Credit Crunch - happy new year

[Thingus]

After a bit of touring in Spain i re-joined my old place of work in April. Because i left and came back i'd missed out on the bonuses, which i wouldn't have minded if my tw@ of a boss hadn't told me that it would have been 2.5-3k. All in one nice lump sum.
Anyway, on Friday the second of January, this fine year, one of my mates who is a warehouse guy got let go. I don't really work in there but we're a small team of about 10 altogether including bosses, so i get on with everyone.
That was a ****ter enough, but now he just let one of the girls go in the office who we all liked.
You can imagine the stuff that goes through your mind when people are getting let go left right and centre.

Now i hear that we've hit target only once since May and our bonuses might be in the hundreds. Lower end.

Anyone else felt the credit crunch? I'm just starting to feel this now, what a waste of a year, could all be for nothing.

Cheers.
:pale:

[arcdef]

so far 4 shops in the centre have closed with others looking that way (empty shelves etc) and my boss is asking anyone if they want unpaid leave in order to cut down on the outgoings, what with being over 20k down each week who can blame him :( and my gf who works at a small accountancy has had half her hours cut along with another woman whos been cut down to one half day a week from full time (guessing they want rid) as they are feeling the pinch, not good stuff coming this year, its going to be a bummer

[timwilky]

got told today that my former boss who left to become the technical director of a consultancy practice is coming back. Guess he must have been feeling a tad exposed and opted to jump ship back to where he knew things would be easier

[Berlin]

I'll be lucky if my business of 8 years survives another month. The phone has rang twice in 7 weeks.

[Frank]

Two of my biggest customers have packed in trading in the last 4 weeks.
Thats half of my work gone.
Not too worried though ,.Could see this coming along time ago and put enough aside to cover me.
Its the hanging about that gets to me

[G]

About 100 people at my place so far.....and counting

[shonadoll]

I'll be lucky if my business of 8 years survives another month. The phone has rang twice in 7 weeks.

I hope things pick up for you soon, that's awful.

[shonadoll]

I work in a large veterinary practice, and we have been consistently busy - I've been surprised we haven't(yet) slowed down a lot more. January is usually a lot less busy, it's odd.

[Grinch]

The contractors in our team got told to take a 12% pay cut, they looked not happy about it. But considering what they earn was it wrong of me to be pleased?

[gettin2dizzy]

I'll be lucky if my business of 8 years survives another month. The phone has rang twice in 7 weeks.
What do you do?

Give it a plug on here.

Sorry to hear that though. That really is ****ty.

[Berlin]

I've got a fishing shop and a fly fishing school.
Being a "luxury item" as soon as the word "recession" was used, the phone just stopped ringing. The twice it's rang, it was folks looking for free advice.

If we can survive until March we may have a chance but I fear the bank will want it's pound of flesh before then.

Hey Ho :) I could always be a stripper! I'd get custom just on the morbid curiosity alone! :)

My other company is a technical consultany and even that has also slowed right down. It should keep ticking over but If I lose two customers that's gone too.

C

[Thingus]

That sounds awful :( best of luck! And the same to everyone else here.

[KeithCRM]

Gonna lose my bonus this year (10%, subject to remaining employed) and been advised today of a ballot for a 10% reduction on base pay to save more redundances

[dizzyblonde]

I suppose that myself and im Indoors are quite lucky. Working at willy wonka's is pretty secure. When time are hard people still eat sweets and chocolate. Mind you it doesn't hold much joy for the plans we had this year, as he graduated last year and the plan was for him to jump ship and work somewhere more appropriate for his qualifications. Its not likely to be very easy for graduates or anyone at this moment in time. I keep telling him he wants to be grateful hes got a job at all right now. Even moving house, and relocating entirely was in the plan...looks like we won't be able to leave town either, with that sector being on its ar$e too

[G]

Gonna lose my bonus this year (10%, subject to remaining employed) and been advised today of a ballot for a 10% reduction on base pay to save more redundances

This is happening all over the place at the moment.

It wa done at our place and a place a friend works.......no one voted for a payrise cut though......its a cut throat world out there.

Although it said in the news that JCB took 15% paycut to avoid job losses in september.....then they lost 300 jobs in december anyway.

[dizzyblonde]

I'm not getting a bonus this yr, but only because I took 2 months off after falling off the happy boat. I'm not sure if they are going ahead with the pay rise though. We voted on that before xmas which was due to come into effect this month, it would be gutting if they U-turned on that one....we haven't had a pay rise in nearly four years

Mind you if the global company i work for did cut jobs in our neck of the woods it would be most likely that mine and im Indoors shift would be the first out of the door, even though its us that puts bread on the table for the HX branch.

[gettin2dizzy]

I've got a fishing shop and a fly fishing school.
Being a "luxury item" as soon as the word "recession" was used, the phone just stopped ringing. The twice it's rang, it was folks looking for free advice.

