Jump ship or wait it out

So, you heard a rumour your division is being closed down?

Step 1: Substantiate the rumour. Otherwise all your questions about what to do are just mental gymnastics for something that isn’t happening.

Inapickle wrote: ↑The parent company where I work has just announced they will be closing our divison. It will slowly happen over the next few weeks/months once all the projects are finished. However this was just told to us through word of mouth and we did not receive a formal notice

Being with the company for 9 years, I'm not sure I should jump ship right away and find another job or wait it out until I'm laid off and collect the severance.

I'm assuming I wont be eligible for severance if I leave?
Although couldn't this announcement essentially be seen as "constructive dismissal"?

This is in Alberta by the way, if that makes any difference

Question is how confident you can find next job in your desired period. If you stay in one company for 9 years and didn't upgrade your skill to match job market, then you should start looking for job since you need time to update resume, interview,reference check etc. If you don't mind relax for awhile and you are confident you can find job relatively fast, then certain wait

TodayHello wrote: ↑ So, you heard a rumour your division is being closed down?

Step 1: Substantiate the rumour. Otherwise all your questions about what to do are just mental gymnastics for something that isn’t happening.

Unfortunately It is not a rumor, everyone was pulled into a meeting and was informed by the higher ups, although nothing in writing

I am a bit skeptical on the way the parent company is announcing this. They said the divison is winding down operations soon, but did not give us a date or written notice. I feel like they are hoping to have as much people quit prior to shutdown as possible, to save on paying them severance

Inapickle wrote: ↑ Unfortunately It is not a rumor, everyone was pulled into a meeting and was informed by the higher ups, although nothing in writing

I am a bit skeptical on the way the parent company is announcing this. They said the divison is winding down operations soon, but did not give us a date or written notice. I feel like they are hoping to have as much people quit prior to shutdown as possible, to save on paying them severance

Start searching for a job first, until you got a new one before you think of leaving, leaving right now will result in ending nothing at all. Continue to report for work and search at the side.

If you have an idea of when you might be impacted, start looking a little before then if you can.

Don't leave the money on the table as you will probably get paid out; no idea of what the law is in Alberta but in Ontario, it is 2 weeks per year.

maple1 wrote: ↑If you have an idea of when you might be impacted, start looking a little before then if you can.

Don't leave the money on the table as you will probably get paid out; no idea of what the law is in Alberta but in Ontario, it is 2 weeks per year.

Is this law? I thought its up to company

You can get as much as 4 weeks per year of service paid out. The best scenario would be to get laid off, get paid and start a new job within a few weeks of getting laid off. So start slowly looking now as it takes a bit of time but either wait or negotiate with them to get laid or early if you get a new gig lined up quickly. Just never tell them them you found a new job. If you ask for the lay-off tell them you need a break from working to focus on family.

Your career is your life. Or should be. Start looking now. If you find something really good take it even if you have to walk away from severance money. Sitting at home watching your skills degrade for six months and then taking whatever you can get because the severance has run out is far worse.

Either way you should go out and look. See how employable your are and what kinds of offers you get. If the company is announcing things like this without a date then they either 1) are being kind and telling folks to start looking or 2) hoping people will leave voluntarily and save on severance or both.

If you get lots of offers pretty quickly that means you are pretty employable. In this case I’d wait to get laid off and take severance. If not it’s a good thing to start the search early.

If you like this job, try to talk one-on-one with your manager, or his manager, and ask him if there is any chance they may keep you (as a transfer to another department / division).

Regardless, start looking for a job, it may take time, never too early to get started...

Inapickle wrote: ↑ Being with the company for 9 years, I'm not sure I should jump ship right away and find another job or wait it out until I'm laid off and collect the severance.

This is in Alberta by the way, if that makes any difference

Start aggressively looking right away. If you leave your job before the division closes, you get to continue your career at full salary without interruption. If you wait until you get laid off to look for work, you might find yourself scrambling to find a job before your severance runs out. That isn't fun.

Side note: My partner works in Calgary oil & gas and lost her job in early 2016. It took her 9 months to find a new position, even though she has solid experience and skills. It's a tough market with lots of competition.

