source of income, your S/O is going to have to start contributing to the finances.
If you have a plan in place NOW, when you aren't in a panic, when disaster happens (and it will), you will be prepared, and ahead of the game. You'll be able to navigate unemployment.
THIS is the sign. THIS is the "do I stay or do I go" moment (answer: go).
Even if Sears "rebounds," there are still going to be store closings and RIFs. The most likely scenario is that bits and pieces of Sears will be sold off, in which case everyone a part of that segment will be laid off in some form, whether immediately or having any severance held hostage while you train the new company to do your job before they kick you to the curb. The ONLY people who survive what Sears is in right now are executive management positions, and generally cronies of the CEO. If you're not that, it's only a matter of time.
Don't fool yourself. Eddie has made out ok. Maybe not as well as he once thought but he did not risk anything he couldn't afford to lose and stay mega wealthy. He has incorporated companies and spin offs that aren't obvious and he (as we all know) structured transactions to his benefit. There is more that doesn't meet the eye but it keeps him more than solvent.
This SHC was a chess game to him. A challenge to see what he could do & keep his life interesting. On his SYW profile, he lists his job as Self Employed which reveals his self perceived identity.
He's out at galas, hanging at his mansions, doing whatever the hell he's wanted to while employees in the stores are wondering how to pay their rent. Ayn Rand would tell you to leave SHC if you don't like it. No emotion. No sentimentality.
Eddie lost a lot of money on this. Billions of dollars. He will not make out overall other than have the legal lawyers that none of us could afford to keep his multibillion/millionaire lifestyle going. Maybe make money again in other companies down the road.
The blame lies on those who let Eddie do what he's done. He's smart, it looked out for himself and if it worked out the rest of, great. If not, oh well. He's making millions off Sears' failure. It was all handed to him on a silver platter.
I feel sorry for the employees that will have to replace that income. As far has the company itself with the CEO and how the company treated their employees and customers, good riddance