heartless employers

It has to be a combination of both. Some companies cannot support to spend money for workers during an off season so they will let people go. It's unfortunate. Were they given warning about the layoff? Oh, and are we talking about fire-fire or layoff-layoff? Fire is when you are terminated from a job due to doing the job incorrectly or not following the rules. Layoff means they didn't need you anymore so they cut you from the job. There is a difference because firing is worst than layoff, but the effect is the same. As for being laid off during your birthday? That is very rude. They celebrate your birthday and then tell you that you've lost your job? Sounds very crazy to me.

My goodness! I am sorry to hear what happenned to your son in law, it really tore my heart! His employer is indeed heartless and I wonder why bitter people like them even populate this world. It seems that the law that the government made cannot do anything to protect the employees. I am sure bitter company where he used to work for doesn't even deserve him. May he find better job with much higher salary.

Companies do not care any more Everybody is just a Number to them now and nothing else All they care about is money and bonuses not what they are doing to People or their Families It is sad but that is how it has turned now

that happened to my hubby once. he got fired from his job around this time of year. i dont think they think about their employees any more like they used to. its all about the bottom dollar.

It is sad to hear such thing happening most especially on season like this or during the time where one has to celebrate a birthday. I do think that some people really does not have the heart to feel what others would feel. I know a company who instead of laying of workers, called up a meeting for each employees, ask the employees to decide whether to hold a party or not. If party is held then they have to lay off some employees considering the financial situation of the company, or no party and in return no lay of. The money to spend on the party will spend to continue operations and extend work for those who are supposed to be laid of. The result, no party but no lay off. I consider it a very wise decision.

I find that hard to believe but, from what I've been hearing, it sure sounds like that's exactly what some companies do! My husband was fired two weeks before Christmas last year. He was one of the luckier ones, though, and found a new job the following April. We're STILL trying to catch up! I used to work for a large company, Cadmus Communications. I was a proofreader there. I loved my work but despised management. We were not human beings, we were just numbers. I'm not sure, but it looks like Cadmus may be going belly up soon because they have been firing people left and right recently, also right before Christmas. I made some long-time friends with some people there who have been with that company for close to 20 years or over 20 years and they've all been given the pink slip. One is... was... in a higher-end editor position. He has a PhD but that did not matter to these heartless people. He was given the axe on the 19th. One other person, a friend of mine who is also a referral of mine here at myLot, also got fired the exact same day that his wife got fired from this same company. I don't believe that some companies have any heart, except for the lower-echelon people. I think they purposely hire people for upper-management who do not have a heart at all; they have a bank vault where their heart should be. Hearing about your supervisor who opened a birthday card to say she was fired has to be the absolute worst case I've ever heard, though. That takes the cake. I'd love to know what the company's name is so I'll know to always avoid it. I refuse to patron any company whose practices are so inhumane.

I don't think it's a case of choose the worst occasion, I think your headline says the way it is, "Heartless Employers." I remember when I was working the graveyard shift at the hotel, I worked from 11 PM till 7 AM, front desk. I was getting ready for work when I got the call that my uncle had just passed away (dads brother) and it left me crying and by time I got to work it was obvious there was something wrong. My boss was a slob, may he now rest in peace, came in to ask me a question and I helped him through it. He asked me if I had been crying and I said yes so he asked why and I told him, naturally once again crying and you know what he said, "Well if you think you're going to buggar off to the funneral you're fired, I need you here." I really didn't have the money to go to Vancouver so I didn't go to the funneral but within 24 hours I had turned in my notice of resignation as I already had another job to go to which I kept for many years till I could no longer work. Some people are just heartless. My opinion.

Its not companies its people. Regardless of what someone says about "oh I was just doing my job" they know whats right and wrong. Sorry to hear about this, I know there is no way I would ever do that to someone right before Christmas or on their birthday that's just cruel and totally uncalled for. Most people leave their personal integrity outside of the workplace instead of taking it with them when that's where it needs to be the most right now.

That's terriable! Even worse since the economy isn't up to par for finding a new job either nor at similar pay either. The one job I lost let me go a week after I had gallbladder surgery moved up. Then again I just wanted to stick it out as much as I could. As when I was expecting the yr before & I got to meet & train my replacement. Sadly I outlasted my "replacement"

Dont they have to have a good reason to fire someone?

