PowerSwitch

My son (freelance paintshop jig builder) was laid off yesterday, with others.

Someone I know in the county council says that he is now seeing redundancy data pouring in.

Most of this so far seems automotive related ... but that's not surprising for the Midlands.

This credit crunch is no longer just a 'paper exercise'.

This will become a horrible mess. Horrible.

yup, and it's destined to work it's way up the job pyramid

won't take long before people start to choose food, and heating over Internet frivolity and such then it'll be me and mine for the chop.

there's a lot of people still in total denial about all this, I keep hearing people discussing how we're (at our company) not going to be affected for this reason and that reason....

it's a house of cards and the bottom has gone all wobbly. at the end of the day, we're all p***ing in the same pot and even if we are not going to be directly affected (in the short term) job wise by the unemployment etc, we'll all some how be affected by the social fall out...

I had a quick chat today with a couple of others who have offices at the business park where I have my office.

Apparently business for them simply STOPPED about two weeks ago.
They will need to lay off their junior staff next week.

This is all happening rather quickly.

Someone else I know who has a good turnover but high overheads is in trouble: turnonover is now zero ... result £60k overdraught built up in just 2 months.

I suspect that January & February will nail loads of small businesses: post Xmas there is usually little money about ... but next year there will be NO money about!

A report I heard on the radio today suggested that UK unemployment may rise to two million by Christmas.

Another 200,000 within the next 6 weeks?

yup,
Things are looking grim in my business, layoff's in the new year I expect.

I expect to be out of my current job by the 6th of Jan if not sooner.

There is no doubt that rocketing unemployment is the next big thing to hit the UK. This is going to have massive ramifications upon the country, economy and people. Mass house reposessions will follow.

snow hope wrote:There is no doubt that rocketing unemployment is the next big thing to hit the UK. This is going to have massive ramifications upon the country, economy and people. Mass house reposessions will follow.

nah it wont, when the BoE sets interest rates at less than 0% then they will be paying home owners to have a mortgage

I know what you mean. One day in my job everything was fine, then the next day they pull us all aside and tell us there will be lay-offs. I was one of the newest people there so I'm made redundant in less than a week. That was June.

Now I'm in a place which is irresponsible to say the least, it's a call centre for a start and I'm a salesman on the phone. Second it's employing more and more people to satisfy it's insatiable greed in a time where there is no growth. Thus fewer customers, then either prices go up to overcome losses which results in even less custom (it's already ridiculously expensive) and thus deficit or alternatively they can do the more easier option and just get rid of most of their newbie "expendable" staff (like me) in a cull to cut their losses. I would actually compare it quite a lot to trying to build a city on a desert island when the size is limited and the raising sea levels is making it smaller.

So I'm not expecting to last very long, in fact I have my doubts if I will make it to Christmas. They are threatening disciplinary action for even very minor infringements (like not swiping out certain rooms) so it's either to keep us in line or they are secretly looking for excuses for easy dismissals.

I wouldn't be suprised if the same is happening everywhere.