Anonymous@12:13 p.m.: Not to belabor the point, but you were not laid off. USA Today said it needed to cut 45 positions. A letter went out to all eligible employees, offering a buyout. I received one. So did you. The choice was to accept, by Gannett standards, a pretty generous deal or to play the odds and stay. As it turned out, 43 people volunteered to take the money and leave. That's what you did. The company decided at the time that 43 was good and it would not lay off another two people. Being laid off is an emotional trauma. Those who are laid off merit respect, dignity and compassion. You, trying to cloak yourself as a "me too" victim, do a disservice to those fine men and women.
Jim Hopkins@12:26 p.m.: You and I will continue to (respectfully, I hope) disagree. I spent my career cutting through business jargon, which is why I treat buyouts and layoffs as the same animal. You are correct that we received letters from USAT. Yet, I'm looking at that letter right now, and the word "buyout'' never appears in the text. What does appear, however, is the following sentence: "This offer is voluntary; you do not have to accept it. However, if we do not meet our goal to eliminate 45 newsroom positions through this voluntary program, we will need to begin the process of identifying positions for an involuntary layoff program.''Voluntary vs. involuntary layoff program? Whatever it's called, it's a layoff, in my book.
Earlier: In my own buyout, secrecy and hurt feelings
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
[Image: My USAT ID card, taken on my first day, May 1, 2000]
Jim,
ReplyDeleteDid they give you that extra paperwork that's required when they layoff people 40 and older?
You're right Jim. It's Russian Roulette - either take the sweet tasting poison now, or you might get the bullet later.
ReplyDelete12:42 pm: I don't recall receiving any such paperwork.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Jim on this one. I fall into a third category: those of us who were "forced out."
ReplyDeleteI left Gannett, but I would hardly call it voluntary.
First, my position was eliminated. I was transferred and demoted to a lesser job. That job was also later axed. I was given a third crappy, demeaning job where I was reporting to a 24-year-old kid right out of college. My manager made it clear that I would likely fall in the next round of layoffs, and I wasn't eligible for the buyouts. I know when I'm not wanted, so I quit.
Best thing I ever did. Five months later, my entire department was laid off.
http://www.eeoc.gov/types/age.html
ReplyDeleteDid anyone 40 and over get the required age discrimination in employment notices, along with a list of positions and ages of affected positions, during any layoff or buyout?
Come on curious reporters! Aren't you wondering if Gannett's many reductions in forces hit one or more protected classes more than others?
I disagree with Jim on this one. I took a buyout. My decision. My friends were laid off. Not their decision. Big difference.
ReplyDeleteI want to share one good side of the buyout/layoff dispute. For me, the buyout was like a golden parachute. My wife and I were in D.C. but our aging parents and other family were in the Northwest. We were just months away from making a decision to quit and move back to Seattle. Then Mother Gannett moved in with buyout offers. Lovely for us. We both have jobs/gigs now plus will be paid through April.
ReplyDeleteGranted, we are a rare and unusual case, but for others i know the buyout also afforded new beginnings that were positive steps and probably not possible without the continuing buyout cash.
Thanks, Chris F.
There might be a slight difference in how you are able to prepare for it, but in the end layoffs and buyouts are all the same. You lose your job and, in the end, while Jim might have gotten a (much) better deal than whoever is laid off come December, they will be in the same big unemployment boat.
ReplyDelete'A pig with lipstick is still a pig.'
ReplyDeletesorry jim I also disagree with you. It was your choice.
ReplyDeleteYou folks don't see a difference between leaving voluntarily and getting kicked out?
ReplyDeleteThe GCI buyouts also are being done on the cheap. You might think your one week per year is great, but ... other companies in wose shape have much better deals:
ReplyDelete"Sprint is now offering employees a sweetened buyout package of eight weeks' pay plus two weeks for each year of service."
I respectfully disagree with Jim. A buyout and layoff are different.
ReplyDeleteAnd as someone who has requested a buyout, I speak from experience.
One assumes that the person who requested the buyout has a plan to return to school, change careers or, as someone mentioned earlier, go closer to family. And even if they do not have a plan, the employee who requested the buyout surely did it with some forethought that yes, he/she can survive. They would not cut their own throat with reckless disregard for their livelihood.
Contrast that with someone who needs to keep their job, who has no back-up plan, who has financial obligations that mandate regular paychecks (mortgage, kids), who wants to stay in the community and suddenly finds themselves on the chopping block.
Yes, the end is the same. We are all without jobs.
But each took a different path, a path that unfortunately, may dictate where they go from here.
"Leave, or we'll fire you." Yeah, that's a fine 'choice', alright. A buyout is still a lost job that, if not taken, would be just as involuntary.
ReplyDeleteMy job (at a Gannett subsidiary) is safe, but at least I can empathize with those who are under the gun instead of acting all high-and-mighty.
