Unemployed Freepers?

self | April 14, 2002 | self

[SpyderTim]

Lucent to Cut 5,000 More Jobs - Source Reuters | April 11, 2002 | Ben Klayman

Posted on 4/12/02 11:59 PM Pacific by SpyderTim

Lucent to Cut 5,000 More Jobs - Source Thu Apr 11, 4:28 PM ET By Ben Klayman CHICAGO (Reuters) - Telecommunications equipment maker Lucent Technologies Inc. plans to cut about 5,000 more jobs than previously expected by the end of June because of the slowdown in the telecom sector, a source close to the company said on Thursday.

See the link for the rest of the article.

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Just got to thinking, with the economy supposedly recovering, and layoffs continuing all around us, how many Freepers are currently out of work? How are they finding the job market?

1 posted on 4/12/02 11:59 PM Pacific by SpyderTim [ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: SpyderTim

Luckily the coapany I worked for Did Good and accelerated my options when I was voluntarily laid off. Job market is pretty bad out there in high tech (programming). At one time or another 10 friends of mine were laid off this past year.

2 posted on 4/13/02 8:31 AM Pacific by lelio [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: SpyderTim

Just got to thinking, with the economy supposedly recovering, and layoffs continuing all around us, how many Freepers are currently out of work? How are they finding the job market?

Agreed. I know more people in the last year that have gotten laid off, and have remained laid off, than I do those who had no work and found it. This "recovery" is pure fabrication and spin pushed by the WH. The facts are that over half the new jobs created are being done by the government! GDP has increased primarily because of government spending!

Smoke and mirrors.

3 posted on 4/13/02 8:35 AM Pacific by Kobyashi1942 [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Kobyashi1942

My company announced its office relocation way back in April of 2001. My last day was November 30. I've been networking and interviewing since then but haven't found quite what I'm looking for yet. It's not a bad job market if you know what you are doing, but it isn't as good as when I first graduate from college in 2000 either.

4 posted on 4/14/02 1:53 PM Pacific by SpyderTim [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

[Drew68]

Thanks Everyone!!!

Thank you all for the many kind words and encouragement. I'll post a vanity once I find employment to help encourage others facing difficult times such as these.

Drew

[VOA]

Thanks for the info and sage advice (in all your posts).
Good to hear how the world works outside the academic cloister.

[KevinDavis]

For the past year I had a wonderful job.. I'm working on ASP, HTML, Javascript, Etc... I just got my diploma (bachelors). I may go for my masters or Certification. I see this as job security... I also want to keep on learning new things. Which is the best way to keep your job.

[blueriver]

America has a BIG problem, a wopper of a problem. What's odd though is very few (or so it would seem) seem to notice it.

The only ones who know just how bad things are are those of us who have been laid off since last summer and can not find a job.

[Rowdee]

I believe you will find that every state in the union, not to mention the fed gov, requires the EMPLOYER to pay all of the unemployment tax. I am a bookkeeper by profession and currently do my brothers payroll taxes...and both the fedgov and stategov brochures indicate it is illegal to charge or withhold unemployment taxes from the employee.

And now that you know, don't feel badly....the companies are forced by government to fund the periods of time when employees are unemployed. If I recall correctly, fedgov just upped the # of weeks you're eligible to collect.

[FITZ]

I know my grandfather always said that manufacturing jobs are absolutely essential to this country and service jobs depend on a healthy manufacturing base. We've let go of that which made us strong in the first place. We want to be a country of waiters and store clerks ---which are fine but you can't have only that.

[FITZ]

I have two jobs and everytime I think about quitting my part-time job, something tells me I should keep it. I'm studying Visual C++ and Unix which are completely different fields than the one I'm currently working in. There might still be jobs in computers but it won't hurt having a solid basis in another profession. I can tell by some programs I have to deal with that the programmer knew programming but nothing about the way we have to use the applications.

[Jaidyn]

What might cause something like that to happen? They had a hard time teaching the Mexicans how to do the job, at least the ones who showed up for work once in a while. Actually, they bought their product from China and just affixed their familiar logo to it. I think they chose Mexico so they could still put Made in North America but it just didn't work out.

[Madame Dufarge]

If I recall correctly, fedgov just upped the # of weeks you're eligible to collect.

Yes, they just extended it for another 13 weeks.

[blueriver]

What do you mean who can't find a job? There are loads of jobs out there. McDonald's is hiring, Burger King is hiring, the grocery stores are hiring. I see all kinds of signs saying "Now Hiring." Of course, can an American feed and support a family that way???

What a depressing thought. An engineering degree, 15 years experience in high tech telecommunications field to end up selling hamburgers at Burger King. Sad day in America when a highly skilled work force is being replaced by foreigners.

[Rowdee]

I merely make a statement of fact....I'm not in the mood to debate the rightness or wrongness of what clearly IMM should not be government's purview. :)

[bandlength]

definitely AGE. i was a contract/temp worker making $11.82 an hour, absolutely NO benefits! in fact, there were other contracts who started after me and were making more doing the same job. THEN, there were the permanent employees who were making about $17 an hour with full and generous benefits who did, for the most part, absolutely NOTHING all day (since they were "real employees" and harder to fire)

[Rowdee]

Thank you.....I thought they had brought the # of weeks up to 26, which 13 and 13 would make. :)

[TnGOP]

I lost a couple of jobs in the import/export field in the nineties, by refusing to be "politically correct" in my employee's review/promotion. I got fed up with the Corporate BS and began doing home repairs.

Now I work as Chief Engineer at a Hotel, LOVE the work, and have adjusted to the loss of income. My wife, in a similar situation, took a job as a prison guard for the State of Tennessee. The pay isn't great, but the benefits are awesome.

For what it's worth, I got NOWHERE sending out resumes. I personally dropped them off, and got lucky by catching the manager there a few times, and got an impromptu interview on the spot. That's how I talked my way into the first hotel job. There I learned the basics, and then went on to a place I liked better. Good luck!

[bandlength]

and, of course, the advanced degree doesn't hurt ;)