One more job lost.

[Betty Karlson]

My employer is scrapping 80% of the company's jobs. And with a 4 in 5 chance, I find myself among the lay-offs. As of today, I am unemployed.

I suppose this is of little consequence in the great scheme of things. Houses are falling in prices so much that they were becoming more affordable for me and my sister. With me being forced to eat into my savings, there's one less prospected house-buyer. Consequently, my sister and her fiancé have a higher chance of succeeding to find an affordable place to call their own. Supply and demand, right?

Still, I don't feel it is right I should have lost that job. Why should I lose my income just because Bush and co could not balance a budget? I don't even live in America! Global economy is fine by me, as long as all players are obliged to play by the rules our ancestors established in the 1930-s. Why would the middle-class have to cough up the price of new money's irresponsability?

I suppose there is nothing new about my story. That's what annoys me most - if my story is not new, then why on earth was nothing done to prevent it from developing?

Well, I wish my sister luck with that house, polishing up my C.V., starting in new education just in case. Sorry to have bothered you fine people with an old story, but thanks for listening to me anyway.

[Vincardog]

1. Welcome to DU and welcome to the club

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Welcome to DU and good luck in the job search

[HCE SuiGeneris]

3. I'm so sorry, Betty.

I hope that things turn around for you soon.

[Dreamer Tatum]

4. I'm very sorry

Maybe people here will think of stories like yours before they gloat over things like Blockbuster closing 900 stores (like they did this week).

[DesertFlower]

5. good luck to you.

i was at my dentist's office tuesday. his business has dropped off in the last year and a half. he cut his hours from 4 days a week to 3 which of course, effected his 5 employees. he's 69 and has decided it's time to retire. the practice is for sale. his employees are hoping that if another dentist buys the it, they will keep their jobs. but chances are in this economy it will not sell.

i feel terrible for his staff who have been with him for many years, and i feel for him too. he's not the type who will enjoy retirement. he's always enjoyed working, but i guess it's not feasible to keep the office open.

[Selatius]

6. I, too, was laid-off. I was formally laid-off on September 11th.

The problem is people in this country keep electing rick cocksuckers who don't give a damn about them.

[Joanne98]

7. Welcome to DU!

[Kajsa]

8. I'm so sorry, Betty.

I'm going through it myself
right now.
:(

Welcome to DU

:) :hi:

[Fumesucker]

9. Sorry to hear of your difficulties..

I've been unemployed for some time now, it definitely is not any fun.

And a belated welcome to DU..

:hug:

[Feron]

10. I'm very sorry. I hope you find another job quickly. nt

[renate]

11. I'm so sorry

It's such a sickening feeling, having the rug pulled out from under you like that.

:hug:

[Berry Cool]

12. I'm sorry, Betty.

No, it's not fair. But it happens. Happened to me, too. Has happened more than once. I keep getting up and fighting.

Nobody prevents it. Nobody cares to prevent it. Don't expect anyone to.

In these cases, we never have any choice but to pick up and move on. Sad but true. I wish you much luck in doing so. I know it stinks.

[Canuckistanian]

13. Welcome to DU - and the world of unemployment

One tip - don't let this destroy your self-esteem.

You're in the company of MANY, MANY people who have lost a job for no fault of their own. There is SO much untapped talent in this world, it's not funny.

Hang in there, things will pick up eventually.

[grantcart]

14. You lost your job in the Netherlands as the result of Bush's mafeasance?

I am very interested in your story and how the dots connect.


Everyone who is unemployed is a friend of mine. There is only one way out. Solidarity.

[Betty Karlson]

15. It goes like this:

Back in 2002, my employer (or rather: its mother concern) acquired two large American competitors.

When Mr Bush's deregulation of various financial markets ended with a credit crunch, the American economy crunched up into a very little ball. With revenue all over the United States all but collapsing in the wake of Mr Bush's budgetary measures, the company needs to cut costs wherever possible. - Including in the Dutch branches of the company. Hence the wave of lay-offs earlier this year. The alternative would be to split up the company. (And given that the stock value of the American parts would have sharply declined since 2002, our CEO may want to consider splitting up the company something of a last resort, one step away from filing for bankruptcy.)

But it gets better. When demand in the US declined, this affected various import/export balances across the globe. With 30% of the Dutch economy depending on American demand, guess which country was full of producers who had to cut back costs to make up for the diminished profit?

The Dutch branch of our company (well, it's no longer mine, really)relies heavily on the demand for commercial and governmental advertising. (40% of our annual revenue came from facilitating that.) But with every potential customer of ours looking for ways to cut back costs without having to lay off skilled personnel, commercial advertising is on its way to evaporate. This year, we could still rely on companies' desire to honour their advertising budgets as they had been set in December 2008. But the chain of cost-cutting measures will affect next year's advertising budgets hard.

Since that would make various jobs superfluous in the company, (why retain 11000 people when 2500 can do all the work there is?), 80% of what remained after March's lay-offs have been dispensed after all.

Dutch newspapers called it "close to the end of a company". Indeed it is. The mother holding will survive, but this round of lay-offs will sorely and irrevocably affect the good name and reputation, the service our customers were used to. Without that, the company will never again regain the strong position it had on the market.

The future has been sacrificed for the present. That's the long and short of all these dots connected. Bush sacrificed the future for the present when he introduced measures that could not be sustained ad infinitum, for the purpose of artificially prolonging the economic growth on your side of the Atlantic. Now the holding company that fired me sacrifices its long-term market position in the Netherlands just so it doesn't have to give up its American branches at a loss of tens of billions of Dollars.

[Betty Karlson]

16. Thank you all

Many of you have send me a word of support. You were very kind to do so, and I appreciate the gesture more than these flimsy words can express. Even so, I thank you all.