5 ms·

Is it normal for an ex-employer to help laid-off employees find new jobs? I would never expect that.

by bfrydl 8y ago

dagw 8y ago
At least in Europe it is not uncommon. For example when the small animation studio I used to work for many years ago had to lay off 80% of its employees due to lack of work, the managers there called around to friends they had in the industry and helped set up at least informal meetings.
- pbalau 8y ago
  One has to wonder if in this case, there was something else than a layoff... /edit: more info here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19501227 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19501227 /edit-2-since-i-already-got-downvoted: Facebook used to have a 1 year cliff before the first vest, they removed it about 1 year before I left.
  - johnchristopher 8y ago
    In Belgium, the 2008 crisis struck 3d animators and cgi artists really hard. Most people I knew in the field could never get back into it.
    - pbalau 8y ago
      My bad, I was not clear enough, I'm talking about the npm layoffs.
  - dagw 8y ago
    What do you mean?
    - pbalau 8y ago
      My bad, I was not clear enough, I'm talking about the npm layoffs.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
briandear 8y ago
It's not uncommon. A lot of the layoff "process" often includes resources to help with finding a new job. As with anything, it depends the company, but it isn't anomalous for a company to provide re-jobbing support as part of the severance.
- WrtCdEvrydy 8y ago
  We used to shift people to our partners and other offices when layoffs were coming for only a specific office. If it's truly a layoff and you think the person is good and the situation is just shit, we did everything we could
52-6F-62 8y ago
It happens. I'd never experienced it before signing on with the company I work for now. But I've survived several rounds of layoffs over the years and employees who asked would often be shown some help in the form of at least seeing if there was another place in the company for them. I'm not sure about normal, though.
vorpalhex 8y ago
Yes, and often times they'll help match you with recruiters and even keep you on the payroll for a week or two while you shop your resume around. Obviously not all or even most companies do this, but I've seen it in the US.
tdurden 8y ago
Companies I have worked for (US) have always offered a 3rd-party service to assist those affected by layoffs find new employment. I have never heard of anyone actually using these services though.
rossdavidh 8y ago
I can't say anything about "normal", but my own personal anecdata are that laid off employees are normally offered some kind of assistance. Only a couple times in 30 years has it been me personally, and in both cases I was offered help (that actually resulted in me getting another job within that organization, actually). In many other cases, some kind of networking assistance is given. When AMD was closing fabs in the SV area in the early 90's, they gave blue-collar employees 6 months of retraining, since they were unlikely to find other fab jobs in that area. So it does happen, even in the U.S.
taternuts 8y ago
I wouldn't expect it. I've been laid off by a start-up before and they didn't offer this help to any of us, but did give us a month of severance as opposed to the necessary 2 weeks (did have to be there for two years for this though)

Is it normal for an ex-employer to help laid-off employees find new jobs? I would never expect that.

by bfrydl 8y ago

Is it normal for an ex-employer to help laid-off employees find new jobs? I would never expect that.

dagw 8y ago

At least in Europe it is not uncommon. For example when the small animation studio I used to work for many years ago had to lay off 80% of its employees due to lack of work, the managers there called around to friends they had in the industry and helped set up at least informal meetings.

pbalau 8y ago
One has to wonder if in this case, there was something else than a layoff... /edit: more info here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19501227 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19501227 /edit-2-since-i-already-got-downvoted: Facebook used to have a 1 year cliff before the first vest, they removed it about 1 year before I left.
- johnchristopher 8y ago
  In Belgium, the 2008 crisis struck 3d animators and cgi artists really hard. Most people I knew in the field could never get back into it.
  - pbalau 8y ago
    My bad, I was not clear enough, I'm talking about the npm layoffs.
- dagw 8y ago
  What do you mean?
  - pbalau 8y ago
    My bad, I was not clear enough, I'm talking about the npm layoffs.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

briandear 8y ago

It's not uncommon. A lot of the layoff "process" often includes resources to help with finding a new job. As with anything, it depends the company, but it isn't anomalous for a company to provide re-jobbing support as part of the severance.

WrtCdEvrydy 8y ago
We used to shift people to our partners and other offices when layoffs were coming for only a specific office. If it's truly a layoff and you think the person is good and the situation is just shit, we did everything we could

52-6F-62 8y ago

It happens. I'd never experienced it before signing on with the company I work for now. But I've survived several rounds of layoffs over the years and employees who asked would often be shown some help in the form of at least seeing if there was another place in the company for them. I'm not sure about normal, though.

vorpalhex 8y ago

Yes, and often times they'll help match you with recruiters and even keep you on the payroll for a week or two while you shop your resume around. Obviously not all or even most companies do this, but I've seen it in the US.

tdurden 8y ago

Companies I have worked for (US) have always offered a 3rd-party service to assist those affected by layoffs find new employment. I have never heard of anyone actually using these services though.

rossdavidh 8y ago

I can't say anything about "normal", but my own personal anecdata are that laid off employees are normally offered some kind of assistance. Only a couple times in 30 years has it been me personally, and in both cases I was offered help (that actually resulted in me getting another job within that organization, actually). In many other cases, some kind of networking assistance is given. When AMD was closing fabs in the SV area in the early 90's, they gave blue-collar employees 6 months of retraining, since they were unlikely to find other fab jobs in that area. So it does happen, even in the U.S.

taternuts 8y ago

I wouldn't expect it. I've been laid off by a start-up before and they didn't offer this help to any of us, but did give us a month of severance as opposed to the necessary 2 weeks (did have to be there for two years for this though)