Rogers eliminates 900 employees

[hugh]

Despite profits of over $3.3 billion in the first nine months of 2009, Rogers Communications yesterday fired nine hundred of employees across Canada, mostly in executive and management positions.


Real nice of them to axe folks a month before Christmas. For a firm making over $10 million in profits a day, you think they could wait until after Christmas.

[Mole]

I'm one of the axed and I disagree Hugh. Most of the people cut were not front-liners and could feel this coming. I'm glad to have got it out of the way before Christmas.

[jem]

Condolences, Mole. I hope you land on your feet elsewhere.

[Mole]

I'll be fine, no worries there.

[mr weather]

Wonder what kind of severence they'll be offering.

[hugh]

Sorry to hear Mole. Not that it's any consolation but several IT told me, they and many of their cohorts expected to be gone after the outsourcing deal was signed in June.

[james99]

I'd rather be let go in January. A severance on top of almost a years salary would make the tax man happy but not me.

[hugh]

I was talking to someone at a large company that is expected to lay off a lot of people. They want to do it now, but the big boss simply said nothing after November 1st, its just too cruel. I assume Rogers did it this year in order to knock down year end profits (hard to announce massive profits in a recession) and move it into next years profits (when hopefully the recession is over)

[57]

Better to know before Christmas, so the people can make appropriate purchasing decisions during a normally heavy buying season, rather than be in debt up to the ears and learn in January.

I remember that my father got laid off for Christmas and got hired back in the spring when work started up again at his factory - 50 years ago. This happened to him (and many others) at Outboard Marine and CGE in Peterborough for several years until you had enough seniority...

[mr weather]

Originally Posted by james99

I'd rather be let go in January. A severance on top of almost a years salary would make the tax man happy but not me.

Exactly. Or at least try to defer the payout itself until January.

[Dwayne Gorniak]

Wow! Nothing like attracting negative attention to themselves in the middle of a recession. They could call themselves Scrooge communications now. Maybe that's how they will be able to afford buying Cogeco, by cutting out all those wages.

[dmccorm140]

Blue Jay Roy Halliday will be next

[travisc]

Well, they combined the wireless and cable divisions and as a result had a lot of excess management. I feel bad for the people that got cut, but really, what do you expect Rogers to do?

[OnlineHarvest]

I think it can be hard to take this close to Christmas, but it does give you a better idea of spending within your means.

I don't work in the tech field, but I was let go a few weeks before my wedding! It was terrible.

It could be hard to find a job during this time. Many firms slow down or stop altogether until the new year. That's what I found when I lost my job...

[SensualPoet]

Every company I have worked for -- every single one -- has closed (except my current employer). Sometimes I was there at the end, sometimes I wasn't. I'm reasonably confident it wasn't my fault ....

My dad worked for one company virtually his entire life; who can say that of their own career today? That's the reality of the corporate working world over the past couple of decades.

It's always hard on employees and their families to be laid off -- timing isn't ever good or bad. Traditional benchmarks like Christmas may not even apply -- we've just completed Diwali: did Rogers wait till that was over?

Having been in a position to hire a number of folks over the years, I will also say that having "Rogers" on a resume -- whether as a current or a lapsed employee -- is a plus, not a minus. In the world we live in -- in which most folks change jobs 3 or 4 or more times in a career -- having real world experience from a "brand name" employer counts for a lot.

Hopefully, Rogers made these management changes wisely in order to create a more responsive company better able to meet consumer needs. As anyone who follows financial markets knows, Rogers is already a successful enterprise providing good returns to shareholders; this is not the act of a desperate company, like Nortel in a death spiral. Given that, time will tell if the "new" Rogers delivers improved customer service and continues to invest in strong products.