Generally it's your imagination. Actually it isn't your imagination, it's normally how the business cycle works. First, do you mean fired or laid off? If they were fired, most of the time people are fired for a reason, and usually deserve it. So I assume you mean laid off. If they were fired, then it's possible that they ticked off a manager, and they choose the worse possible time to fire them as retaliation. I have seen that happen, but I honestly side with the managers most of the time. Sorry, but if you are a jerk at work, and the manager says "have a nice Christmas vacation. We don't need you to come back", I really have no sympathy. Don't be a jerk at work. However, lay offs are a bit different. There are two things that happen before the beginning of the year, that tend to cause later November and early December lay offs. I don't like this, and I doubt you will either, but I understand that this is simply how business works. But it's not some specific attempt to screw people up. First, is the year review and forecast. This is where the managing people at the top of the company review how they did this year, and how much business they project for the following year. If those numbers do not look good, then they start making plans to reduce labor down to what they expect their needs will be. Since that happens in the last quarter of the year.... lay offs hit in Nov-Dec. Second, and this is more annoying, parent company reviews. This is when your company is owned by another company. That other company is not right there at your company to see what is going on. So instead, they have to rely on budgets and numbers and graphs and so on. As such, your company might need to 'spruce up the numbers" before the meeting with the parent company. (again normally at the end of the year). As such, if they can eliminate any non-absolutely required labor from the books, that makes their numbers look good. Say I am selling $100K in product, and spending $50K in labor. But if I can eliminate a temp employee that makes $25K in labor, but still make our *current* products, it makes it look like I cut labor costs in half, while still selling $100K in product for the year. Generally what happens there is, the guy get's laid off, then about February, they need him back. That's exactly what happened to me. They laid me off mid-December, and the fourth week of February, they called me back. It was just because they were impressing their parent company. So, no it's not them being heartless or cruel. Employers are just employers. They do what is required to keep the company going, and sometimes those decisions show up at bad times simply because of how the company operates. I worked at one place where their fiscal year started in August. So every year that wasn't good, they tended to lay people off just before August. That was simply how their company ran.

First of all I am really sad to hear about him.Secondly companies are going crazy the way they are firing people. I have a friend coming from France she applied for vacations to trvel the world with her boy friend and next thing she received an email stating that there are some 150 people fired including her. It came as a shock and if u want my honest opinion. People from different companies are now being fired if they are not liked by the owners since they dont need an excuse

My husband received 60 days' notice of termination last year one week before Thanksgiving. That really put a damper on the holiday season.

This is the first time, I am hearing such a thing. I dont know whether they wanna hurt him or it was anyway the day they wanted to give that card. It all depends on the management, and what they think. Nowadays people dont live according to policies. They dont even consider human nature, or good or bad. If they wanna make money, they may take any action. No matter, who gets hurt in the process.

I doubt very much that "companies purposely choose the worst occasion they can to sock it to ya". I'm sure it's from necessity and more to do with job performance. There was a woman working for me once whose husband was out of work with 3 teenage kids. She desperately needed her job. I fired her because she was stealing from me. Wages are the biggest overhead a company has so it's a responsible business practice to cut the staff if things go bad...sometimes too, a number of staff may have to go to save the jobs of others or to stop the business from going under. A company will not sack their best workers and keep the worst.

Companies don't really care. BOttom line and all that rot is about all they see or care anything about. My early retirement was very well planned and couldn't have been better for me but then, afew months later, I hear from my ex co-workers that people are being walked out of the building with no prenotification whatsoever. You can only imagine how I felt.

they sure do.thats what happened to my daughter in florida thats on the street and my son here in AZ. not the one i live with but my youngest. he got "layed off" 2 weeks before xmas and they have 3 young kids. 6yrs,4yrs, and 1yr old. if not for her dad letting them live in his house, theyed be on the street also or more likely living with us. he said it was because a conveyer belt broke and he cant go back till its fixed.it seems they only took into consideration that he was the most recent employed, so he was the one let go. i think they should have considered who had kids and who could deal with it easier.

It is really sad for us hear the news.He might have felt the real schok.Getting fired when there is a celebration awaiting,really sucks one's mind.i don't think the administration want to hurt people in a cruel way like this.we have to take them as a coincidence.Let him find a good job soon.I pray for that.

That's really a terrible thing. Because those employer don't consider what their employee feel about on that situation...This is unfair actions of that employer. They should not do that in this time?

I know how it feels...:) I am just having my holidays then my heartless employer terminated my contract thru email not in written notice. How unprofessional he is, right?