If we can survive until March we may have a chance but I fear the bank will want it's pound of flesh before then.

Hey Ho :) I could always be a stripper! I'd get custom just on the morbid curiosity alone! :)

My other company is a technical consultany and even that has also slowed right down. It should keep ticking over but If I lose two customers that's gone too.

C
Advertise it as:
Beat the credit crunch! Catch a meal! ;)

[SV-net]

Well I hear that Magnet the kitchen people are on the way? I hope nobody on here is working for them!

[dizzyblonde]

I can almost see the tumbleweeds blowing down Market St in the centre of HX..woolworths and Adams side by side, pretty big stores floorspace wise. I reckon HX will look more bleak than usual by the end of this period, as the council already charge some pretty stiff rents for units in the town centre, especially in the Piece hall where there are a lot of small local shops. There aren't many big high street stores here, and they find it hard to fill up the empty shops as it is

[SV-net]

Nowdays even empty commercial properties have to pay business rates after a short period of lying empty. For huge shops this is quite a large payment for the owners if the property is vacant. Out of order!

[sv_rory]

Yeah the whole situation is out of control for everybody, its not quite as bad as it was when the tories were in power but were heading that way.

My hours have just been cut at work and we have been told we need to take the extra hours as holiday if we dont do that then we have to accept a payment of just over £20. If we dont like it then redundancies.

Im lucky to have my own mobile disco as back up but then normally theres always work and people ringing for quotes. Ive had none

[Interceptor]

Just got told 1 in 3 to go by 5th of Feb.... nobody knows who's going yet been manufacturing engineering machinery on the same site since 1864 (145 years) been on Calender (local TV) tonight, and front page of Huddersfield Examiner today....
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2009/01/07/broadbent-announce-65-job-losses-86081-22622891/

Looking at going trudging round in the sleet selling yardbrushes and oven-gloves door to door... who said this country's NOT bankrupt....;)

[dizzyblonde]

hhmm, got a letter myself today. The stingy barstewards conned me out of my holidays last yr in a guff up, that they managed to wriggle out of, so I got no paid holiday. This yr in their cost cutting excersises, they sent letters saying company absences had risen so much last year that they were taking drastic measures this yr....because in the last 3 out of 4 yrs my absence has been more than 3.8% I won't be entitled to any company sick for 12 month from 1st Jan
FUNNY THAT, I'VE ONLY BEEN THERE 2 YEARS!!!!
I'm still glad that the stupid company isn't cutting anyone...yet

[Baph]

I suppose that myself and im Indoors are quite lucky. Working at willy wonka's is pretty secure. When time are hard people still eat sweets and chocolate.

I'm in a similar position to you dizzy. I suppose the thing we have in common is that the companies we work for are multi-continent businesses, so it's harder for a single economy to affect them.

I work for a large gambling company, and a good few months before the credit crunch really bit, our share price was down as low as 2p/share (falling from approx £12/share pretty rapidly). That was due to a business change (cutting the LBO arm off specifically). Back then, there were people saying "what if it goes to 0p/share? The company will be bankrupt!" Err, no.

Now, not even 6 months after the bankruptcy fear that some have, the share price is a little over £5/share and climbing.

The company isn't going anywhere, as people all over the world will continue to gamble, regardless of how much money they have. Sad fact but true.

We're also rapidly expanding, including setting up two whole new teams at the moment, and employing people left right & centre.

I was reluctant to post in this thread TBH, because our place is completely the opposite of the rest of the economy (or so it seems), but then I saw the positive angle. :)

We have an office in Bangor, North Wales (where I'm based, obviously), one in London (WC2H postcode) with the head office in Burton (DE14 postcode). Should anyone feel they can commute the distance required to either, and want a job (also feel that they'd be able to do the job), drop me a PM. I can always keep you posted with current vacancies - be that in IT support, Java/C development, HR, UAT, Installations etc etc.

I can also give more than the job spec says, including background to potential interviewers, which will obviously help with getting a foot in the door.

I hate hearing how bad other companies are doing when it's in the back of my mind that ours is doing very well.

My sympathies to all involved in redundancies etc. :(

[MacDaddySV]

Like I just mentioned in another thread . . .

I've been 'credit crunched' and laid off about 3-4 weeks ago :(, and now feeling the pressure as a result of having no money! :D

[Thingus]

I'm braving the storm and trying to find a new job. Sounds selfish but it will create another position if i can go so why not. Having said that i'd pity anyone who fell into my chair doing my job :p

[timwilky]

My brother sold out his building company last year to a competitor who agreed to retain his as contracts director. He has just been potted as they no longer have any contracts to manage.

He is a tad annoyed as he blames the business failure on the guy who bought him out