Do you think employers are using the 'credit crunch' to get rid of people?

All companies are looking to save money right now, somewhere. Labor costs are the easiest way to go. They need to keep the price of their products/services low or they'll lose more sales than they already do. They are looking for ways to streamline everything and to eliminate redundancies within all departments. Of course it's also easier now to load more work onto remaining employees without a pay increase, because those are indeed happy to still have a job. It's the simple rule of demand and supply. When it is easy to find employment elsewhere, people who get an increased work load and no corresponding pay increase will simply quit. When the market is tight and the supply of jobs is scarce, people will put up with the increased work load happy to still have a job. In your case, upper management decided that they need to cut the department in half. Part of the decision was probably sales forecast or predicted need for the service you were providing (you didn't state what you were doing, lol). Anyhow, you have to figure in that demand for whatever your job entailed is currently lower. So, it's actually not twice the workload for the remaining two. My guess is upper management figured that workload due to lack of demand will be reduced to what normally would be handled by three people. Then they thought that they could push that third of the workload on the remaining two for a while to see if they can handle it. Now they have several saving areas. Two positions eliminated, including one supervisor/manager. This means the department is now streamlined into a new department adding a responsibility to another manager, who gets a new title and a minimal pay increase (probably an eighth of what your former boss made). They still have savings because they save on what you earned and for the most part on what you previous boss earned. Keeping their fingers crossed upper management assumes that this new title manager will be able to redistribute responsibilities by having somebody of the his/her original department handle some of your former responsibilities, if needed, further re-distributing responsibilities. If needed, somebody new will be hired probably for less pay than what you made. At the very least they'll save most of the pay your former boss made, and for a couple of months the pay you made. Overall, yes everybody in your former company will have more responsibilities to handle for little to no pay increase. And yes, they'll be happy to do it because they'll count their blessings that in this economy they still have a job. And yes, management will use the thread of job loss to make them comply and probably go a step to far just to test the waters and see how much can be handled with less employees.. So yes, some of the job carnage is not necessary but they'll go through it because they can. And I think right now it's pretty much happening in all companies.

I think that many UK firms are hanging on for the New Year Michael. Then we'll start to see job shedding. I'm no militant, but I get tired of hearing the term "Re-structuring". It's a euphemism for "shedding as many people as we dare". We are going to see a new wave of asset strippers rise from the ashes. I don't know about your organisation, but my wife hears next week if she is safe. She heads up a team of 23, they won't all go, and she is probably safe, but these are nervous times.

I think you are right. Its true that the world is in dire economic crisis but you see a scenario where a company is doing well but still going for employee cuts. Its hard to digest but what you say is true, so I will say don't ever love your company as you are a professional employee

I think that economy is very difficult right now. As a small corporation owner, I have to spend only what I have, means I can not afford to hire anyone. I would like to hire some people to help me, but, I can not afford to have that luxury. Small corporations are always first to fail and last to make money. Every business is very slow right now. It is hard for me to judge any job position. I have to work for two people and I am paid for one. I have close friends working for government. She has time at work to be on her email, chats, forums etc.... She works only 6 hours a day and she is at home at 3PM... She has time for everything and she makes nice money. Her job is "boring". She feels like her job can be handle in part time during not more than 4 hours per week. She admitted that she is having luxury job. Soon those jobs are going to be eliminated for good. Other jobs are more productive, but employers are having hard time, so they will cut positions to save some money. Hope we will have better economy soon...people need to work for living.... HUGS

At my company it is a little of both. They lay off people then pile the work on the rest of us, and say in more words "Youre going to do this extra work with no raise as youre lucky to be employed here at all. Dont like it leave, oh but you cant afford to can you, heres more work". What i havent seen in a long time that happened recently was one of our CEOs stepped down. Usually its all the little people praying to still be employed, and the newest people with the biggest paycheck are the first to go. but theyve whittled down all our once bustling departments to nothing, and that i think is to save a few bucks, especially since upper management gets bonus' for being under budget, which is why they always do layoffs before the end of the fiscal year (Christmas). Total crap.

Yes i think that they are, i just had 2 friends layed off from the same company because there isn't enough work for them, but i think that they should not use this against them, thanks

I do believe that employers are using the bad economy to make people work harder or be harsher towards their employees. I haven't experienced this myself, personally, but I can see it happening.

I think a lot of these small and mid size companies in the US do not want to lay off, they have no choice. If there is no money, then there is no money.

I think there truly is a money shortage.....and if there isn't I believe this whole thing is to slow things down...I do believe that tons of the very rich with big investments are really going to be hurting....and small companies feel the trickle down from all of it. I don't think anyone wants to lay off people....but they need to for survival.