I know of two friends that have worked for AT&T for over 22 years, just shy of retiring from AT&T after all their expertise and devotion and incredible work ethics and such, are now laid off as of five o’clock today. No job, no benefits no caring about the people that were still top of the line for this company and still only in late forties and early fifties. Jumped through hoops through the years, moved where asked to and forfeited so much with their family remaining loyal in service. One of them is diabetic and never missed a days work. Now does not even have health insurance to purchase expensive meds! Piece of sh-- company. No wonder so many of us are choosing to leave AT &T in the dust! They do not even care about their national treasure employees! These two people live in Arkansas and Texas and were no absorbed into AT &T any other way except, goodbye today at 5:00.
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For the person who wrote the following below.....Are you for real?? If a person is notified they are surplus/FMP what chance do they have to get their management to sign an LOA? Yes, a Manager has to allow and sign for a "Special Leave of Absence" and then after this you suggest take an allowed "Transitional Leave of Absence"......Ridiculous input and would never happen or be allowed...
"For many employees, AT&T uses the "modified" rule of 75, which is 30 years of service, any age, 25 years of service and 50 years old, 20 years of service and 55 years old, or 10 years of service and 65 years old.
So, for some bargained titles, there are opportunities to bridge to retirement. Say, Legacy T (which I'm familiar with), with 20+ years of service and 52 years old, one could take Special Leave of absence for two years, with benefits, which gets the person to 54 years of age, and then take Transitional Leave of Absence to get to the 20+, 55 years of age that leads to retirement.
Depending on the status of employee, represented or non represented, there are various ways to get to the promised land.
And in the alternative, there is subsidized Cobra for a period of time for many employees on layoff.
I have to say i feel bad for those who are laid off. we all have given our lives for this company. at times its been the best job and other times I hate it. being unemployed is never good, for those who have skills and are driven there are jobs to be had, you’ll survive. for the rest that have just skated by in a safe union shop with no real work ethic you’re in big trouble. the severance package only works if it’s the Enhanced severance benefit and only for those who are ready and able to retire anyway. 62 or older , house paid off no college dept and have a million or 2 saved , or move to Idaho.
Keep making your 2.00hr in India troll boy!!
if the troll is from india it makes a lot of sense why he comes across as such a jack ass
@4ijy, you’re definitely the reason I return to these Threads. I don’t tout myself as the beacon of all knowledge but when I need a refresher on just how many Stupid, loud mouths work within this company, I see a post like yours and I’m a Reborn Mensa member.
Many like minded individuals have been led by the laptop, or phone call to get their final solutions by Tired, Old farts like me and probably you as well, though you would never admit it. But to say I’m smarter is disingenuous, instead I’d rather say more experienced.
When the time comes when you need the correct answer, to any solution, who ya gonna call.....an Old, Tired experienced fart like me....or a narrow minded Twit with an attitude?
This troll making sense, #NDIAITROCKS
Give it a rest troll
Leys face it. Who would want and old. Tired annd sick individual? US is just adjusting as every other country in the world, a job is never guaranteed regardless how competent you are, AMERICANS,feel entitled,but the winds of charge are blowing slowly, welcome to globalization
Funny my coworkers I’ve know for 20plus years are the ones they go to when a problem that needs to be resolved!! Guess what we are older workers
Alert...every AT&T employee has known for at least 10 years that jobs were being eliminated. It doesn’t matter if you were rated as a key contributer, mostly meets or have multiple degrees. It’s just a matter of time before your number comes up so always have a plan B. When 60+ were being targeted, 40 + didn’t seem to care so just be thankful that you still are with the company. We all gave a lot to the company and many(some)SE folks gave up a weeks salary in the 80’s to help the company reduce expenses.
@4ixs, you see this is why you don’t get invited to parties! You’re so wrapped up with jealous whinings, and the fact that a 60 something is contributing from the home front and not in a cold, dingy office building is very clear for us to see....it’s actually pitiful. With an attitude like yours, I’d definitely want to telecommute rather than be around your sorry excuse for a co-worker.
Try paying attention to your own work, and not the 67 year old T veteran. Perhaps, if your work ethic, reviews and attitude ever improves enough then one day you may be given the Golden Chair and work from home. But if I were you, I wouldn’t get my hopes up, your rep has probably been long established by now! Bosses know who the whiners are, never believe they don’t.
@4ixs, i have a theory about your alleged facts.....more than likely you DON’T have a clue to what you believe are facts, just the usual malicious, jealous office gossip that you have chosen to embellish into what you THINK you know and posted for our consumption believing we’ll buy it hook, line and sinker!
I do, however, have a plausible answer. This 67 year old has had a sparkling work record their entire career with better than just average mid and end of year work reviews, and a work ethic that you, and most of us only aspire too....hell, this person probably works longer hours just for the mere fact they don’t have the commute.
I doubt you’ve said ten words to him/her but now that you mentioned it, you have certainly poked a whole in the theory of off loading older T employees to balance their work sheets....67 and still working!
Thanks for the post!
So why do they have a 67 year old man at the data center in Hoover, living the life of Riley and working from home. Travels at night then logs into wifi and they never know he isnt working from home - that is what they should be culling.--Working from home should be eliminated.
Ah, Prairie Sh*t, let me just say that it was an ‘Oversight’ that I should have spelled it as ‘job site.’ Hate it when that happens!
‘Missed it by that much Chief!’
@3puu, still smells like a yarn we here from Trolls. So what you’re saying is you came away with no usable skills to carry to the next job. I can actually believe that since your MATH skills won’t follow you to that next job sight either.
