What's happening where you work?

In reply to calteg :

You got to love the survivor paycut. They did that when I got let go from my last job. I could have stayed but I would have gotten a 15% paycut and been the only person covering a $2B+ account. I was given the choice first and said heck no. I worked too damn hard to take that and my payout was more than enough for me to survive unemployed for a long time.

One of my peers sucked it up and took the cut. It was the one the customer didn't like. They all called me for the first 3 months wishing I'd come back. 

In reply to 4cylndrfury :

At the entry-level side of the pool, your competition for talent is, well, everybody. Around here, $20-21 for flipping burgers is relatively common. It's common to hear about experienced welders & carpenters being offered $18/hr, which isn't a livable wage in most cities. 

Not trying to bash your business model, but you're going to have to have a compelling reason to pay folks $2-3/hr less if you want to retain them

bobzilla said:

JG Pasterjak said:

RevRico said:

Dicks warehouse that a month ago was sending people home for days at a time is now in full OT mode

The sporting goods store or the all-male strip club?

Dick's Warehouse by day, Dicks Warehouse by night

calteg said:

In reply to 4cylndrfury :

At the entry-level side of the pool, your competition for talent is, well, everybody. Around here, $20-21 for flipping burgers is relatively common. It's common to hear about experienced welders & carpenters being offered $18/hr, which isn't a livable wage in most cities. 

Not trying to bash your business model, but you're going to have to have a compelling reason to pay folks $2-3/hr less if you want to retain them

That is just it... it is a worker's market.  I am being offered $45-55 an hour flat rate, to get me to work for someone else.  And if I took it, someone else would have to offer more to get me to work for them, etc.

It isn't "printing money", it is supply and demand.  High demand, low supply.

In a follow up to my post yesterday, there was a reorg announcement today where major divisions are getting restructured, and they cut out a chunk of management. My director wasn't impacted, and neither was I, but we have more work to do than people to do it. I don't think the lower level executive shift is going to impact my day to day life, other than the fact I had a pretty good relationship with my skip level Senior VP. 

There will be a few more announcements like this through January. It's a great way to add stress to the holiday season.

4cylndrfury said:

My clients have as broad a gap between their budget and their expectations as Ive ever seen, and ive been doing this for 20-ish years, and for nearly a decade now with this company alone.

Also, most of my hires are for entry level, zero experience required positions. Same as everywhere, candidates want $20/hr for basic work. Often the best I can offer is nearly $2 less - and those that take it act like they can turn in half-assed work because they're doing me the favor of gracing me with their presence. We are all here to do a job - if you love that job, even better! But do the job that you agreed to do at minimum. Im not asking you to do more, just what you agreed to do.

And, at the rate the money printers are brrrrrring, its only going to get worse. Cant wait to try that $45/loaf bread that the USSR was always talking about...

$18 in 2023 is worth $21.26 in just 2019 and $24-$25 in 2013. Inflation is a bear.

Senior level management for an airline maintenance organization here. I have hired 130 new techs in the last six months due to a change from contract outsourcing to direct hires. Going like gangbusters. Haven't slept more than five hours a night in the last six months, but really enjoying watching this all come together. Adding 30 more spots first of next year. There are days though that I wish I was just an avionics troop again. :) 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

calteg said:

In reply to 4cylndrfury :

At the entry-level side of the pool, your competition for talent is, well, everybody. Around here, $20-21 for flipping burgers is relatively common. It's common to hear about experienced welders & carpenters being offered $18/hr, which isn't a livable wage in most cities. 

Not trying to bash your business model, but you're going to have to have a compelling reason to pay folks $2-3/hr less if you want to retain them

That is just it... it is a worker's market.  I am being offered $45-55 an hour flat rate, to get me to work for someone else.  And if I took it, someone else would have to offer more to get me to work for them, etc.

 

It isn't "printing money", it is supply and demand.  High demand, low supply.

 

yeah, I totally understand the reality that Im living in - the payrate is not my determination. The client pays us for services, I staff according to what the client pays and what my superiors determine to be an acceptable margin. The cap is a 100% self-incflicted wound. That's what I was saying when I mention the gap between the clients budget and their expectations is absurd.

