One in an occasional series of Q&As about yours truly.
Q. Those New Jersey employees should thank their lucky stars they got offered buyouts. You got one at USA Today; isn't it just like hitting a big jackpot?
A. Only if you land a job immediately, or had plans to quit anyway. Otherwise, a buyout is just a nicer way of saying you were laid off. I got 40 weeks' pay (two weeks for each year of service), plus continuation of my health coverage during the severance period.
But after that, I become just another 51-year-old ex-journalist, competing for jobs with folks often half my age. Plus: Oh, joy! I get to deal with fighting for replacement health insurance -- the No. 1 reason why many USA Today staffers turned down a chance to apply for one of those 43 buyouts.
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Saturday, May 10, 2008
1 comment:
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In light of how bad things have gotten since the buyouts at USAT, there are many who stayed who now wished they had gone. They are actually hoping for a second round. And there are others who didn't quite meet the conditions last time who hope they will meet them this time. Hopefully, in my case and others like me, they will let anyone over 50 go who has at least 10 years (not 15 like last time). Similar to the Washington Post buyout offer. There are folks 50 and older at USAT who are being treated so disrepectfully, one can't help wonder if the company is just hoping we leave on our own so they can keep replacing us with younger techno whiz kids. Come on Moon, offer us another buyout. See what happens this time. Yes, it will be tough being an unemployed journalist at this age, but no worse than being a disrespected one with a job in the USAT newsroom. There is no merger of print and online. It's a total takeover. Nothing kind or thought out about it. It's a humiliating place to work for anyone over 50 on the print side.
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