You make an excellent point. As someone who has worked as an engineer for a major manufacturer, my biggest concern is this: Your people and your product are your greatest assets, along with your brand, of course. In some industries that are not large factories producing manufactured goods, that assertion might not quite apply exactly the same, I'm not sure. But my point is: cutting experienced professionals really puts both your product at risk and your wealth of knowledge. A tough fiscal year, or a slide in stock value, in the long run is a bad reason to put the backbone of your company at risk. The people who know how to solve problems, who know the customer's voice, and who know all that you have to put into your product to make it ship at its best potential quality are desperately needed. It's hard to understand why a company would take such a risk to please shareholders short term. In the future, the price to be paid will almost surely outweigh the price you pay today to not compromise and put your brand at risk. It takes years to build a professional's ability to navigate challenges well enough to send products out the door that keep a brand's reputation strong. If you give that away, you jeopardize quality, risk enormous warranty, put your customer loyalty at risk, and may very well find yourself missing out when the market is primed to boom again. Meanwhile, your most experienced talent is somewhere else, strengthening their brand as yours misses out on its potential. And, maybe the problem is more cultural than anything else. Some of our strongest companies were once built on stability and loyalty. Today there seems to be a disconnect. Employers see little or no value in veteran loyalty, and the newer generation is responding by hopping from one place to another. There seems to be a lack of trust and appreciation in both directions.

Layoffs are bad business all around.

I don't think Lay-off's don't make any sense period! I'm glad more companies are opting to be more inclusive with their employees on business affairs. I look for companies that inspire employee ownership.

I agree, but my situation is a bit different, I was notified the first week of November 2015 that either I could decline further employment and my staff would remain employed or continue employment and lose 4 clerks/workers who are good at what they do because I trained them !!!!

Within 2 weeks after my resignation and after 2 interviews I was called by my previous employer and asked if I'd consider returning due to the workload, I cordially declined and am happily looking forward to a new and challenging career with a new employer, so my theory is "KARMA" catches up with everyone and everything, don't allow anyone or anything to steal your "JOY", there are opportunities out there, you've just got to go and get what you want,,,,,

I'll be 60 January 26, so if I can do it, you can do it also, Good Luck !!!!

I have been laid off my last 3 jobs for slow downs or new management..it stinks and leaves you with no where to go...

I agree with you but slightly disagree with Khosrow, true enough companies have to show revenue to shareholders but laying off professionals would hurt the company in the long-term. Other measures could be taken such as cutting back on benefits for a short period of time until the company bounces back.

Hi Quanyi, You make some good points, for sure. Unfortunately, most times there's no way to know why the decision was made to downsize some employees and not others. The best thing to do is jump right back into the market, if possible. (I know it's tough, but you can do it!) Start talking to friends, former colleagues, family and others to make connections to new opportunities.

And keep using Jobcase ~ we're here to help! If you have specific questions, post them... this community is great about giving helpful advice & support.

Best of luck, Marijoy

Hello Quanyi, You make an interesting argument but I'd like to add that not all companies default to layoffs to cut cost. Sometimes layoff are a result of bad negotiation or planning at the decision making table. There are other alternatives like job sharing which cuts hours but offers another option to maintain talent. I'm sure your skills and experience will lead you to the right fit with another employment opportunity.

I agree, the trained people are assets to the companies but people at the helm of affairs do not understand that they will be one day travel through the same path. The history will repeat in itself.

I agree with you, and also with Khosrow. While it is a business decision for management to lay of skilled and experienced professionals, it winds up costing them a lot more by having to hire in someone else and bring them up to speed to get the job done "when" the work returns. A re-directing of the existing professional's talents would be a better way to handle the lack of revenue from loss of business. Also, Management should be looking at themselves first, to see why the "loss of business" occurred in the first place. If they are culpable, they should maybe be the first ones cut...just thinking out loud, here...