Retrenchment Woes

I write this post with a heavy heart. As I mentioned earlier in my blog post, my company has been suffering from financial difficulties.

After weeks of speculation in my troubled company, the retrenchment exercise began today and employess from the upper management were apparently affected. I was thankful and quite lucky not to be hit by this predicament. For the first time, I felt an enormous sense of relief but at the same time I felt sorry for those that will be facing the blues.

When I started in this male dominated industry 10 years ago, many felt that I would not last long as the job was tough. I took it as a challenge to prove the sceptics wrong and was determined to work my way up from there. I've to admit that I didn't have the physical strength for some tasks, nevertheless there were ways to work around it. I have grown close to my colleagues and really appreciate them for being there for me when I needed help. Although most of my friends were safe from the retrenchment exercise so far, it was disheartening to learn that some of them were not spared the knife.

Sadly, many manufacturing plants in Penang are expected to retrench their employees in the months ahead, following the global economic downturn. Looks like everyone sees it like a chain reaction. To make matters worse, the affected people especially those who do not have a good education background are more likely to face difficulty in finding available jobs.

Suffice to say, I hope the economy will pick up soon. I am safe for the time being but only heaven knows what the future holds and all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and pray.

Tough Times Ahead

Things are looking gloomy for my company as it has been facing financial woes since last year. In view of the economic crisis and looming recession, it's hard to say whether my company would survive this critical factor. That said, many manufacturing sectors are affected and going downhill too.

Last week we were informed that there will be a staggering number of employees who will be likely to be laid off. I might be on the list. How utterly sad, it's unbelievable.

The way I look at it, the retrenchment might most likely hit the workers who have attained the age of 55 years and above or highly paid employees. There was a hue and cry at my workplace when my company announced this heart wrenching news. Everyone fears of losing their jobs if the country’s economy appears to be looking bleak.

Nevertheless, it's up to the company to decide whom they wish to retrench. Somehow, I don't have the courage to face the uncertainties ahead. I'm not sure if I can get another job if I were laid off but god willing, I hope that I'll survive this fall. At a time like this, I guess I must take a closer look at how I deal with my careless spending on items I don't need. Times have changed, no thanks to the economic downturn.

I guess life can't exactly be a bed of roses, things move on and nothing stays the same. So we'll see, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.