Well I'm with Jordan on this one....get your orders in as soon as the next round is available.

Keep your head up Chas....good things come to those who wait
[Reply]

wanted to edit to add: also shut down third shift by us.
[Reply]

Tomorrow was suppose to be the day people got the news but word is that layoffs at another branch happened last night. Those affected were told at the end of the day their services were no longer needed. I checked the schedule the rest of the week and next and everyone in our shop is still on it. Hopefully we have been spared this round.

Not sure but I'm still betting we go to 4 day weeks starting next week.

Good luck everyone, hopefully this economy will pick up soon.

The odd part is my wife's company is picking up new business, running 30-60 days behind production and interviewing daily, go figure :-)

Chas
[Reply]

Sales are reeeeeeeeeeeeeeal slow for me so I got a part time job at a cigar bar back around Labor Day. That's been holding us even with the water line.

What I don't like, is no one sems to be forecasting "a turn", only hoping "a turn" will happen.

Eliminate debt if you can.
[Reply]

Good advice but bad for the economy :-)

Paying off debt doesn't put money back into the economy, it puts it back into the hands of lenders who tightened the money lending.

Double edged sword that helps but also hurts.

Chas
[Reply]

But people and companies reducing debt are unlikely to take on more.


Anyway also took a 20% pay trim today. But our division is safe from layoffs, for the time being. Other divisions are having staff reductions. It's scary out there...
[Reply]

Found out today that I get to keep my job, I just have to go to night shift. I'm just happy to have a job. 950 others weren't so lucky.
[Reply]

Well, the layoff hit yesterday at my campus. 100 there (or what I've heard) & 300 elsewhere. Still roughly 600 worldwide left. One of the guys in my group got hit. Sucks... times are rough.
[Reply]

I don't know what the hell is going on with this economy. The only good thing about this is that history shows when there's a recession that when it picks up again it picks pretty heavy.

Luckily while there's stilll a wonderful glorious country like ours then I'll have a job.....can't say the same for my wife. She left on maternity leave and came back for one day and was let go. Times are tough but hold your heads up everyone.
[Reply]

I will be finding out Tuesday on what will be my future with the company. Everybody knows there is a layoff coming, but we are unsure of the severity of it (we suspect it will be a facility closure which means everybody here in Hillsboro will get let go). Details such as dates, packages, and such we don't know. None of the management knows whats going on as it's the new management from the other company that bought us that's making the decisions.

So this weekend: drinking, smoking, and not thinking about work on Monday for now. Then, we'll see.
[Reply]

Called my boss the other night. He told me that my name is absolutely on the list of people they want to keep, but right now it's just a question of when there will be enough work to bring me back. Apparently our place is up for sale as well. I asked if any of the potential buyers were liquidation companies and he said no, they are all investment companies. So that's good I guess. :-)

In the mean time, I'm sending out resumes. Just hope I can float by on unemployment until things change for the better.

Looks like I'll be smoking a lot of cheap NCs for the forseeable future! :-)
[Reply]

Think about yourself. Payoff all Debt. Who cares about how it effects the economy. Take care of yourself then worry about the economy.
[Reply]

On our company there are rumors that a lay off is coming. We really dont know if it is really coming and who is on the list, we can just hope for the best.

Back in Mexicali there has been several big companies having to cut off complete shifts (Kenworth cut the second shift with about 800 people), and other have been completly shut off. This is affecting us big time, but as some say, when 1 door closes another 2 open.
[Reply]

Good luck everyone. Was laid off on Halloween and have received two offers since then. Unfortunately both offers have been dependent on the firms landing specific contracts for projects....and with many projects being delayed/canceled, it ain't easy.

Sadly, I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. Strap on your helmets!
[Reply]

Just be careful what debt you eliminate.
Any good analyst will tell you there are two kinds of debt.
One where they have you by the cojones and the ramifications can have you living in the streets. That would be your mortgage.
The other is one that the worse that can happen is your credit goes to the gutter but will someday recover and you don't have to go sleep in the streets. That would be credit cards.

If one can live debt free, that is awesome. Buy with cash and stimulate the economy that way. Don't buy what you can't pay right away.

However, if one should have to choose, pay your mortgage first, screw the credit cards.

DON'T refinance your home to pay off credit card debt and automobiles. NEVER do that. If you do, you have converted that credit card debt that they could not take your house away for into the debt of your home, which you can now lose. NEVER use equity in your home to pay bad debt. Always refinance your home ONLY to lower your mortgage, to help you pay the house off faster and reduce interest charges.

Simple rules I try to live by.
[Reply]

:-)Converting short term debt to long term debt is rarely a good idea... Unfortunately, too many people use credit to buy things they can't afford. One of the reasons we're in this mess to begin with :-)
[Reply]

:-)

Looks like next week is the start of the 4 day weeks.

Fridays are now X'd off the schedule.

3 Day weekends in the wood shop :-)

Chas
[Reply]

Sorry to hear the news, Chas!

Here in Michigan, the bad ecomony has led to declines in State Funds to all public libraries. This means that all of my libraries in my cooperative are having to cut back by laying off workers, cutting their budgets to buy new books and reduce service hours. Our largest library has decided to pull out of the cooperative in order to "save money".

While that won't affect my job right away, we are also looking at a shortfall in funds, which may require cutting hours for some of our workers sometime down the road. :-)

I hope it will get better soon, but given the current conditions in the US and the rest of the world, I'm not holding my breath.



:-):-):-)
[Reply]

I've been out of a job since October. EDD & DJing has kept me my family afloat. I miss having a job. On the other hand, i get to hang out with my son everyday (after he gets out of Kinder of course). Hang in there fellas!
[Reply]

Man...after being laid off since Jan 1st, I AM GOING BACK TO WORK NEXT WEEK!!! :-):-):-):-)


Found out about 20 min after I sold a bunch of cigars! Doh! :-)
[Reply]