Expect to see the voluntary package rolled out next week, with "implementation" (i.e. volunteers gone) by Nov 30. The All-Managers meeting on Monday has been cancelled, which is further evidence that senior management is planning to roll out news to the workforce later in the week.
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I hear that Mickey is willing to push this initiative forward and gamble. I think he will have some sort of all hands this next week and roll out a voluntary. 2 weeks to respond. A day or so to rescind if you want. And out within 2 weeks.
I'm an older double-dipper and eager to leave if I can get the check after Jan 1, 2008. (big tax consequences) LANS might want to offer this option, if they seriously want volunteers.
ReplyDeleteComment to 1:11 PM:
ReplyDeleteI doubt LANS will offer to pay after 1/1/08 because then they'd have to pay the employer's part of the Social Security Tax, too. Many, if not most staff are already near or above the Social Security Wage Base of $97,500 for 2007. Separation payments this year thus don't incur the extra 6.2% tax, at least to the extent that total payments (including 2007 salary) are above the $97,500 number. BTW, the same extra tax would apply to volunteers, too. Be sure to fold that into your thinking re the overall tax picture.
Thanks for the update.
ReplyDeleteI do not understand how downsizing right before Christmas is a good plan for national security, morale, recruitment, etc.
It just seems cruel.
Any comments?
What's cruel got to do with it?
ReplyDeleteLayoffs happen in lots of companies right before the end of the New Year. It's SOP.
And good morale at LANL is clearly not part of the planning process at either LANS or NNSA. Don't you understand this by now? They want staff to leave! Didn't the experience with Nanos, and now LANS LLC, begin to tell you something? Didn't the new requirements for lie detectors and piss-tests register in you head? How about the low raises and crazy new policies and growth in our bloated and overpaid management structure. Didn't any of these things give you a least a little hint that they don't care about LANL morale? How much clearer could LANS and NNSA make it for you?
Perhaps the RIF will finally help some of the clueless at LANL finally understand, but given the comments of 3:21 PM, I wouldn't count on it.
The more workers they catch with drugs the happier I'll be. What are the numbers anyway? Have they fired many workers?
ReplyDelete6:37 pm: "And good morale at LANL is clearly not part of the planning process at either LANS or NNSA."
ReplyDeleteYou may be correct, but that should not stop anyone who is interested in a quality and rewarding career from seeking out an employer who demonstrates concern for employees. Why would you want to spend your professional life working for anyone less? Why would you want to spend your days in an atmosphere of low morale? If you've been careful to always maximize your professional choices, and have cultivated contacts among your peers, you will be able to translate your capabilities and will be fine. If you stuck your head in the LANL sand, and kept it down there for the past twenty or so years, you are in deep doodoo.
If you don't think your value rises above DOE or NNSA, that is sad. If you do, polish your resume and start looking. If you find something good, great, you have choices. If you don't look, you are allowing the bastards to do it to you and your complaints are those of sheep to the slaughter.
Some of us have technically sweet assignments, funded, with exciting work to do on the scientific side of the house. Sorry, don't plan on leaving anytime soon. Let the lost soul managers and low-lifes flounder, but just stay out of our way, please.
ReplyDeletePS. The drug testing question, a good one. Any stats on that now? I know of a few that have been fired point blank over it.
Many years ago the coach of the St. Louis Blues hockey team was a man by the name of Al Arbour. To all accounts, he was a real gentleman of high ethics. He just didn't win enough games to suit the Solomon Brothers who owned the team. So, Al Arbour was fired on Christmas Eve.
ReplyDeleteIn St. Louis, the phrase "getting having an Al Arbor Christmas" is still used.
I think that is in store for many of us.
I don't think our management can actually get it's sh*t together quickly enough for a Christmas Eve RIF.
ReplyDelete"The more workers they catch with drugs the happier I'll be. What are the numbers anyway? Have they fired many workers?"
ReplyDeleteThere's been a total of 216 hits, 38% are technical staff, 12% are SSMs, 52% are students. 12% claim to be using for medical purposes, 48% for stress and the remainder are considered hippi holdouts. 79% are men, 19% are women, 2% are named Pat. Hope this helps.
--HR Specialst
What, no TECs/OS/GS?
ReplyDelete38+12+52=102?
That extra 2% are the Pats.
ReplyDeleteA total of 216 hits? That seems high, given that these tests only start up recently! I sure hope these test are accurate at detecting only illegal drugs and don't have false positives for other non-related things.
ReplyDeleteOf course, based on the way the tests are executed by LANS (i.e., immediate termination on a positive reading), we'll probably never know for sure, will we? Yet another reason for the staff to be in a state of high anxiety these days.
8:27 am: The actual statistics are available from SEC-S6 every month. I know for sure they don't do any "considering" about "hippis" and you won't find any breakdown by name or by why they claim to be using. Nice farce, though.
ReplyDelete