(OT) big layoff at work

[LGR4GM]

I hope you find something better Brawndo. It really is awful they did it while you're on vacation and via zoom. It's also ridiculous with how short staffed Healthcare already is.

Take luck. 

[Brawndo]

Thanks everyone hopefully I land something soon. 
 

As Kas23 mentioned large hospital groups and even Health Insurance Companies are buying up everything to maximize profits.

Welcome to future of US Healthcare 

[irregularly irregular]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

Thanks everyone hopefully I land something soon. 
 

As Kas23 mentioned large hospital groups and even Health Insurance Companies are buying up everything to maximize profits.

Welcome to future of US Healthcare 

I'm certain you are capable of getting a kick ass power play system in place. Get your resume over to KA first thing Monday morning.

Otherwise, doors will open and opportunities will present themselves. Best of luck and keep your head up.

 

 

[LTS]

On 4/19/2024 at 4:19 PM, Brawndo said:

Nothing worse than being on vacation and getting a text message from your boss that we need to talk when you get back. I reached out to him and asked what was up and he mentioned there was a reduction in workforce of 20-35% and that 75% of the physicians from our division where being laid off. It was done over a Zoom Meeting earlier that morning and of course the higher ups still had not shared the list of who was being cut with him( He is a very good friend of mine we have known each other since college so I know he wasn’t BSing me) I checked my work email and unfortunately I got an invite to the meeting and My Severance Package was emailed to me this morning.
 

Gotta love the practice of maximizing profits for shareholders over patient care, but that’s healthcare now a days 
 

 

Ugh, sorry.  What a wonderfully impersonal way of handling things. Group layoffs...

And yeah.. maximizing profits for shareholders.. short term gain because they can always put their money elsewhere... it's a bad system made worse when the economy is bad.

On 4/20/2024 at 2:13 PM, kas23 said:

People want to point their fingers at Big Pharma and how can they profit off of people’s misery and they are the cause of our ballooning health care costs, but they are nothing compared to what is going on with large hospital networks. Pharma makes it no secret they want to profit and have no direct say in people’s medical care. But, now we have hospitals whose very existence is to make a profit. They may call themselves a non-profit, but the people running them are laser focused on making money.
 

Private practices are becoming a relic with most of them are being bought up by very large hospital networks. This poses 2 issues. The physicians are no longer their own boss and medical decisions are now made to maximize profit. Physicians themselves will never go along with this model, so as a result, are being forced to double/triple book patients or being laid off. And it’s definitely not due to a lack of demand. Now with private equity becoming more involved with healthcare, this is only going to worsen. 

As the CFO of the hospital system I used to work for often said, "Not for profit does not mean not for revenue."  They aren't so much making money but finding ways to fund lots of other things, not all of the necessary or worth the cost.

21 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Thanks everyone hopefully I land something soon. 
 

As Kas23 mentioned large hospital groups and even Health Insurance Companies are buying up everything to maximize profits.

Welcome to future of US Healthcare 

US everything it would seem.  Same situation as our vet.  We did finally learn that while the "owner" vet who has had his name on the business for a long time still has his name on it. It's corporate run explaining every change we've experienced over the past two years. All the other vets left and just the office staff as largely remained unchanged.

I am glad I do not have to spend much time in the US healthcare system and this just confirms it even more.  Unfortunate.

[SDS]

22 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Thanks everyone hopefully I land something soon. 
 

As Kas23 mentioned large hospital groups and even Health Insurance Companies are buying up everything to maximize profits.

Welcome to future of US Healthcare 

Oof. I just read this. 😕

[Brawndo]

Quick update.

I had three interviews and three job offers shortly after being downsized. 
 

I leave tomorrow for Chicago to start my orientation for my new position. My new company is new to the Buffalo Area and does not have a local office so my second week of orientation will be commuting to Rochester everyday and the third week part of it will be in Cleveland. 
 

The new position is a pay raise and is with a start up so there is room for growth. 
 