And while it is currently a workers market, the inflation bit is whats driving increased salary expectations - cost of living determines what someone feels they "need" to do the job. When the reality is that food prices have gone up by an order of magnitude, rent, durable goods and consumables are all deep into double digit percent cost increases (don't fight me on this, its what I do for a living, I have the objective data, and its being severely under-reported by the fed and the media), the result is folks are just not willing to do what they once were for the same money. Not even close. And since its a workers market, they have the leverage. 

Money printer go brrrr is a huge part of this, and the cycle will repeat itself - worker wants more money, company pays more and then charges more for their products to compensate. Costs go up, workers demand more to keep up. Company pays more and then charges more....

Scott_H said:

calteg said:

Until a week ago, was in a customer success role at a very large software company that catered to dealerships. Lot of rumors about layoffs, and they hit hard last week. Sales, CSM, devops all got cut to the bone, and I was caught up in it.

I actually feel bad for the folks still employed there. Literally double the work and they "restructured" the pay plan to the tune of a $15k/yr haircut. Ouch. Also rumors of another round of cuts in Q1 '24

Not sure what's next. My lengthy auto experience has been primarily at F500 companies, thinking about looking for a smaller, privately held company or exiting automotive altogether. 

 

I have some of the same background and a little further down the path if you want to chat.  PM me if you like.

 

 

PM'd

VegasNick said:

Senior level management for an airline maintenance organization here. I have hired 130 new techs in the last six months due to a change from contract outsourcing to direct hires. Going like gangbusters.

Everything is expensive and wages aren't keeping up. House prices are crashing, people are cutting back on spending. Consumer confidence is very low.

Travel is going gangbusters. PW was inquiring about a trip yesterday and the agent said in 25 years she's never seen it this busy, they're having a hard time keeping up with demand. And prices are high

Makes no sense.

In reply to Peabody :

I think it makes perfect sense. Everything sucks, and people can't afford the big things they need.  They are exhausted on the stress, and need to reward themselves with something special that is less expensive than a house or a car, so they indulge in a little vacation. 
 

Escapism is not a good long term financial plan, but it's a fantastic break for people who want to feel special, or just human. 

SV reX said:

In reply to Peabody :

I think it makes perfect sense. Everything sucks, and people can't afford the big things they need.  They are exhausted on the stress, and need to reward themselves with something special that is less expensive than a house or a car, so they indulge in a little vacation. 
 

Escapism is not a good long term financial plan, but it's a fantastic break for people who want to feel special, or just human. 

And you have also explained exactly why alcohol sales increase sharply during recessions.  It's a necessary expense to medicate from all of the other bullcrap. 

In reply to golfduke :

I agree

For all those stories of dire straits there also is a lot of prosperity out there.  Just saying.

I just watched the biggest field of expensive race cars at HSR Daytona.   I go cross-eyed listening to guys complaining about the economy while they fill up their $300,000 boat at the gas pump, that they are pulling with a new Platinum F250.

Looked online yesterday, every camping space in every Florida State Park is booked for this weekend.

Maybe the bright flash of the 1% blinds the view of what others are going through.  Then again, I live in Florida.

Peabody said:

VegasNick said:

Senior level management for an airline maintenance organization here. I have hired 130 new techs in the last six months due to a change from contract outsourcing to direct hires. Going like gangbusters.

Everything is expensive and wages aren't keeping up. House prices are crashing, people are cutting back on spending. Consumer confidence is very low.

Travel is going gangbusters. PW was inquiring about a trip yesterday and the agent said in 25 years she's never seen it this busy, they're having a hard time keeping up with demand. And prices are high

Makes no sense.

What is really weird is that our increase in flying has been mostly international. Domestic travel actually ticked down some. 

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

For all those stories of dire straits there also is a lot of prosperity out there.  Just saying.

I just watched the biggest field of expensive race cars at HSR Daytona.   I go cross-eyed listening to guys complaining about the economy while they fill up their $300,000 boat at the gas pump, that they are pulling with a new Platinum F250.

