Thread regarding State Farm Insurance layoffs

In ET I have seen three groups of people over the last 6 months.

1. Those that lean into change. They either trained on their own or through SF for future state roles. They pursued opportunities in the hubs, they posted into future state roles while knowing their leadership would change. Etc. (I know several that went to hubs and SF burned them by moving their work just months after relocating their families. This is not always a safe group to be in but for those that want a hand in their fate it works.)

2. Those that said FORGET this mess I am out. We have lost alot of GREAT talent people that had the confidence to hit the job market or retire early just to avoid this crap. My best SF mentors all moved on to other companies thanks to ET.

3. Those that are either frozen in fear, or just don't care anymore. These are the people that seem to complain the most about ET. Alot haven't really done anything in the past 12 months to make themselves a better employee for SF or another employer.

I think these groups would all have done basically the same thing if this was a quick transformation or a slow one.

I was part of both of these. I still have family in Blm/Nrml. My Uncle is 51 and works at St Farm. He is positive this will be his end as well. Both of my jobs that closed were terrible. When I was younger at Damons I moved back in with my mom. Then moved out of state a year later. Start of this year my job at Sams ended. I was doing alright for myself. Starting over again. Its never easy. Hope my next job does not close and make the papers again.

Jan 11, 2018

Walmart is closing 63 Sam's Club stores across the US, the company told Business Insider on Thursday afternoon, after reports of abrupt store closings began to emerge.

The closings will impact about 9,400 employees, a Walmart official said.

In some cases, employees were not told their store had closed before showing up to work on Thursday. Those employees learned their store would be closing when they found the store's doors locked and a notice announcing the closing, Sam's Club workers told Business Insider. At some stores, employees were turned away by police officers.

Jan 20, 2006

"Monday when he went to work to find a note on the door saying the business, a Twin City mainstay for 10 years, had closed.

He had no prior notice and no inkling it was about to happen, he said. He had worked overtime and been asked to work on his days off.

None of the 65 Damon's employees were given advance notice of the closing, said Brad Ritter, a spokesman for Damon's International, Columbus, Ohio.

"We understand that this creates hardship for them and their families, and we truly regret the situation," he said. "As the sale was not scheduled to close until this week, it would have been inappropriate to inform employees in advance, had it been delayed or not completed."

Are we really getting founders day lunch tickets I hope they have good gifts this year

Seems like the Founders Day lunch tickets should be the least of our worries.

Will they reinstitue the founders day lunch tickets when this is all said and done. Big concern/hope amongst those still left ??

A few of my family members were transferred, one to a newly created position. Within a matter of months, they were told that the new position was being eliminated. They had just bought a home! The other person took a transfer and was told within months that the group in that job was being cut in half and that they should start posting for a different job. This demonstrates lack of vision and planning to me. I hear Dallas companies love this, as a ton of SF employees jump ship there and go to other insurance companies that are thrilled to get them.

The happiest people I have spoken to are ones who left on their own accord. They got reassigned to bad areas that were suffering from high turnover and decided to look elsewhere. Most got raises. All are happy though.

The next happiest I know are those who just heard the news a couple weeks ago --those where no reasonable job offers exist unless you want to join CAT or CAT trainer. Most believe by 7/31 they will be gone and are processing that realization. They are almost relieved that they know something and can move on knowing something definite.

Knowing something sooner always seems to be a better way to allow yourself to move on.

I see your side ---good topic as I have bounced it around as well.

My significant other was laid off as well, too. They did have an idea about 1-2 weeks ahead of time. It was tough to watch someone go through and be part of getting someone through it. In hindsight, it happened quickly and you move on.

Here though, it has been a haphazard way of doing it. For years, we have heard reorganizing or reassignments.

People have not been forced to do anything compared to quick layoffs that make people move on. My experience--SF has hinted XYZ department is cutting jobs--they allow people to post for targeted positions first, then reassign those near operation centers, then people have to make some choices.

Sounds methodical. I have seen people get reassigned to offices only to find out after the office is closing. I have seen people move across country only to have a 50/50 chance to stay in their role they moved out there for--promotional roles. I know people who moved to hubs for promotions to being reassigned to in office rep positions after moving. How does that happen? Put someone in an office to help cut a department only to then tell the person the reassignment won't last long as the office is closing? Or approve promotional jobs and move people in to town only to then months later reassign them? What kind of vision does that suggest?

The perception is how SF is messing with people's emotions, families who are affected as well, moving people and then reassigning them, and ultimately leaving people dangling as they deal with the unknown.

I believe leadership knows what they are doing--to hit a certain. If they do, then why not pull the bandaid off fast and allow people to move on? This drags it out and creates that constant stress and anxiety--whereas just being shown the door allows to refocus that stress and anxiety to finding a new path or job.

No right way to tell people they are losing their livelihood --stringing it out seems the least desirable way though.

If the Company has known about this as long as they supposedly have, then they should have ironed out the details first and then shared the news with those affected now to mitigate some of this confusion, stress and worry. I would presume that people affected might have felt some tinge of relief knowing if they're getting any severance dollars to help them get through the initial period without a job. They may be frantically trying to figure out how they're going to survive. Just my two cents on a more compassionate approach.