Editor;
I just got The Call. Thanked for my “many contributions” and “years of loyalty to the company” and sent on my way. When I started breathing again I realized I was making mathematic equations in my head – how long will my savings hold out? Unemployment? Health care? Is the 20 something they sent to walk me to the guillotine related to the CEO?
I’m not asking for pity. I know I just joined a large and growing club. I know I should have managed my loyalty better. From here on out it’s Wife Dog and Kids. THATS IT.
Despite years of good pay for long hours and devotion to my company and the belief they would keep me as long as I made them money I realize all that is out the window. Others my age (56) who woke up in their cars or trucks in the company parking lot, lost and wondering what they were going to do to get by have told me about trying to get back in, of sending out hundreds if not thousands of resumes and overly cheerful cover letters hyping their skills while avoiding any mention of their age and fighting the realization we’ve become one of the New Unemployables.
The prospect of starting a new company (handyman? landscaper?) – and a string of part time jobs (Mickey D’s? Home Depot?) is grim and closing in. The reality is that if you’ve been layed off (sic), downsized or Aged Out – illegal, maybe, but we’re not making the rules – it’s almost impossible to land another job at your current level. Retirement accounts? Yes, but not enough and it won’t be long before I’m tapping into those. My choices appear to be sale of our house and a move to a cheaper state – with no guarantees what happens once we’re there.
Add to all this the fact that some CEO recently said that AI will eradicate half of all entry level white collar jobs within the next five years and that Millennials graduating college with a hip pocket of tech skills and a mountain of student debt will be scrapping over what’s left over – taking less pay just to pay the bills and making it even harder for older workers to re-enter the work force.
Too pessimistic? Tell me why I shouldn’t be. I’d be interested in hearing how others are doing and their plans for the future.
Name Withheld at Author’s Request/Walnut Creek
Sorry for your loss. A free market will dispassionately allocate resources if it is working properly. “Creative destruction”, Schumpeter, I believe. Your happiness and well-being and mine are not a consideration, apparently.
Adding Illegals to the mix and it’s a recipe for disaster. We will be left with the overall Pay Structure declining, but a workforce of people that cannot adapt to anything out of the ordinary.
Employers that continue to hire “illegals” seem to be facing fewer repercussions than those who work for these employers and what would be considered market rate for citizens. Where’s law enforcement targeting those employers?
Unless you’re addressing the low paid wage laborer market, throwing “illegals” into the discussion is just a red herring. A 20 year career at a single employer was not impacted by agricultural and hospitality workers.
In the US, voters have chosen people that do not have any interest in passing labor laws that include protections for blue and white collar workers. We have what “we” have voted for. In Europe, layoffs are handled very differently. People can argue better or worse, but Americans appear to believe that the way we do it is the only way.
Edited: Employers that continue to hire “illegals” seem to be facing fewer repercussions than those who work for these employers *at far below* what would be considered market rate for citizens. Where’s law enforcement targeting those employers?
Edited for clarity: Employers that continue to hire “illegals” seem to be facing fewer repercussions than those who work for these employers *at far below* what would be considered market rate for citizens. Where’s law enforcement targeting those employers?
Please dont give up. Take a few days to gather your wits and update your resume. Try to figure outw how much money you will need to make it to retirement age. There are still decent jobs out there but it may require you to do something different then you have in the past. You may have to commute further, work odd hours, learn a new skill, but it can be done. Go to indeed and Linkedin and start looking, you can do it,
You’re clearly not in the same situation nor have you experienced it. Indeed and LinkedIn are your solutions? They filter out older workers in a heartbeat. Those two sites (Especially LinkedIn) are absolutely useless and I speak from direct experience as an older worker who has applied for hundreds of jobs that my background is built for. You might get a screening interview and will most likely be told you’re “over qualified.” The other 98% of your applications with resume and cover letter fall into the void.
Surely, the Big Beautiful Billionaires Rescue Plan has something in it for the newly unemployed. Discounted tickets to a Broadway revival of Oklahoma perhaps? Bogo at Subway?
Close. It’s tickets to the Kennedy Center with a discounted bucket of chicken from KFC.
I’m reminded from the old Steve Martin joke of how to become a millionaire (upgraded to billionaire). His tips were 1) get a billion dollars and 2) don’t pay any taxes. Then when asked why you didn’t pay taxes, just say “I forgot”. Done!
It’s a terrible and stressful situation to lose a job, but when you’re the primary earner for the whole family it’s devastating.
LinkedIn is a joke.