Texas Instrument Laying off 3400 people (2015, countertops, home equity loan)

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by rdfw

And I'll bet you've never bene accused of being a realist. I fail to see how, for example, a stock being down 90% meaning that it's easier to later be up 10% is anything positive. And who's whining? Please, by all means, take out another mortgage on your house, buy the big SUV you can't afford and max out another round of credit cards. If you're not, you're just "crying in your beer".

I don't own an SUV. I have one mortgage on my house (that I just refinanced). I have an emergency fund.

Wanna know why I have these things? I have been laid off before. My wife and I survived on half of my former income.

I am a realist. I got out of my former company BEFORE the last big layoff. If I get laid off again, I am ready.

[momof2dfw]

Grainraiser, GOOD LUCK BUD!!!!! Keep your chin up and it sounds as though your that type.


Now, as for the rest. GEEZ!!!!! Good grief.
1. Have a VERY GOOD and close friend meeting w/ bankruptcy atty RIGHT NOW! Losing their business. Still they are optimists and have a good outlook on life.
2. Our own business has lost business. Have had customers close up shop. Move out w/o warning. File bankruptcy. Not be able to pay their bills. EVERYTHING! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE LOCAL ECONOMY IS DOING VERY WELL and probably WAY better than most.
3. Yes, I have HOLES IN MY JEANS!!! Just that these particular jeans I had to pay extra for the holes . Had PLENTY of hard times as an adult and a child. Growing up we had handmade clothes, hand me downs from other famillies, etc. No biggie. We were happy
4. Business is a wee bit slow BUT we have been making VERY GOOD and sound decisions along the way and are in a MUCH better shape than most of our competition.
5. Grew up poor, on the "wrong side of the tracks" w/ a dad in a blue collar profession that got layed off MANY TIMES!!! Parents could have filed bankruptcy many times w/o a question. They didn't. They stayed optimistic. Both worked what they had to in order to survive. Never even claimed unemployment the many times they COULD have.
6. Husbands story is much like mine but worse. His dad actually suffered some medical setbacks and they DID lose "everything" once. Just not thru bankruptcy. Neither of our parents filed bk nor filed for unemployment.

Just that SOME of us HAVE seen rock bottom and DO know what it is like. But the MAIN POINT of this ENTIRE thread was SOLELY ABOUT TEXAS INSTRUMENTS and those of us that are VERY FAMILIAR with how THEY operate are saying that, TI IS NOT A VERY RELIABLE WAY TO SEE HOW THE ECONOMY IS DOING!!!! How hard is THAT to understand?!?!?!?!?! They have layoffs even when the economy is going strong and NO ONE ELSE is losing their jobs. That is how THEY do business.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by rdfw

And I'll bet you've never bene accused of being a realist. I fail to see how, for example, a stock being down 90% meaning that it's easier to later be up 10% is anything positive. And who's whining? Please, by all means, take out another mortgage on your house, buy the big SUV you can't afford and max out another round of credit cards. If you're not, you're just "crying in your beer".

Actually, if the rates keep going down I just might be "taking out another mortgage". Even saw prices on SUV's and told hubby we could sell the old one off and buy a much newer one for next to nothing. If we refinance the orig. mortgag w/ the new construction loan for our building addition and save enough money from it, just might get that newer SUV. BUT, that is also doing "smart business" and getting MORE for the same amount of money one is already spending.


I know that is going to be hard for some to understand................

[rdfw]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

I don't own an SUV. I have one mortgage on my house (that I just refinanced). I have an emergency fund.

Wanna know why I have these things? I have been laid off before. My wife and I survived on half of my former income.

I am a realist. I got out of my former company BEFORE the last big layoff. If I get laid off again, I am ready.

Good for you. Keep telling people to not worry, there's nothing anyone can do so do nothing (anything else is just whining), it's all business as usual, and you'll have less prepared competition if you get laid off again. I see what you're doing, smart!

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Just that SOME of us HAVE seen rock bottom and DO know what it is like. But the MAIN POINT of this ENTIRE thread was SOLELY ABOUT TEXAS INSTRUMENTS and those of us that are VERY FAMILIAR with how THEY operate are saying that, TI IS NOT A VERY RELIABLE WAY TO SEE HOW THE ECONOMY IS DOING!!!! How hard is THAT to understand?!?!?!?!?! They have layoffs even when the economy is going strong and NO ONE ELSE is losing their jobs. That is how THEY do business.

So if TI lays off larger and larger percentages, it's all just business as usual. Got it finally, thanks. No context needed, understood. And this thread became about more than just TI with people saying there's simply no point in being anything other than super positive and unconcerned.

Would you have taken any precautions if all you heard was that everything is ok, there's nothing you can do and being slightly concerned is lack of comprehension and "crying in your beer"? You and others may have taken proper precautions in the past, but you don't help anything by telling others to ignore reality.

