Companies that use the "economy is bad" excuse to justify EVERYTHING

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I noticed at work at lot of changes have been going and have been blamed on "the economy"

- Your hours are being cut because of the economy
- You are now expected to do more for the same pay because of the economy
- We're holding off on your raise because of the economy
- We're cutting out event X because of the economy
- You won't be getting new cabinets/registers/shelves/etc because of the economy (nevermind that some of our current cabinets were CLOSE TO FALLING APART long before this recession)
- We had to let go some of our good, experienced employees and bring in cheaper help because of the economy


I understand that some things will have to change given the economic outlook for this country, but I think it's ridiculous that companies now use the "economy" as a scapegoat for every little policy change that makes our job harder or rewards us less.

[Slytovhand]

My friend worked for an IT company for over 10 years on this side of the Pacific. It was recently bought out by a US company (all this early part '08)

Because 'of the economy', they've sacked over half the staff, and were intending to remove a few more.

Now, this little Aussie company was making a nice mega profit with a full load of staff... and then this US company decides said staffing arrangements isn't profitable enough... does that make sense?? (well - yes, because they need to cut the aussie staff to pay for the US staff... oh, and yes, they didn't really need 2 heads of HR, but you get the point...)

[Rapscallion]

I understand that some things will have to change given the economic outlook for this country, but I think it's ridiculous that companies now use the "economy" as a scapegoat for every little policy change that makes our job harder or rewards us less.

Take that economy out back and shoot it, if it's ailing so bad!

Rapscallion

[Boozy]

My company has done this as well, despite the fact that I work in the wine industry.

Retail booze sales are the one of the few things that don't suffer during recessions, because more people drink their worries away. They're also more likely to drink at home instead of at bars and restaurants because it's cheaper.

Our Christmas sales were up a whopping 25% over last year.

But that didn't stop corporate from cutting our already meager Christmas bonuses, as well as getting really anal about our hours. They said it was due to the "economic climate."

What they mean is that they know that we're not likely to get so pissed off that we'll quit, because there are so few other jobs right now. They're taking advantage of their employees' desperation, just because they can. It's a dick move.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

My company has done this as well, despite the fact that I work in the wine industry.

Retail booze sales are the one of the few things that don't suffer during recessions, because more people drink their worries away. They're also more likely to drink at home instead of at bars and restaurants because it's cheaper.

Our Christmas sales were up a whopping 25% over last year.

But that didn't stop corporate from cutting our already meager Christmas bonuses, as well as getting really anal about our hours. They said it was due to the "economic climate."

What they mean is that they know that we're not likely to get so pissed off that we'll quit, because there are so few other jobs right now. They're taking advantage of their employees' desperation, just because they can. It's a dick move.

And those bonuses will not come back when the economy gets better, and corporate will always be anal about hours.

The economy is always bad enough that things should be taken away from the peons, but never good enough that those things can be given back.

[edible_hat]

My company has done this as well, despite the fact that I work in the wine industry.

Retail booze sales are the one of the few things that don't suffer during recessions, because more people drink their worries away.

On the production side of things, the Australian wine industry's taking a huge hit right now. Drinkers' tastes have turned to foreign wines, so exports are down along with domestic sales.

Which means that $40 bottles will soon be selling below $20, which is good news for me.

[MadMike]

Funny how the economy is never bad enough for the CEOs not to get a huge bonus.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Funny how the economy is never bad enough for the CEOs not to get a huge bonus.

Yeah...imagine that.

[cinema guy]

2007 was a bumper year for <the cinema>.
So in 2008 they cut hours.
Then they acquired a company that owed the cinema chain £££, which cost them ££millions, so cut hours again.
Then in 2009 the economy is bad, so they cut hours again.

They also increase the threshold that they pay out bonuses for good mystery shops year after year. This year they also halved the number of mystery shops, which means we get half the amount of money into the staff fund, even if we do well.

The economy is just their latest reason.

[AirHostess]

The aviation industry is a prime example of this.

We will be balloting for a strike sometime this year for many reasons.

[eltf177]

And those bonuses will not come back when the economy gets better, and corporate will always be anal about hours.

The economy is always bad enough that things should be taken away from the peons, but never good enough that those things can be given back.

Interesting that the economy is bad enough that things are be taken away from the peons, but corporate (many of whom can't even begin to justify themselves) never seem to lose anything...

[Peppergirl]

Our hours were cut and now if we need time off, we have to take it as unpaid, even if you have hours upon hours of unused PTO.

Riddle me this:

If you need 8 hours off, and they DONT replace you when you take those hours off, rather, they just go short-staffed, HOW does it cost the company extra money???

So, when my mother had a STROKE on friday, 800 miles away, I could not taake time off and go see her because I couldnt afford it. Rather, I had to wait and TRADE for a day off TODAY and go, 3 FUCKING days later.

Nice, huh?

Yeah - an emp with 60+ hours of pto built up cannot use said PTO to go to her mother, who had a stroke, unless she takes it unpaid. As a single mom, this was not an option for me.

She's ok, btw..it was relatively mild.

[Reyneth]

Our hours were cut and now if we need time off, we have to take it as unpaid, even if you have hours upon hours of unused PTO.

WHAT????

How is this even ok? That is YOUR time, you've earned it under the terms of your employment!

I'm glad your mom's ok.


The corporate cutting down is hitting my company, there's a general hiring freeze for what is rumored to be the next year. But my department is severely understaffed while other ones are overstaffed, so they're working for us. That gives the regular staff a "cushion" of expendable jobs if it comes down to it - which it's unlikely to. They didn't cut our bonuses, we're still having our "holiday" party although it's slightly scaled back. Yearly bonus budget is smaller, though. So things are tough for the company but my department is doing well, so it's a mixed blessing.

[Mara-chan]

I've seen how 'the numbers' relate to hours in our store. It's like looking into the unholy abyss where you're lucky to return with your sanity let alone your life!

We have this crappy program that tells us how many hours we're allowed based on sales. PURELY on DOLLARS. So if we have an ad that has lots of cheap or free stuff (like this week, or around back to school) and corporate hasn't authorized it, we actually have to CUT hours.

However, if sales pick up we get hours back. Unfortunately it doesn't transfer from week to week.

So we've actually had weeks start off slow and end up cutting people. Then we'd have a couple of busy days and get hours back and we'd try to call them back in!


Thinking about it makes my brain hurt.

[Mike Taylor]

- We had to let go some of our good, experienced employees and bring in cheaper help because of the economy

See this? This is one of the reasons Circuit City is in the state that it is. Their corporate bigwigs pulled this exact stunt two years ago.