Well, new year, new job. I hope.
After four years as Engineering Director at an automotive tier one, I was let go via a phone call while on vacation in the UK on the 28th. Great new years present! So while looking for a new job, I may have a little more time to spend on GRM which has been sadly lacking for the last few years.
So if anyone happens to need an Mechanical Engineering Director with over 30 years experience at OEM's and Tier One's, let me know.
Via phone call while on vacation?
Wow, that's a dick move by a coward if I've ever heard one.
Good luck with your search.
Wow! That sucks. I'll keep an eye out. Where are you located and are you willing to relocate?
On vacation, no less. What a tool.
Best of luck with the search and new chapter.
you know his upper management was berkeleyed because they didn't hire me.
Thanks all.
Located in Metro Detroit. Not wanting to relocate, but willing to do the 'away from home' thing for the right position now the kids are grown.
Toyman! said:Via phone call while on vacation?
Wow, that's a dick move by a coward if I've ever heard one.
Good luck with your search.
Auto industry is both cyclical and not particularly friendly.
Very sorry to hear Adrian, I'm at an OEM and will keep an ear to the ground. If you have a particular area of expertise feel free to PM me and I'll see what I can dig up that may be relevant for you.
They must've needed to get people off the payroll going into 2024. I agree what a dick move - couldn't wait 2 weeks?
Best of luck in your search.
That sucks.
Auto is a cut throat place, many years ago I was laid off from a tier 1 the week before Christmas, they needed to get head count down for year end. Those ass bags gave me 6 weeks severance and tried to call me back to work 3 weeks later.
I hope they took care of you on the severance part and you find a new gig quickly that fits your needs.
Wow, that's harsh! Sorry to hear it, I'm sure you'll end up with a better position!
I feel for you, Adrian. Ran into a former colleague the other day here in A2- he was let go in the summer along with a bunch of other people. A few months from his 55th birthday. But he wasn't on the pension program, and can at least keep his 401k.
He got a job at one of the Koreans here in A2/Ypsi- apparently they are hiring.
Sorry to hear it sir. I'll keep my ears open at the tiers I work with regularly. The automotive plastics industry is doing much of the same stuff with lots of recent layoffs at all the big places. You'll land on your feet sir.
In reply to classicJackets (FS) :
Yeah. I have a BIL who used to work for Bosch and then Mercedes as a quality control engineer. His last job change, he left the automotive business and went to work for Furgerson in the plumbing business. He's much happier now.
Sorry to hear Adrian. AutoNation did the same thing to me right as COVID hit. Phone call from my bosses' boss, suddenly I'm unemployed. Such is the auto industry
Thanks for the kind words folks.
alfadriver said:I feel for you, Adrian. Ran into a former colleague the other day here in A2- he was let go in the summer along with a bunch of other people. A few months from his 55th birthday. But he wasn't on the pension program, and can at least keep his 401k.
He got a job at one of the Koreans here in A2/Ypsi- apparently they are hiring.
Well I was working for a Korean company until the call came! Who's hiring in A2?
Man, a phone call while on vacation? Did they also clean out your desk and toss it on the front lawn?
The reality of the auto industry strikes again. It's a dream job for many enthusiasts, but it has it's downsides, too. Very cyclical and very dependent on the whims of shareholders. And that volatile nature makes the usual internal political crap that much more impactful.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
I think it was Hyundai. Don't remember fully, but he was happy. Or at least satisfied... :)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:The reality of the auto industry strikes again. It's a dream job for many enthusiasts, but it has it's downsides, too. Very cyclical and very dependent on the whims of shareholders. And that volatile nature makes the usual internal political crap that much more impactful.
Yea, I would really want to talk to that person. On one hand, it's really fun, and amazing to work with the tools that we got to use. Driving some really interesting cars (I mean even a prototype Taurus is cool). On the other, the travel can be pretty brutal- I didn't, but I know people who were on the road a lot chasing the worst weather in the world- Arizona in the peak summer, northern Canada (or even Finland) in the depths of winter. If you are in the "wrong" spot, you can get seriously burnt out of working on cars. I sorta, kinda, almost did- but that's not what stopped me from playing a lot with cars.
And then the work/salary. I have to say, for the most part, the OEM's pay relative to the cost of living in SE MI is really good. More than one of my friends looked into changing, but always ended up back here.
The brutal politics of a large industry is really no different than any large company. If you can deal with that, it's fine- but you will be happy when you are done, I can assure you of that.
But right now, the cyclical nature is the worst thing. Not only do you have to deal with the normal cyclical nature of the market, now you have to deal with all of the companies trying to figure out between EVs and ICEs. That's what my friend and most of the people I know got cut got caught up in.
If you are into robotics and love EVs, the auto industry would a really good fit right now. And I'll end it at that.
In reply to alfadriver :
Agreed on work/salary. We got in prior to COVID housing explosion so our CoL is pretty low, and salaries are pretty high.
What I've seen other engineers say is they could probably get higher pay, or they could probably find better work life balance elsewhere - but you'd be hard pressed to find both (very position and attitude dependent, obviously)
Why did you answer a "work call" on vacation?
Sorry this happened to you. It happens, and you'll do just fine. I know.
1) 2007 December as a manager at Peterbilt the plant manager gave a great see you after the holidays speech and gave out the bonus checks. First week of January the layoffs started and continued for weeks. Every Friday I'd get a list of people to take to HR to tell them they don't work there anymore. One night I basically worked a double shift by myself to hit the production goal for my part of the assembly line. Corporate America always puts money over people when push comes to shove. 2008 was the year for the EPA changes requiring low sulphur diesel and DPFs. Everyone bought trucks the year before. Everyone knew sales would be lower, but management lied to everyone anyway.
2) June 30th 2020 (Covid 19 era). My former company fired about 12 of us via TEAMS and cut our health benefits at the "end of the month." The company had a huge contract that ended Dec 2019ish and didn't have plans to replace that revenue. They had overhired for that contract. COVID happened and business was drying up with everyone waiting. They booted a lot of people in the middle and saved money for bonuses. They gave out mid year bonuses and told everyone we were bad apples. One of the "bad apples" worked there 35 years. No one keeps a bad person 35 years (more lies). The next round of layoffs they fired a group of people via TEAMS (not even individual calls like we got).
Trust me. This is just like dating the wrong person. It was them and not you.
Everytime something like this happened, things ended up even better for myself and my family on the other side.
The worst part of it was selling my 986S and 996 during COVID. I even sold some parts on here that I would've like to keep. One of them wasn't as advertised (my fault as I bought it on eBay and resold it a few years later without a full inspection). I gave the buyer a full refund which really hurt at the time.
I've had to make those phone calls. It sucks. You're told the person and the date. Absolutely one of the worst things I have done. And to have no say in the who. Terrible.
best of luck Adrian.
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