Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
 

With apologies to David Bowie, big changes where I work. The facility where I work is being shut down and being moved to a newer, larger facility in the southeast.

I'm not going with but will be running a small Service/Calibration facility being set up here. No cut in pay or benefits, so that's a good thing.

Don't know much more than that at this time. Kinda excited AND apprehensive at the same time. Will know more on Tuesday.

At least they didn't outright sh1t can you .How long till you retire ?

I have about 4 years to go. From what little I know at the moment, one of my guys and myself are the few lucky ones.

Wow with only 4 years to go I'd be apprehensive too. Hoping for the best for ya!

Man... that sounds lucky for you so far. :tup:

I left my job of 27 years last June . Leaving new job end of this month . Trying something new . I understand your uneasiness. Good thing we got bikes to clear our minds :tup:

Wind therapy as someone said.

And side cars and scooters and gromclowns too. OH My!

A tall bottle of IPA says you'll be spending at least some time in the new facility, whether training others, setting up shop or whatever.

Hey cheesy, I like the sound of "small service and calibration". Sound like less pulling of heavy hydraulic rams etc etc eh? Then again, the computer side of things is a real _____:hmm:

This X2. Where in the Southeast are they setting up shop?

You'd win. I guess I'm supposed to be down there something like one week a month until things are up and running. Then maybe a week or two every quarter.

I still have more questions than answers about what's going to happen and how. What I do know is that myself and Jason, who works for me, are the only ones from the back of the building that are being kept on. Jason is moving to the new facility. One or two people from Customer Service are being sent to the new facility, too. One or two managers will be cut loose, along with everyone else in the building. Maybe some poorly performing regional sales staff, too.

I have been told that those being let go will be getting very generous severance packages. Which is probably why I'm being kept on. It would be cheaper to keep me.

A small town near Charleston, SC. They found a 47,000 sq ft facility and got a lot of incentives from the state to set up shop there. I understand that sites in IL, TX, and AZ were also considered. SC came up with the best package. I guess IL wasn't even interested in talking to us and we've been here almost fifty years.

while you're down here, if you wanna come up to Charlotte, you can borrow the hawk and take it up to the mountains!

You sure about that? I just relearned how to ride on two wheels.

at least if you break it you know how to fix it. :lmao::p

Praying all goes will for you in the transition Monsiuer Fromagé... been going thru transitions here myself... just merged with another JD dealer, doubled store count, new systems..... been headache after headache.....LOL but hey... least I still uave a job...

Thanks, bogie.

This has been a long time coming, though I would rather have seen it happen about ten years ago.

I'm off today, so I think I will bundle up and go for a ride.

You should come down here and go for a ride, Cheesy. WX today is supposed to be near 80 with a slight overcast. Tomorrow is going to be a great riding day! The Missus and I are going to pull the Ural out and go for a nice ride. Not sure where yet, but it will be far enough to stretch the legs on the bike, but not far enough that we have to ride forever and a day to get back home. Maybe either Rome, GA or Birmingham, AL. Birmingham has a really good Indian restaurant, and Rome has some really nice scenery and roadside diners. They also have a lot of antiques shops and a Chili's (the missus favorite chain restaurant). I'm giving some though to selling off some toys. It's getting mighty crowded in the house, and with a little one on the way, we should probably make some room. We walked through the house the other day and were absolutely dumbfounded that two people could acquire so much "stuff". We don't even remember where we got most of it... The Hawk is one of those things that's likely to go. I'm going to post it in the classifieds later today. Any takers?

how did you luck out? they're talking about light snow here on Sunday...

First, I'm thankful that you haven't clawed your way to middle management. Being a lead Tech means that you're not expendable.

Second, be glad that you live in the glorious USA. in Canada, an employer is only required to pay up to eight years of severance. I'm in my 29th year, so I'm not really worth much to them on paper.

I think that the WX is staying calm for us because we're so close to the downhill slope of the mountains between here and Birmingham. Once it gets past Atlanta heading West it kind of falls apart. The WX picks up all the moisture and turbulence from the city and all the large open bodies of water, and you guys get hammered on the way out to the coast. I was wrong about the temps, though. It's only going up to the low to mid- 70's out here tomorrow. Tomorrow evening into Sunday is going to be light rain for us.

Got that ride in today. Geez, it never hit thirty.

That was after several calls from customers looking for part numbers and texts from my boss asking about my schedule for the month. Again. Recalling part numbers off the top of my head is probably one of the reasons they're keeping me around.

