Thread: Fired before Retired

Since our company has been bought out by another, some of our older employees have voiced concerns over being "let go" because of their higher payscale and availability of younger cheaper workers. My unvoiced opinion was they were overreacting, but I see that they may have a point.......someone has posted an auction on ebay describing their experience. Granted ebay is a strange forum for a complaint, but it does make me think about our vulnerability to larger corporations. Thoughts?

AT&T EMPLOYEE FIRED AFTER 19 YEARS 4 MONTHS SERVICE | eBay

Seller info

Member id pstone155peggy ( Feedback Score Of 45

61 YEAR OLD AT&T EMPLOYEE FIRED AFTER 19 YEARS 4 MONTHS SERVICE FOR A 18 MONTH OLD CODE VIOLATION. AT&Ts NEW WAY OF CUTTING COST SO THEY CAN SPEND BILLIONS BUYING UP OTHER COMPANIES!! They are Getting rid of the elderly! Before they can retire. They refused my Retirement ! NO WARNING, NO PREVIOUS VIOLATIONS, NOT OFFERED UNION REPRESENTATION IN CRUCIAL MEETINGS.
WILL SELL MY STORY.
THANKS FOR VIEWING!fficeffice" />>>

I've worked for many different big companies, and I've found them to be pretty much all the same. If you don't kiss the right arse hello everyday, you can kiss your job goodbye. I was never one to kiss arse, which is why I'm not working for any big companies these days.


Mick

I'm of the opinion that most companies, and especially the big ones, don't really give a crap about their staff (unless they are really senior) and will hang you out to dry in a second if it suits them.

It's sad and scary for the individuals impacted and totally out of order from a moral pount of view IMO, but there's not much we can do about it. Which only makes it more frustrating!

I guess that's the nature of business.

Since they are selling the "story" on eBay and not suing, I think they probably left out a few key parts.

It's not always a case of an evil greedy corporation being out to skin everybody they can if it means making a few extra bucks...

Stu: It's not the nature of business at all. Employers value employees that are valuable.

I agree with Mick soooo much. Our railroad was privately owned, then was bought out by a larger holding company and boy have things changed & I must say for the worst. Funny thing is that their corporate ways have cut profits significantly!

Back 40 or 50 years ago there was a "social contract" that was unspoken but was presumed to be there. The employee looked out for the company and the employer had an obligation to give their workforce a fair shake. When I look at the contrast between that period in history and the onset of the "hostile takeover." Companies bought out with the intention of sucking them dry of assets, their employees tossed aside, so much collateral damage.

There has always been greed and avarice but it hasn't always been so shamelessly displayed as in the last couple of decades. Teddy Roosevelt fought the 'robber barons' at the turn of the century while Ronald Reagan, 80 years later, gave them carte blanche . It has been the same and worse with every president since Reagan be they Republican or Democrat.

Many of you will be too young to remember when then President of the USA, John F Kennedy took on the US steel companies for raising their prices. He got on the bully pulpit and said that they had a responsibility to the country to keep the prices within reason. The steel companies dropped the prices. Here is what the public mindset was in 1962.

YouTube - President Kennedy calls out the steel companies (1962)