long term employees fired?

[The motor guy]

How come businesses let go of employees who have been working at the same place for 20 years and they're fixing to retire in the next 5 years? Is it because they are paying them too much and need to replace them with workers who don't make as much?

 

[Blueskies123]

When a company is purchased by another company the new company usually goes after the long term employees because they make more money and are more set in their ways.

 

[kschachn]

My experience is that some long-term employees get complacent and somewhat lazy thinking they "deserve" something after their years of service.

Not all, but some.

 

[Mr Nice]

Over 30 years at my job and never seen any employees forced out due to age or seniority.

 

[beanoil]

36 years at my job. No one let go because of age or tenure. Poor performance, conflict with customers, yep. You have to work like someone wants to take your place everyday.
Latest studies show that age 50 is the most productive for tenured employees, and motivate younger, less tenured staff.

 

[SZR48207]

I can think of a few reasons...

1. Benefit coverage cost. An employer whose employees claim more benefits (medical, prescriptions, etc) will end up paying higher premiums to maintain coverage year after year.

2. Lacking in skill. Note that I didn't say lacking in KNOWLEDGE. Rather, depending on the industry, the employer may want to bring in people who have been trained in something that older employees aren't seeking out.

3. Culture. Management may want a work culture that heavily favors a younger crowd (people who don't have families or SOs so they can work long hours, sleep at the office, etc. -- think finance/trading type places)

I once worked for an employer who obviously had a preference towards up and comers fresh out of school. These new guys were eager and willing to please, had no prior work experience so they couldn't compare their new job to anything else, and most were still single. The funny part was how they were REQUIRING a masters degree for entry level positions and paid $50k. I was lucky to have gotten hired before the massive shift in culture because I (and many of my peers) basically said "there's no way I would be hired if I applied now".

 

[Vern_in_IL]

I have not seen that. When a company gets bought out, usually the less senior employees go first!

The Temporary's go.

Then a severance package is issued, Senior personnel gets first choice.

Then it's position, they eliminated your position, so you work in another dept where you might not be at the top.

Then everyone goes except the warehouse forklift operators. they are packaging everything to go to Mexico.

When a company is purchased, I feel it is the Senior operators that should stay, yes they are "set in their ways" they have to be. It's called Company culture. Every company has a distinct culture, German, Japanese, Korean, etc.

When a company changes hands, you want Senior personnel on hand to train the new operators... unless they plan to kill the entire plant, usually those are "American Investors" that want a high ROI, greedy [censored].

 

[Dallas69]

I've been at my company 34 yrs and I was told I could switch to customer service or leave.
Felt like a kick in the gut.
I'm a yr or two from retiring and no one will hire old folks.
At least I have a job and insurance.
I still haven't adjusted to learning a new job.It's hard to learn a job at my age.

 

[KD0AXS]

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: Dallas69
I've been at my company 34 yrs and I was told I could switch to customer service or leave.
Felt like a kick in the gut.
I'm a yr or two from retiring and no one will hire old folks.
At least I have a job and insurance.
I still haven't adjusted to learning a new job.It's hard to learn a job at my age.


It must cost businesses a pretty penny when someone retires. I haven't really looked into it, so I'm not totally sure how it all works. The days of hefty retirement packages are a thing of the past.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Dallas69
I've been at my company 34 yrs and I was told I could switch to customer service or leave.
Felt like a kick in the gut.
I'm a yr or two from retiring and no one will hire old folks.
At least I have a job and insurance.
I still haven't adjusted to learning a new job.It's hard to learn a job at my age.


Above. That's in part why I retired in my mid 50s. And of course I could afford it-bought investment properties back in the boom times of the 80s (for my job anyway).

Unlike the above posts-I have seen several-senior employees get fired because they were making double what the company could hire a college kid for. Yea-there are intangible training costs-but in the end the company felt the new kid would be a better long term investment.

 

[ecotourist]

In my experience the biggest reason employees are fired is a persistent bad attitude. That or a repeated inability to do the job.

