It's a blood bath in Tacoma folks, The Farm lied to us all, hundreds more people than planned will lose their jobs and only a few will be able to apply for jobs in DuPont (where I wouldn't be feeling safe at all if I were you)
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The liberal sick leave law in Washington State is a direct contributor to this mass exodus. We have done the same in California with their PSL 109 and Frederick, MD with their MDFMLA law. I am surprised we stay in Illinois with their hate towards business.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article196059434.html
The loss of 1,400 jobs in Tacoma will have a devastating effect on those employees, and the downtown business community.
While State Farm justified its decision on “efficiency” and “optimization,” the word on the street is that Tacoma’s paid sick leave law and the threat of additional unfriendly policies had something to do with it.
I never said they didn't lie. I just asked what the lie was. There wasn't really any clarity in the OP other than saying they're lying.
So they told probably that relocated to Tacoma that if they get laid off they have to pay back relocation benefits... That's pretty crazy.
They are hiring external applicants for Express in both Dallas and Phoenix. These are positions that have not been offered to us. They are replacing Tacoma employees with cheaper labor. Don't let them fool you that they are not.
Why defend them? There are less jobs being offered than they told us they would be offered. More people are going to be laid off than we were previously told.
We were told 1000 jobs total between Dupont, Phoenix and Bloomington. It is now just over 800 jobs.
They are lying that this is due to "customer demand". Our workload hasn't really changed. We are still dealing with big call queues. Which is going to get far worse
They also lied that they had so many people quit or get fired that they don't have a need for as many people yet the total number of people still in Tacoma is not substantially less and because almost no one can relocate to Bloomington or Phoenix there are still going to be hundreds laid off.
They were still lying to new hires in the last 6 months that State Farm never lays people off and helps people relocate to other offices. I have been there for 4 years and figured that lie had stopped since I was a new hire but it hasn't.
They were lying to people in the community by offering people jobs the week before the January 11th closure announcement. Offering jobs without telling people you are closing is a lie.
They were lying to people who moved here from other closing offices in the last year that Tacoma was going to be here for several years. Now at the HR transition they told people that they may have to pay back their relocation benefits they got to move to Tacoma if they get laid off. A lot of team managers were told Tacoma was part of the long term plan.
Look we understand why they are closing. State Farm is bleeding policy holders. Many of us accept that we are likely getting laid off and are looking for other work.
But let's not sugar coat it and pretend they didn't lie to a lot of people. It is what it is at this point but corporate is dishonest and it is only going to get worse.
What are the lies exactly? I haven't seen anyone detail what they actually were, just saying that they lied. OP said hundreds more jobs will be lost is fine and all but not really specific.
Did they say "we've reevaluated and not we won't be able to bring 1100 or whatever to Tacoma and we can only bring 700".
I'm just curious what was specifically said to cause the OP.
Yeah, I sat in on one of those "your affected" HR sessions about 4 months ago. Fawad got up there and blabbered out some corporate-speak nonsense that meant absolutely nothing, and then the HR people basically said, "you're all screwed. We don't care. Good luck, a-holes."
So, when are we cleaning house in HR?
HR was cold during the transition Skype meeting. Just a heads-up for anyone who hasn't had it yet. They were pretty clear that State Farm doesn't care about anyone. Most of the answers came across as "there is nothing we can do for most of you. Oh well."
DuPont is a leased facility. The state of Washington is not a business friendly environment (labor laws, high taxes, cost of living etc) so DuPont will be shuttered sooner than later. Same fate as Bakersfield.
The LOC's (large operation centers - used to be called Hubs) will remain open but not enough jobs to replace those lost in other locations. Plus, if you do get an offer and it is a lateral or demotion, there are no relo bennies.
Good luck to everyone. Remember, State Farm owes you nothing except the minimum that's required by law (severance, pension etc). Be nice to each other. Be nice to yourself, but be ready and plan for the worse. Update your resume and I guarantee you will feel a tad bit better prepared.
@isn - yep, #AgeDiscrimination is bad
Don't be stupid, it's not safe in DuPont, they're writing people up for bogus BS, giving them 1s on their evals and making life unbearable for them if they're over 50.
I learn more from this random website than from my manager.
it's stupid.
