This was one of the most stressful weeks at Ford since I started working here, and I started working more than a decade ago. It's not just the layoffs, we've had those before. It's the not knowing what's going on, getting no real info from management, just waiting to see what's going to happen...
Weekend can't come soon enough. I need a break from all of this.
@OP I completely empathize/sympathize with everyone at Ford. I spent 10 years at Walmart from 2007- 2017 and I (we) spent the last 3 years going through the same feelings. Starting off Monday under so much stress not knowing if you have a job by Friday. WM would send out a mysterious e-mail in the middle of the night, usually on Wednesday, telling you to report to a certain room at a particular time with no details. That was our kiss of death. You knew you were gone. If you made it to Friday, you actually had a sense of relief. You were then able to relax a bit on Saturday. Come Sunday, the stress increased knowing you would have to start the process all over again on Monday.
We would quickly learn to check the room bookings. If we saw an entire group of rooms 'mysteriously' blocked off so no one could reserve, we knew another round of major layoffs were coming.
Sometimes the RIFs (Reduction in force) would be in the hundred's. Sometimes entire departments eliminated. And sometimes it was in groups of 10's to keep it under the radar.
The news never seemed to report a damn thing. So we found this site to report on what we knew or heard.
The employees that were targeted were the people over 50 (ageism), those with over 20 years of tenure (made too much money in the eyes of the company) and those that had the audacity to use their benefits (how dare they!). WM was self-insured so you had to use your benefits for something major, it cost the company dearly.
All this did was create a dysfunctional work environment. Employees stopped caring and did the minimum - why bust your @$$ when the rumors circulating say your area/team is in the cross-hairs. People would have break-down's and crying fits in the bathroom. People walking around like zombies no longer smiling. The 'fun' of the job was s---ed out. I heard people were taking Prozac and other anti-depressants.
Initially, the severance package was decent but not a replacement for having a reliable day-to-day job. Over time, the severance package got worse and worse and then non-existent. Now? All 'they' do is give you a bad performance evaluation. This has become the new kiss of death. Once you get a bad review, you may as well start looking for a new job. Your career is over.
Keep in mind this situation has been going on for 3+ years.
As for me? I wasn't going to stick around and wait for my turn. I saw the writing on the wall. I never knew if i was ever on the chopping block. i wasn't going to find out. I left. My last day was on a Friday and started a new job on the following Monday.
The only good news out of all this (if there can be any) is that everyone who left is so much happier now.
We -Non WHQ locations just wait and see what will happen with us.
It’s gonna be like this until June or earlier