I just read an article on Marketwatch talking about how the stock market typically does better in times of higher unemployment, so let's cheer for more business as usual! (Nevermind that the study only considers the last 60 years and not the economic period most similar to the current one, just before then...but that would just be whining.)

[Grainraiser]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Grain - good luck in the hunt. Sorry to hear you've been impacted by it. What kind of skills do you have?

I responded to this thread because my current job consist of talking to folks who are facing foreclosure. Are clients are not first time home buyers but folks who are building homes in the 500k-$2,000,000 dollar range. Some of them simply made bad decision and some tried to by more home than they could afford. A good portion of them had 6 figure incomes and felt they could weather the storm. Most folks figure they will be out of work for 3 months or less. When it stretches to 1 year or more you start to realized not one can really prepare for hardships like this. Hearing horror stories everyday kinda makes you understand that you can't prepare for everything because you never imagine the worse case scenario. Companies laying off is nothing new because it happens all the tinme. My companie hiring in other departments. What is shocking is mass layoffs. This time last year we 126 employees. Once I am gone they will have 28

[rdfw]

Originally Posted by Grainraiser

you can't prepare for everything because you never imagine the worse case scenario.

Because even considering a bad-case scenario would be "crying in your beer" and being a negative "chicken little" and people tell you there's nothing you can do, so do nothing.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by rdfw

Good for you. Keep telling people to not worry, there's nothing anyone can do so do nothing (anything else is just whining), it's all business as usual, and you'll have less prepared competition if you get laid off again. I see what you're doing, smart!

Did I say there was nothing you could do? About the greater state of the economy, yes. Because, in fact, there is nothing you can do about it. The damage is done and now the poison has to work itself out of the system.

Now what can you do about your own situation? I said prepare yourself. Lessen your chances for being laid off by getting yourself noticed at work. Go above and beyond. Learn new skills, volunteer to help out in other areas. Have an emergency fund. If you do get laid off don't let your pride keep you from taking a job - any job - to make ends meet.

Originally Posted by rdfw

Would you have taken any precautions if all you heard was that everything is ok, there's nothing you can do and being slightly concerned is lack of comprehension and "crying in your beer"? You and others may have taken proper precautions in the past, but you don't help anything by telling others to ignore reality.

ABSOLUTELY because you NEVER KNOW when you're gonna get canned. Layoffs happen all the time. They just happen with considerably more volume during a downturn. I haven't told anybody to ignore reality. I merely said b*tching and moaning about it and focusing on the negative does you no good.

I learned my lesson in 2003, well AFTER the last recession had ended. TI decided to allow a couple hundred contracts to expire and mine was one of them. I went on the bench for my company but was laid off after 3 weeks.

I knew I was getting laid off and I did everything I could to find a job. I ended up taking one for less than half of my regular salary. And then I took another part-time one to supplement that. My wife went back to work, working 2 jobs. She worked at night and I worked during the day and on weekends. We got rid of all the extras. We didn't have cable, an internet connection, pest control, or dining out. The thermostat was low (68) during the winter and high (80) during the summer. It sucked, but ya know what, we made it, and we learned from it.

[rdfw]

Who's moaning? No moaning. Highlighting the dangers in the situation (so as to be aware) is a far cry from simply whining, which no one here has done. Highlighting that the layoffs at TI are abnormal, even for TI, because of the size and because of the context of the current economy is not "crying in your beer" and "focusing on the negative". Shouting down any mention of a troubled economy with accusations of "lack of reading comprehension" and "whining" is, however, ignoring reality.

But hey, let's be "positive" - Maybe if the unemployment rate doubles, my 401k will recover before I retire. Right? (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Bad-news-job-front-doesnt/story.aspx?guid={5D3F2682-3190-4536-9EF0-3DBA0578BF14}&dist=SecMostRead)

[ufcrules1]

The economy is doing really really bad. What good is it going to do to keep crying about it? It's all over the news every second of every day. Nobody is missing any of it! My wife and I have been through many layoffs and tough times. We learned our lesson a looong time ago just like bluescreen73. We saved a huge nest egg and lived/live way below our means and have been for several years now.

If we both get laid off, we have enough money to last a long time.(We are the ones who have been responsible) If that long time comes and we lose all of our money then we will shack up with other family members. We will do whatever it takes to survive. I will hunt and fish if I have too. I will keep my head up high the whole time too, just like I'm doing now. I will not crawl into a hole and whine and complain every chance I get like some of the posters do on here. Like I said above, I hear enough of that crap on TV already.

So TI laid off more people than they normally do? Yeah? This is what companies do in recessions so they can restructure themselves to survive. I'm sure a lot will not survive and I'm sure a lot will.

When it really really comes down to it.. what are you going to do? You are going to survive like you always have.

[ufcrules1]

Oh, and the people who have not been responsible and bought bigger houses than they could afford, excessive cars, clothes, etc. You will suffer and you deserve it too. It's people like you who helped bring us into this recession that we are in.