Cutbacks - needed or not
So much going on lately and today, my wife thought she was going to be laid-off from work as there was a large round of firings, but instead her workload increased... and she will likely have to do weekend work on a roster system. That sucks, but better than being fired.
One of the suckiest things is that companies can use this opportunity to not only trim their unwanted staff, but also squeeze more work out of what is left, as there will literally be no jobs available for many people. My company actually seems to be fighting to keep their staff, which is nice to see.
One of my clients today was moved to another organization as the company he is at is going through rough times. It is an oil company. Funny isn't it? All the ludicrous amounts of money they make in what is an industry that will hopefully end soon due to the pollution it causes and, they cutback people in the space of weeks. We made ten billion profit last year, but we need to cut back immediately. I have no idea how much they made last year.
I don't know if there is a good time for economic collapse, but this isn't really it for my family. A year later would have been fine. Oh well, accept it and move on. I'd go and get a drink with friends to get some space - but - can't.
Anyway, what I was wondering from you guys is, what have been the personal pros and cons for you under these circumstances so far? What is the best and the worst?
I will have a look in the morning, as I am pretty rekt at the mo. Night!
Taraz
[ an original ]
Are you sure? A year later you'd probably be saying the same thing? XD
I guess it's kind of a given when you build an entirely unsustainable system and instead of making changes where changes need to be made you keep propping it up and hoping problems will somehow magically stop being problems if you pretend they aren't for long enough?
As of right this second we're really not happy about not being able to go out and all the group stuff having to be shut down because that was most of our homeschooling. Now we have to do "boring" homeschooling (well my kids and I find it exceedingly boring, not meaning to disparage it as it works really well for some).
Good thing is J finally gettng to work from home (something he's been angling at since the kids got old enough to understand that even though he's home he might not be available but a lot of the oldies in charge tend to firmly believe and will not be told otherwise that if you're not in the office then you can't possibly be working/nearly as productive) and as we knew from when he first thought about doing it, it really suits him :)
Probably, but then I wouldn't (hopefully) need to be renovating and getting materials .... hopefully.
The economic models and tools were built for a different time and didn't factor in the google's and amazon's of the world, nor the ability to move money and hide money from where it was earned. It is a broken system at best, a disaster at the moment.
There are pros to homeschooling - a lot of cons since - the kids are at home too :D
Working remotely for all things take some getting used to, especially if it wasn't the way or even possible before. I was travelling twice a month, now.... 0.
Good luck with developing the new normal. :)
I'm in the Hvac/Ref. business, our customers are primarily restaurants and bars. We are going to be much slower now, right when we usually start to pick up after the colder weather. The business was already in a rough spot since our office was hit by a tornado back in Oct and haven't gotten much straightened out from any of that yet. The office/warehouse is still waiting for repairs and all of our parts/inventory/files are scattered amongst different storage buildings/pods and in different cities. Also, since we are considered "essential" we are still working, which is great, except if this virus IS actually as bad as THEY say it is, then the employees are all potentially putting themselves and some of their family members at risk. I've also been making plans to purchase the business from the current owners but last year has ended so chaotic (plus a huge net loss) now this situation, I'm not sure what to do now. I recently purchased a house back in Dec and it's a "handyman's special" so although I got a great deal, it needs hella work and I've been tied up with that outsidebof work. Honestly, it's probably not even worth putting any money into the house itself, but the property has value, even if the house standing doesn't. Due to the situation, I'm now considering waiting a few months before making any other big financial decisions. It's funny I used to think the "economy collapsing" was right around the corner starting in about 2010-12ish. Believed it until about 2016-2017 then totally quit caring and preparing by 2018. What timing lol.
Stay strong, take care, we'll get through it.
Hard times.
Yep, we are in the same position.
I am guessing that if this is prolonged, the business you are looking to buy is going to get a little bit cheaper? or perhaps since it is essential service...
I knew it was coming, I estimated 2 years from now and that would have been great... bloody flu season!
Stay well and hopefully things blow over relatively quickly - without us becoming zombies.
Absolutely!
It hasn't been easy to stay optimistic (at least not while preparing for the worst) but there are so many positives that can come from this and even more business opportunities to take advantage of, it only makes sense to be looking at it through that lens (the majority of the time). I guess finding balance between being/feeling "somewhat" prepared for basic survival while simultaneously planning/making moves to advance oneself.? Some suggest we burn all bridges (go big) and give ourselves no choice but to succeed. I think it's a great idea, but tough to put into practice facing unknown levels of economic disaster.
Thanks, you as well.
It had better, I'm not prepared for the zombie apocalypse(yet)!
Come 2030 though.... bring it!
The problem with opportunities is, you have to be prepared to take them. I am not currently at a financial level to do so with most....
I am guessing that many will go big and fail big, but there will be enough survivors that succeed. It is hard to know how long this will go, but I think that it might trigger a much larger collapse and destabilization.
Zombie apocalypse is still on the cards.
Wow! That’s a lot. I hope the wife adepts to the new workload. It hardly seems fair, but what is these days.
We have many losing their jobs here or experiencing a cutback in hours. These companies with billions in profits seem to cut the staff quickly here too.
They cut quickly as a very easy way to reduce numbers without having the eyes of society on them...
Amazing how they get away with it!
ENGAGE20
When people are desperate, they will turn a blind eye