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Agreed, we tech worker in the US still have it pretty good, so some perspective is in order: - when Enron took over Portland Gas and Electric, they folded in t
by game_the0ry 4y ago
Agreed, we tech worker in the US still have it pretty good, so some perspective is in order:
- when Enron took over Portland Gas and Electric, they folded in the PG&E employee 401ks into their stock, so many people retired with nothing after years of hard labor [1]
- AT&T recently cut life / death insurance benefits promised to retirees for employees retiring after 2022 (but those cuts don't apply to top executives) [2]
There are many instances of this, it happens all the time.
Don't get me wrong, getting laid off is terrible, but we can bounce back faster than most.
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/01/20/for-enron-families-dreams-and-faith-lost/d1022843-d2b5-413b-9d78-037ec4713901/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/01/20/f...
[2] https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/companies-cuts-to-retiree-benefits-provoke-backlash.aspx https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pa...
- mpwoz 4y agoRe: [1] - I was interested in how this worked so I read the article, here's a quote: "The 55-year-old electrical troubleshooter ignored his financial planner's advice, keeping 100 percent of his 401(k) money invested in Enron stock. He purchased more Enron shares with his savings and annual bonus" "In addition to contributing the maximum 15 percent to their 401(k) funds, the Stevenses were buying $600 a month in Enron stock. Cathie Stevens, who had been so poor as a teenager that she picked strawberries for clothing money, even flipped her annual bonus money back into the purchase of Enron options." Not sure who you're really blaming for people "retiring with nothing" if they put all their eggs in one basket like that, against experts' advice.