The problem with your argument, 3:21 p.m., is that you assume those who take the voluntary buyout will eventually be fired. Though that may very well happen one day, as of now we can only act under the belief that Gannett will continue to operate and will continue to need thousands of employees.
ReplyDeleteNo one is acting high-and-mighty. At the end of the day I'll be unemployed just like everyone who was issued a forced severance.
But there is a difference.
I am over 40, was an August victim and requested a list of those who were being let go with ages, etc. Still have not seen anything . . .never received any of the aforementioned paperwork. . .hmmm
ReplyDelete3:47 PM
ReplyDeleteThis tells you what kind of notice employers are supposed to give:
http://www.eeoc.gov/types/age.html
This tells what to do if you want to file age discrimination claims:
http://www.eeoc.gov/charge/overview_charge_filing.html
Things are really going to get bad before Christmas. I work in Cherry Hill and I know for a fact that they are planning to get rid of myself and many more of my friends. Just wait til the Monday after Thanksgiving. I advise that everyone start packing up their desks now. At least I won't have to work for the worst managment team ever (with the exception of Joyce Gabriel).
ReplyDelete4:18PM: Cherry Hill cannot lay claim to the "worst management team ever." Too many in the NJ Group fall in that category.
ReplyDeleteLook at Bridgewater and weep. Ad Services is run by a manager and her sidekick, neither of whom is usually civil to anyone in their own department or in advertising. The manager is only there because the Production Manager died before he could be fired.
The Advertising Manager is just plain mean as well as incompetent, and the next in charge is "clueless" and undoubtedly where she is because of nepotism. Or is she next in line? Maybe it's the Classified Manager. No one is certain!
The Managing Editor is incredibly rude and subject to hissy fits at a moment's notice. When his name is mentioned "obsequios" comes immediately to mind. Top managment loves him because he never has an original thought but follows theirs with unbelievable loyalty.
The Finance Department consists of one person who thinks nothing of playing computer games while complaining about how much work she has to do.
Human Resources also consists of one person who seems best suited to conducting the continuous food and toy drives to benefit various charities while employees wonder how they will afford a turkey for Thanksgiving. Her best pal, the Circulation Director, was let go several months ago-- so it would be unfair to comment on her devious tactics and outright lies pertaining to her department.
Last, but certainly not least, is a Publisher who serves both in Bridgewater and East Brunwick. He seemingly has a few redeeming qualities only when compared to the gentleman he replaced under very suspicious and unexplained circumstances.
All in all, Gannett should be very proud of this team. After decimating the employee base, the suits in Virginia have insured that the CN will be defunct very soon. Yes, they could have left a more horrendous management team in place, but they simply had to make do with what they had at the time.
Any questions?
To 7:50pm
ReplyDeleteBravo! I highly suspected all you said about the CN in Bridgewater. I'm at the HNT and I feel that this crew will also destroy what is left at the HNT. They are slowly replacing us, one by one. 2 more weeks and it will be all over for this year. Did you sign up for the "Change in the Workplace & How to Deal with Stress" seminar to be conducted a week after the ax falls? Puleeeeze!!! WHAT A JOKE! Hang Tough Hard Working People in NJ Group! Stand Tall and Proud you did your best, let those left do the rest!
I am a gay, black man over 40 years old and I just learned that I will be "laid off". I can't wait the sue these bastards.
ReplyDelete9:10, i'm a straight white woman over 40, and i say "give 'em hell!"
ReplyDeletetheir idea of diversity is people with different skin color, orientation and/or gender who think exactly like they do.
btw, did you check out 3:47's link on suing?
9:10: How did you learn this? Were you officially handed the news, or are you hearing rumors that people think are true? Just wanting to know when everything will start rolling - once it starts one place, it's going to roll to others.
ReplyDeleteUnder Ohio law, voluntary buyouts accepted when the threat of layoff is on the table are treated like involuntary layoffs for unemployment purposes.
ReplyDeleteThis was established as the result of a lawsuit, and the courts ruled that when an employer announces that staff cuts are coming, it doesn't matter if you jump or get pushed. Either way, you're on the sidewalk through no fault of your own.
Were any of the former layoff/buyout victims over 40 given proper notice and a list of all the affected positions and the ages of the people in those positions?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eeoc.gov/types/age.html
I see a difference but I also see Jim's point. There is a difference, but much in common. I had a reporter take a buyout with the threat of layoffs if they didn't get enough. He struggled with the decision for a while. He didn't feel ready to "retire" and didn't want to go. In the end, he felt he had no choice. If they've already identified your spot as one they can eliminate, what safety do you have in a layoff -- even if they say you're position wouldn't necessarily go in a layoff? How can you trust that? Today, with these layoffs looming, he's glad he took it and got the better deal.
ReplyDelete