I would start looking. Severance is great and all, but you never know what opportunities you might miss by waiting around for it or worse, you'll get caught without a job come layoff and for whatever reason (wrong time of year, you weren't prepare etc.) you aren't able to line a new job up as fast as you thought.

fogetmylogin wrote: ↑ Your career is your life. Or should be. Start looking now. If you find something really good take it even if you have to walk away from severance money. Sitting at home watching your skills degrade for six months and then taking whatever you can get because the severance has run out is far worse.

Yupp.. 1 bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush. If it was Toronto where jobs are plentiful, sure, wait it out. But in Alberta, get what you can first. Don't think 'small' regarding severance. And alot of times, Parent companies do not give exact dates. This is due to office leases still remaining in effect, and still wanting to finish up client deliverables. The big guy makes the decisions, and the lower guys have to execute within a reasonable time frame. And it's not necessarily a 100% closure. The definition could be '10%' staff remaining, that is folded into another division.

So they'll might keep a small staff on hand, until it is really 'shut down' to avoid liability or again, further customer interactions (these customers could be existing through other offices or a large company that has multiple lines of business that is a customer in your company's other office).

9 years could mean a year's worth of salary as severance but a business winding down, there's no reason for it to pay more generously even when a lawsuit is lodged/filed.

I feel your pain OP, I have been through restructurings & mass layoffs as well, more than 3 times. The way many big-corporations handle matters in modern era is full of obscurity, dishonesty and deceit; selfish greedy mass-grubbing for profits at others' expenses (especially the workers) is number 1 priority for all typical corporate executives, they do not care about ethics or any respect for decency, except for the bare minimum complying with the law that might help them avoid government fines or lawsuits.

So for action plans: definitely do not quit on your own, and search for jobs on the side: let the layoff termination happen so you will be eligible for both E.I. benefits and severance pay. Regarding the severance pay, if you feel it is not enough, then you should really go to a employment lawyers, insist on free initial consultation and the typical severance court case deals that the lawyers do not get paid unless they win in court. There are many Albertan websites that provides examples about sufficient levels, also feel free talk to your friends and family members for consultation & comparison purposes.

(Sample website: https://www.tjworkplacelaw.com/employees/severance-pay/ . It says 2 weeks bare minimum for severance is definitely not enough. At least 3 months severance pay for 2.5 years of service. For 9 years you are definitely eligible for much more.)

If your higher-ups that are laying you guys off are so shady and dishonest, and keep refusing to provide anything in writing, then your should take photos of your workplace, download& used voice recording apps on your smartphone and talk with the supervisor in charge, talk with your coworkers to offer to mutually testify in court lawsuit against that a**hole parent company (exchange emails/phones/contact info) ....etc. There are many ways to ensure holding a**holes managers & executives accountable.

Get a Record of Employment (ROE) and ensure it has been processed by service camada. Then apply for employment insurance. You will have to verify if you meet their criteria. Service Canada has many offices, you can go in and speak with someone.

Severance pay amount depends on the type of work that you do, your age and how employable you are at the present time. The older you are, the more money you are entitled to.

Your company may offer something that seems fair but whatever that is don't accept it. You gave them 9 years of your life, ask for more. Go for consultations with employment lawyer.

You are entitled to EI benefits + your severance = plenty time to rest, think and find a new employment. Did someone say spend time with your family or travel a bit?

People say that you may miss out on a great employment opportunity in the next few weeks. Who is to say that you will not find even better job in 9-12 MONTHS that come after that small timeframe?

It is not like 25,000 people will suddenly start looking for a job so you should jump the gun.

This all depend on your financial situation.

I know what I would do.

dieselboy27 wrote: ↑ Get a Record of Employment (ROE) and ensure it has been processed by service camada. Then apply for employment insurance. You will have to verify if you meet their criteria. Service Canada has many offices, you can go in and speak with someone.

If Op’s ask ROE from his employer then it means he quit, right? Service Canada will say “You quit” end of story. Unless the employer layoff Op’s having an ROE will not help at all. The button line is search for a job and wait for employer to layoff Op”s. He will get a severance pay and maybe a new job at the same time.

cgtlky wrote: ↑ If Op’s ask ROE from his employer then it means he quit, right? Service Canada will say “You quit” end of story. Unless the employer layoff Op’s having an ROE will not help at all. The button line is search for a job and wait for employer to layoff Op”s. He will get a severance pay and maybe a new job at the same time.

Sorry, I just meant do not quit otherwise you won’t be eligible for EI. Look for work, and if you’re laid off at least you have money coming in.