 

[xfactor9]

You didn't mention what industry you're in. I think that matters. In tech (software), you rarely see engineers over the age of 45. They either become managers who do less technical work, or they become high-level architects, or they're let go. As a manager, one relies more on knowledge and interpersonal skills, and less on mental sharpness. In your 20s is when you're smartest and able to solve the most complex technical problems. (Einstein was in his 20s when he made his important discoveries.) By mid-40s, you're not as sharp anymore.

Also, recent grads are more proficient in the latest technologies. Grads are also easier for the company to shape and mold into what the companies wants, too. Older workers may resist if they dont agree with what the company wants to do.

Then there's cost, both in salary and in healthcare, vacation, sick days, etc.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Not every company is run by people who have a clue.

Not every company is run by people who care.

I know of one person who was hired as a department manager at a Supermarket. She was told to find reasons to fire older tenured employees (illegal, but carefully presented as a verbal order so no enforcement action likely) so they could re-hire at introductory salaries. I suspect industries that are super-competitive ... and any industry where replacing employees with self-serve terminals is considered a good idea is a clear indicator you work at one ... are more likely to act this way.

I refuse, by the way, to use self-serve checkout terminals; I will not be part of any scheme to eliminate jobs at a business I pay my money to. If they are sucessfull in eliminating all human-operated checkout lanes, I will shop elsewhere. If "elsewhere" no longer exists, I'll move to the internet for my food order, not at any of those resellers, and have someone (a human) deliver it to me.

_____

Unless the "company" is the National Football League. According to someone I know who attended the meetings for a few years, at the NFL Owner's Conference held every year, the subject of the Commissioner's salary comes up for review and typically an increase motion. Apparently it always passed, and apparently there was only one "no" vote every year, from Al Davis, who said at one meeting my friend attended that "you can get any bum off the street to do that job."

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: ecotourist
In my experience the biggest reason employees are fired is a persistent bad attitude. That or a repeated inability to do the job.

Yep, bad attitude at any job an you'll be out the door.
The last person my boss fired had a terrible attitude and thought it was a good idea to cause trouble within the organization.

Lots of older people where I work and when they retire all that knowledge goes with them and have to train new person from scratch.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Younger employees also tend to break things. There are a lot of costs associated with employees that are not reflected in salary alone.

 

[Rick in PA]

I'd say it depends on the company. The company I work for treats it's employees decently and in fact we often note how many long-time employees we have (I'm one of them). On the flip side, I can't think of any workers who don't give the company an honest day's work.

We recently had a retirement luncheon for one of the production line workers. It was a nice affair in the company cafeteria, which was appropriately decorated. The luncheon was about the same as would be given for retiring management personnel. I saw it as sending the message that we're all important to the company, and it was good for moral.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
I'd say it depends on the company. The company I work for treats it's employees decently and in fact we often note how many long-time employees we have (I'm one of them). On the flip side, I can't think of any workers who don't give the company an honest day's work.

We recently had a retirement luncheon for one of the production line workers. It was a nice affair in the company cafeteria, which was appropriately decorated. The luncheon was about the same as would be given for retiring management personnel. I saw it as sending the message that we're all important to the company, and it was good for moral.


This is about how my employer is. One of my co-workers just put 20 years in (~about the age of the company) and the owner and head managers took him out for a nice lunch.

They do a great job investing in their employees, which I like.

Next week for example, they are taking us to the Chicago Tool Show. Anyone regardless of position, seniority etc. was allowed to sign up.

 

[Andrew1972]

Being a long term employee is not always an asset to a modern company.

If a person was to move quickly up the ladder it's much easier moving to another company and up then staying at a company. Many times these folks return at a higher level because they bypass the established pecking chain.

I am contractor who has worked for roughly 12 large corporations over the last 16 years.

 

[Jarlaxle]

There aren't any truly LONG-term employees where I work (it only opened ~15 years ago), but we have plenty with many years of service. (I'm one...11 years in January.) Most of them are pretty good, though nobody will gripe when a couple leave. Though one, while a near-stereotypical "crotchety old grouch", is one of the best tractor trailer drivers I have ever seen, who thinks nothing of threading a semi through Boston. (He has done many "PUP TRAILER ONLY" stores with a 36' trailer with no trouble.)