Looked online yesterday, every camping space in every Florida State Park is booked for this weekend.

Maybe the bright flash of the 1% blinds the view of what others are going through.  Then again, I live in Florida.

Everyone I know is doing pretty damn good. Yes, costs are up but so is pay. Yes, they are all working hard to keep up with demand, but there is demand that doesn't appear to be slowing. 

I certainly can't complain. 

bmw88rider said:

In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :

Sounds like my old company. Glad I got away from there. I saw over the last 4-5 years I was there that the product was just getting better and better with longer refresh cycles and burst capacity was becoming cloud based along with DR. I had a buddy laid off from the compute business and I was not surprised one bit. 

I'm now working in credit card disputes. Really interesting transition but the growth is there. 

Our compute unit was significantly reduced with the latest round of reductions, they're asking other teams to fill the slack.  The compute folks that are left cover such an absurd number of accounts that they really can't be effective.  Unfortunately, I believe the longer refresh cycles are going to become worse before they improve.  Europe is doing better, because energy prices are spiking so quickly that a 2 year refresh cycle makes fiscal sense. Definitely an interesting spot to be in, but a lot of risk for sure.

1,600 person architecture firm.

A tiny number of staff cuts in October. In this industry your severance consists of accrued vacation, so it is painful. Company shrunk from 1,500 head count to around 650 in 2010. The second half of this year feels eerily similar to 2008.

Commercial pipeline is dry. Staff shifting to data centers which is HOT. Hospitality still busy. Sport venues steady. Healthcare always does well. Science and tech steady. Residential (think high rise) is suffering. Senior living growing. Commercial interiors needs to re-focus on downsizing and reno.

Interest rates killed momentum on a lot of projects but many have hung on. Overall demeanor = cautious optimism but nervous.  

The new slogan: "Survive to 25"

SaaS Director of Engineering here - we are growing as a relatively young business and continue to hire in product development, sales and any other departments that generate revenue or reduce costs.

Our compensation and hiring strategy, like many businesses, has adjusted to suit conditions but we have many more levers to pull before layoffs become one of the hard trade offs.

The wake up call as someone who has been working software engineering and cloud infrastructure for so many years is that the days of job hopping every few years and seeing big total comp gains are likely history and won't return for another 4 or 5 years when we are on the other side of the business cycle.

Heard on recent financial news show:  Consumers have not quit spending.  And the demographic with the highest spending are 60-70 year olds.  (think Florida)   One factor is these folks have mortgages paid off thus more available funds.

Community Theater Technical Director.

Revolving door of underpaid and overworked staff, a volunteer group who doesn't have time to help out because their lives were turned into blended soup after the pandemic or they've taken a second job to afford things, cost of materials I use to build sets has tripled, and sponsorships have all but dried up.

In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :

Curious on that. Our spending hasn't gone down in terms of $$ going out of the checking account, but the discretionary spending has been reduced by about 75%. And our savings rate has gone down. 

I'm a Maintenance Machinist/Machinery Repairman at a Caterpillar foundry. At the moment things are going full bore with all of the overtime anybody wants; weekends, earlies, overs...

I was very hesitant to type that since the last time I worked for a company this size, in this industry and thought I was set until retirement I got laid off.  

trumant said:

The wake up call as someone who has been working software engineering and cloud infrastructure for so many years is that the days of job hopping every few years and seeing big total comp gains are likely history and won't return for another 4 or 5 years when we are on the other side of the business cycle.

So this is the next industry downturn my "career" would stumble into, awesome...

I lead one of the larger industrial engineering & construction projects in the SouthEast. Craft availability is the #1 job challenge every day, and keeping the Trade Partners from pillaging each others craft by offering another couple of bucks an hour is tough. It's the literal definition of a supply vs. demand problem. Maybe this will change at some point, but it isn't anytime soon with the 10s of billions of projects between EV, Life Sciences and Semiconductor in the pipe line nationwide.

And the fleet of fairly modern trucks in the parking lot is impressive, all with fancy lettering like Tremor (whatever that means). My $20k high mileage diesel Cayenne is dragging down the vehicle average :-)  There is money being made and being spent in the market currently.