Part 8: Has your office/company laid people off or is the worst of it over?

[schurchill39]

We've been riding part 7 for a while now and I feel as if we are in a much different economic climate now than we were when it was designed so I figure we should revist the poll and the premise of the question. Oil and gas, being the first casualty of war, seems to have steadied out a little bit and mass layoffs for the most part are over (with the exception of asset sales and take overs). What I seem to be noticing is the trickle down effect starting to show in other industries. The closing of Concept electric and 500 people out of work shows that things are so tight a shitty estimation can sink a company. Friends in the hospitality industry have said they are really feeling things now, and my friends in IT seem like they have the pick of the litter for employment currently.

If you're not in oil and gas, and your company, business, or line of work has nothing to do with it please comment and let us know what industry you're in and what the general feeling is.

[mrsingh]

I had to make some sacrifices during the downturn, but did ride it out with the same company, a major producer.

I will say that as of late I have noticed them hiring again, not mass hiring sprees mind you, but they are willing to bring people into specific positions. Either as independent contractors (albeit at lower rates) or even as employees, which is a definite change from a year ago.

[ExtraSlow]

There is a trickle of hiring happening now. Hell even I have had an interview. Didn't get the job, but an interview is a good place to start. Aside from my six months at the rental car company, I haven't had steady work since October 2015.

Have been spending a lot of time with my kids, which is valuable at this stage in their lives.

[suntan]

We will never get back to previous employment levels in O&G. Automation has helped with that, but also because companies aren't hiring just for the hell of it anymore. The US has also taken away a lot of capital and operating expenses from Canada, for now at least.

[lasimmon]

Got laid off prior to Christmas last year, as the whole company shut down. This year we opened a private shop with essentially the same people and contracts and such. So far so good.

[firebane]

Laid off August of last year and was finally accepted into a full time position as of a week ago. Glad to be off the EI train and back to the employment status.

[bjstare]

Got let go from an EPC in fall 2016. Found work within 2 weeks in with a major management consulting company and haven't looked back. Things are good in this industry.

[schurchill39]

For both my wife and myself we have been fortunate enough to be at the same companies throughout the whole thing despite having to pack up many offices of friends. That being said, our house hold income dropped by about 50% during a big portion of it mainly from my income so a lot of sacrifices were made but we managed to not have to change lifestyles too terribly much.

We still trickle layoffs here and there but guys who are laid off and looking for work have a job within the month. It seems like there isn't a lot advertised but people are more likely to hire now based strictly on their own network. Albeit at a much lower rate than before. Also seeing a big increase in contractors or consultants which makes sense as the liability of employees is still a bit dicey.

[tonytiger55]

Laid off in March from the grocery sector. Worked for a major grocery chain at the HQ. There were mass layoffs. I went a away for a couple of months to decompress.

I started looking last month. Im not hearing much back from advertised postions. Its a bit depressing.
I met up with a couple of collegeues who also got laid off from the same company last week. There was another round of layoffs.

I was at a BBQ last week and was talking to a O&G guy. There are small number of hires going on, the talk is postitive. But not to the level that was before.

[bigbadboss101]

The O&G company I was at for 12 years are continually cutting. There are also a lot of hiring. We can look at it as reshuffling I suppose.

[killramos]

Left two jobs in the last 18 months.

Much happier where I am now.

[pheoxs]

Rode out the same job for basically the whole downturn. Last July I decided to quit my automation job and start my own business manufacturing LED toys for music festivals and its been going incredibly well.

Have had 4 or 5 companies call asking to go back to work for them since then so it seems like things are still busy (at least for industrial automation)

[sabad66]

Same company throughout entire downturn. My original role was eliminated in 2016 so took a lateral role, but that was also eliminated in 2017... ended up finding a more "permanent" role right away and also a promotion to boot. Can't complain considering how many people were laid off over that same time.

I have seen some more hiring around the company lately although definitely not nearly at the levels as before. Mostly LNG Canada roles since everyone seems to think it's going to be approved.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[spikerS]

Was able to ride out the 2 rounds of lay-offs at work. There was a rumored 3rd round that never happened, and there hasn't been any talk of any more in about 8-9 months now.

I have had to cut back a bit, as there was a company wide wage freeze 2 years ago. We should know in a couple months if it is being lifted or not. If it doesn't get lifted, I think there is going to be a lot of disgruntled people that are going to be slacking off while looking for a new job to slide into.

[ExtraSlow]

Better to look for a new job without slacking off if you can keep your head in the game.

[HiTempguy1]

I think a change to the poll "the company had layoffs but I survived" might be good as well.

Still plugging along at the current day job, but like pheoxs, I started my own business that I am rapidly trying to scale up enough to quit and go full time.

Next year hopefully.

[speedog]

Started down a new path about three years ago as a contract cabinet installer and this past year has been the busiest I've been and getting busier. That said, only a total of four weeks of down time in the past three years and that was just lag time between different companies I subbed to. Father's Day 2018 was my last day off, looking forward to maybe a one day weekend this weekend, two days would be a bonus.

[bigbadboss101]

Those of you who were contracting did you pulse or cancel your DI or CI coverage when your contracts ended?
I am not sure how it would work, if one can put it on hold.

[gmc72]

I was laid off in 2016, but hired back 6 months later. They gave me an hourly position instead of a staff position. Been here ever since. Had a week off here and there (longest time was 3 weeks) between projects, but it's been pretty consistent. My EI claim ran out a couple of weeks ago, so now I'm looking at being a contractor instead of hourly.