When a troll weaves a tale, the very first thing to go is accuracy, in your case, the ability to do simple Math! Please re-calculate then please go away....let me re-phrase this....please go away id--t!
Here is your smell test id--ts! 26.5 years! 49 yrs 5 months old. 7 months short. Last day was also Friday! Now I have nothing. Keep busting your hump so Randy has box seats in Tek Mahindra stadium. How’s that smell?
Your friends were given a choice. They obviously took what they thought was best 4 them. Not to many people are willing to take pay cuts but they are offered a choice. Don't be so quick to judge
@VISpjeO-1khq Sorry to burst your bubble, but I have several relatives who were born in this country, have no education, plenty of kids and are relying on welfare. Stop blaming immigrants.
Older workers (over 40) are obvious targets for layoffs because their salaries are higher. Plus if the company can lay them off before they are eligible for retirement benefits, it's a cost savings in the long run.
Cobra insurance is super expensive. Don't be naive thinking that is a great benefit, it s---s.
The best thing people can do is keep knowledge to themselves and don't share! The minute you transfer your expertise to someone else, you become more dispensable. And don't listen to the BS about being a team player when it comes to this.
Also, it does help to s--- up. Don't whine about "politics". Politics is nothing more than people relationships. S---ing up helps! Don't be naive about that.
"Does anyone else see the problem here?"
It's a troll for sure, but 22 years can get retirement if the situation is right. For many employees, AT&T uses the "modified" rule of 75, which is 30 years of service, any age, 25 years of service and 50 years old, 20 years of service and 55 years old, or 10 years of service and 65 years old.
So, for some bargained titles, there are opportunities to bridge to retirement. Say, Legacy T (which I'm familiar with), with 20+ years of service and 52 years old, one could take Special Leave of absence for two years, with benefits, which gets the person to 54 years of age, and then take Transitional Leave of Absence to get to the 20+, 55 years of age that leads to retirement.
Depending on the status of employee, represented or non represented, there are various ways to get to the promised land.
And in the alternative, there is subsidized Cobra for a period of time for many employees on layoff.
Agreed, not only the smell test but the knowledge test as well. Anyone who works for T, whether you are a fan or not, knows that benefits don’t just drop out from under you and Cobra eventually takes over, should it be needed
No offense to the previous posters, some of them being the same Troll, but you have been entertaining an im(poster).
@VISpjeO, the OP, appears to be a Troll, and not a particularly smart one at that.
First sentence:
‘’I know of two friends that have worked for AT&T for over 22 years, JUST SHY of RETIRING.....and still only in their LATE forties and EARLY fifties.’’
Does anyone else see the problem here? Retirement is not exactly around the corner! And if they’re friends, I personally, would address them as, ‘I have two friends’, not ‘’ I know of two friends’’
This doesn’t pass the smell test!
@VISpjeO-1edu. I do get what you are saying. However, there are many of us that have given up holidays and have voluntarily left our families for weeks or even months. We believed that we were contributing to the goals of this once great company and were proud of helping to make it grow. It used to be sort of a symbiotic relationship. We got paid, yes. But it was never about that. It was about serving the customer and personal pride in doing so.
Yes Friday 10/19 was the last day on payroll for the many folks in the ATO organization that were caught in the most recent surplus event that chose to stay the additional 60 days to "look for another job". I personally know of 3 former colleagues that got caught in this one; all in what seems to be the target demo...45 or older with at least 15 years NCS. None of them were able to land another internal opportunity.
Post ID: @VISpjeO-1edu -- I don't get it! Why do you say? "No one at 49 1/2 years old should have to start over like this." That's an insane statement. Why do people expect companies to be adult daycare centers? You don't sacrifice for the company--you sacrifice for yourself, for the pay otherwise you'd move on.
There are jobs out there right now - what's the deal--no transferable skills?
Poverty rates
https://familiesusa.org/product/federal-poverty-guidelines
A single person can make up to $48,560 and qualify.
And I think for Obamacare purposes, it is projected future income. So, if someone is making that going into the future, get health insurance from their new employer. 😉
Poverty rate ? Huh ?? We all make over 400% of the poverty rate ! The only ones qualifying for great deals with the obama health care are people that just came to this country with no money, no education but plenty of kids, uncles, grandparents etc ......
coincidence, i was forced out just shy of retirement also ... it happens to many people at at&t. They don't care about you but I do thank you for the time that I was there, 18+ years was good. Very bad when they let you go for no reason at all.
I was let go at 49, but it turned a bit better, now I go to WORK to do my job, not to train In who knows what, and the silly badges, Lol
My husband was the one in Arkansas. Moving back to Texas to try and stay with the company, but nope... as of 5 o’clock today, they didn’t give a sh-- for everything he had done for them. Sad day. No benefits and now scared to death for his health. No one at 49 1/2 years old should have to start over like this.
Never sacrifice just do the bare minimum to get by.
AT&T is sure giving its vendors lots of business. Heck one of them called Synchronoss even hired on a few top T execs after they left T with sweet exec packages. Talk about win-win!
More Layoffs to come. The debt will be paid at the expense of the employees
This is no longer a company of stable employment or productivity. No new ideas, only going into debt for the next big thing.
Time Warner will be the end of T as you know it. Randall and the Johns are in over their heads, Ask Steve Case.
Good Luck to our friends, I know of many treated the same.
First, one would have health insurance until the end of the month. I know that occupational have paid Cobra for 6 months, not sure about non-bargained employees.
Second, if someone is losing employer based insurance, that will qualify them for a special enrollment period in the government exchanges to get subsidized insurance there, so long as they don't make over 400% of the poverty rate.