Some of the people making the decisions have never worked a claim or managed a team. They have no idea what goes into customer service and the importance of it. As far as having people to work the claims, they will worry about that after they cut the expenses by getting rid of 20,000 workers that have built up salaries, vacation time, and pension. Maybe they do not want to get rid of all 20,000 at once, but their goal is to cut from 65,000 down to 45,000. That is a fact. None of the SF workers are safe, in the Hub or not.
I am sure the number they gave to us today is another lie and there will be less jobs actually posted in March. I suspected last month it wouldn't be as many jobs as they were claiming because why be honest with their employees?
If you have a significant other working there and one of you is in AILR and one in express you are doubly screwed because the out of state positions they are offering are AILR in Phoenix and Express in Bloomington. They will not assist with relocation either because they are lateral moves. Most people I have talked to are applying both in and out of State Farm to keep their options open.
They tried to claim there are less openings because of people quitting or being fired in January and because customer demand is less. Maybe the first part is true but customer demand really isn't. 40 call queue when we got back from the b---s--- meeting but State Farm doesn't care about their customers either which they will keep losing at this pace.
A lot of team managers are scared. Ours told us not to trust corporate on Dupont at all as they will probably close it too.
There are plenty more jobs in this economy, but people that have worked at a certain place and worked their way up to decent pay, vacation time, and other benefits should not have to start over and their pay be cut in half to do so. When a person is at the peak of their career and performing very well and know the jobs well, it is hard to give up what you have worked for and earned. If you have a family, a mortgage, you have built a life style around your salary and changing jobs is hard to do after investing 25 or more years with a company. It is easy for younger people to start over, but not as easy for the seasoned employees.
I’ve watched people be moved back and forth. How did we get this inept?
Hubs ARE NOT safe. I know. In one
Here is what I don’t understand. How are they going to keep up with all the claims coming in when they’re reducing headcount by so much!? Can someone please share thoughts!?
Remember guys, it’s just a job and there are plenty more in this economy. I knew something was wrong when they started building those hubs. Tacoma actually interested me the most because it looks plain amazing. Hang in there all. Don’t trust management, they don’t have your back and don’t care about you. They are trying to save their own sorry asses and their pensions. Everything with State Farm was hush hush until they brought the axe down.
This is why I elected not to save my job by moving to a hub. I don't feel like any job in State Farm is safe, nor is it a very good place to work anymore.
Like a drunk neighbor, State Farm is peeing on your shrubs.
Here's a thought Sf. Tell it all. Let every office know when you want to close it. And every department within that office. Most will work until it closes and are offered severence. And it will elimate the stress of "not knowing" employees can make plans. Stay if they can. Leave If they must. Be able to live life buy a house or car. Have a baby. The not knowing is what makes a discruntled employee. Employees have worked hard to make this company great they deserve to be told the truth. Honesty is always best.
No big surprise here. Figured that was just for the news paper. Thought it would be way worse. SF just trying to look better than they are. They knew how many they are screwing out of a job. What they forget is the employees make the company. Good luck snake farm.
They are probably lying to all offices. They will do whatever they can to protect number 1, themselves. They do not care about the employees, we are a number, no matter how loyal. It is not safe anywhere, even in the Hubs where they ask people to move their families to all to be fired or not offered a job. They cannot be transparent about all announcements, but just remember they are only going to give the information that benefits the company. They shocked upper management, even employees in the Hubs. And they did it fast! What makes us think they won't do it again to the even less important workers. They have always taken care of their management better than their claim handlers and they couldn't even let some of the upper management stay with the company in a different role or a job class lower. No they canned employees that did their jobs well and were not ready to retire. This kind of treatment is not over at the farm. Get ready and be ready. They may say they are not getting rid of more people right now, but give it a little time, a few months they will change plans again. Do not be fooled, they have a plan, and it includes cutting heads from 75,000 to 45,000.
Probably so. Not safe either. Everyone Knew when they stopped referring to Tacoma as a "hub" you were screwed.
Don't be stupid, it's not safe in DuPont, they're writing people up for bogus BS, giving them 1s on their evals and making life unbearable for them if they're over 50.
The people running State Farm should burn in Hell.