Jason and I are planning to go bat for David to see if they will reconsider taking him along to SC. Davids' limited talents will make it hard for him to bounce back. Inky Tim, on the other hand, would probably have quit by the end year anyway. He's planning on opening up his own custom car shop, specializing in chopped tops. I guess he already has something like a half dozen jobs lined up at seven grand a pop. So he'll be okay.

As confusing this all is for me, Mrs. C is making me nuts with "What abouts, what ifs, and whys." Most of them just come out of the blue. I was telling her to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday, when I would have some answers. Now, I'm just giving her 'stink eye' when she brings something up.

Cheesy, thanks for sharing all this. It's interesting to see all that is unfolding . Course I'm sure you would not like so much of this drama in the first place.

Looks like I will be giving a guided tour to the big bosses on Monday to list assets in the shop. They are going to be somewhat surprised by how much of that stuff back there is actually mine and not theirs. Like the fridge, microwave, coffee maker, radio, air brush compressor, tool cabinets, tools, office chair, spray guns, etc, etc.

Most of the large equipment has been fully depreciated for years and will go for pennies on the dollar at auction. I wouldn't want any of them in my garage. I would like the 0-32 volt adjustable power supply, though.

sounds like they might be charging you rent for your stuff there cheese ,and the power supply is yours ,put it inside the fridge for the dog and pony show .

If they were going to be that way, Bruce, I could back charge 20 years rent for use of my air brush compressor. But they won't.

For all I know, they might not even be allowed into the US. Or, with the weather we're expecting, be able to get out.

I think Bowie would appreciate you quoting him in this situation. It sucks to see jobs leaving town.

No big bosses today.

I don't know if the weather delayed them or if there was a change in plans. I do know the GM is out until Wednesday and I'm assuming he is with them, either in meetings with them at the Holiday Inn, where everyone stays when they're here, or hitting the Canadian facility first.

That was the other tidbit I learned, the US and Canadian branches are being consolidated.

I don't trust those damned Canadians !
Since they are going to consolidate the Canada and US branches ,why would they not do it closer to the border ?

Who knows what goes on in the minds of accountants and lawyers?

Well, the S started to HTF this afternoon.

That is all.

Well that doesn't sound good. We're ready to listen.

if there is anything I can help you with ,just let me know .If there really is shtf DUCK !!!

Our Accounts Receivable person came back to the shop, around four, to tell me that the CEO and the head of NA Operations showed up unannounced. They went into the our CFOs office and closed the door. AR said that the CFO had that deer in the headlight look. I'm guessing he was not in the loop.

As I rolled into my garage, I got a text from another friend in the Accounting Dept., to please call her. I called and she wanted to know "WTF was going on?" I hated to do it, but I had to play dumb. Which really wasn't a stretch as far as the CFO is concerned. I think most folks up in the front of the building now know something big is happening.

Tomorrow is not going to be much fun.

I shall muddle through.

In my previous life, I used to tell the guys to keep their heads down and keep their gas masks handy when ever management started acting squirrely.

ive resisted saying anything till now but i would take the stuff that was mine home now! not in a day or two but now first thing you do tomorrow.

There isn't much value to a 30 year old fridge and I expect it will come with me to my new place. Operations at this facility are supposed run until the end of July, so there is no rush to get my stuff out. Besides, I need someplace to keep my Dilly Bars when the Chicago area does it's imitation of south Florida during the last two weeks of July. It is my understanding, though, that this building will go on the real estate market at the end of the workday today.

I've been up since 3:45 with a combination of sinus issues, a sixty one year old bladder, and nerves. And I don't leave for work until 7:00 at the earliest.:doh:

Man, this is rough cheesy. I hope that things work out for you. I'd been through something similar years back, but I was a hell of a lot younger. Being absorbed is never fun, especially with all the "family" you've worked with for years. See kids of fellow employees grow up, etc..etc... All you can do is hope that you make the cut and soldier on.
Keep us posted.

Just waiting now for the smoke to clear and some of the tears to stop, or at least slow down.

The CFO was given a choice to either make the move or quit. He opted to quit. That was totally unexpected and I learned that he was indeed out of the loop. So, a coup by the GM who has been promoted to Prez of the US branch.

Kind of surprised by some of the people kept on and those who will be let go. A pretty decent severance package was offered to everybody and a nice retention bonus to those who stay on until the doors are closed on July 31st.

I have my job until I decide to retire and will be working out of my home as of Aug. 1st. They decided to move the calibration stuff to SC, so I silently said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I hate doing those damn things.

Makes your commute simple. You need that power converter to test things at the home office.