I actually need to get back to work to relax, I have painted seven rooms, remodeled a bathroom, ripped out a concrete utility tub in the basement and tore out carpet from three rooms. I also took down an old fence in the backyard. I pretty much went to Home Depot everyday and am now on a first name basis with the employees at Sherwin Williams. So five nights in Chicago is going to be a nice break 

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/intuit-to-close-edmonton-office-as-global-tech-firm-cuts-1-800-jobs-across-operations-1.7259302

Many of you know that in addition to my small accounting firm (just myself) I took on a Seasonal Role with TurboTax Live for tax season 2022.

That turned into my present permanent SelectTime role with the organization - SelectTime is great - I have to provide 20 hours and the company has to guarantee me 20 hours per week, but I could work up to 40 hours per week if available and there is enough work.  I work in a small department (10 permanent SelectTime + about 15 Seasonal right now) - Audit Defence where we respond to letters from CRA issued to the company tax filing clients.  It is a customer facing role and we all work remotely.  Our busiest time is starting now - when CRA starts sending out most of their review letters.  I am working 25 hours a week now.

No one that I work with or in the TurboTax Live worldwide divisions were affected by the layoffs.  They were all back office people and  many were middle managers in the fat middle of the organization.

Still not a great day Wednesday.

 

 

[Scottysabres]

2 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/intuit-to-close-edmonton-office-as-global-tech-firm-cuts-1-800-jobs-across-operations-1.7259302

Many of you know that in addition to my small accounting firm (just myself) I took on a Seasonal Role with TurboTax Live for tax season 2022.

That turned into my present permanent SelectTime role with the organization - SelectTime is great - I have to provide 20 hours and the company has to guarantee me 20 hours per week, but I could work up to 40 hours per week if available and there is enough work.  I work in a small department (10 permanent SelectTime + about 15 Seasonal right now) - Audit Defence where we respond to letters from CRA issued to the company tax filing clients.  It is a customer facing role and we all work remotely.  Our busiest time is starting now - when CRA starts sending out most of their review letters.  I am working 25 hours a week now.

No one that I work with or in the TurboTax Live worldwide divisions were affected by the layoffs.  They were all back office people and  many were middle managers in the fat middle of the organization.

Still not a great day Wednesday.

 

 

Sorry to hear this NS.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Just now, Scottysabres said:

Sorry to hear this NS.

Thanks.  I'm fine and everyone I know and work with is fine.

That said, I do hate huge corporations - the announcement was by company wide email and very cold.  'Those affected will be invited to an information session' ... it was a terrible day for 1,800 people.  I just hate hearing these things at my or any other company - these affect real / normal people.  They went to work one day and then received this email - they didn't get to go to work the next day.  These are real people with real lives.  With bills to pay and who knows what going on.  The company does not really care about them or any of the other employees really.  It's all about the bottom line  - always.  I just hate it.

[Scottysabres]

1 hour ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Thanks.  I'm fine and everyone I know and work with is fine.

That said, I do hate huge corporations - the announcement was by company wide email and very cold.  'Those affected will be invited to an information session' ... it was a terrible day for 1,800 people.  I just hate hearing these things at my or any other company - these affect real / normal people.  They went to work one day and then received this email - they didn't get to go to work the next day.  These are real people with real lives.  With bills to pay and who knows what going on.  The company does not really care about them or any of the other employees really.  It's all about the bottom line  - always.  I just hate it.

I work for a Canadian Corp. Here in Niagara Falls, NY. As a matter of fact, I'm pulling 76 hrs this week, 84 next week, 68 the following week. It's the way the corporate world works in today's era I'm afraid, "Lean Manufacturing".

[RangerDave]

1 hour ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Thanks.  I'm fine and everyone I know and work with is fine.

That said, I do hate huge corporations - the announcement was by company wide email and very cold.  'Those affected will be invited to an information session' ... it was a terrible day for 1,800 people.  I just hate hearing these things at my or any other company - these affect real / normal people.  They went to work one day and then received this email - they didn't get to go to work the next day.  These are real people with real lives.  With bills to pay and who knows what going on.  The company does not really care about them or any of the other employees really.  It's all about the bottom line  - always.  I just hate it.

How does health care insurance work in Canada?  In the US, most people get their insurance through their employers.  If they lose their jobs, they will eventually lose coverage.

[French Collection]

26 minutes ago, RangerDave said:

How does health care insurance work in Canada?  In the US, most people get their insurance through their employers.  If they lose their jobs, they will eventually lose coverage.

The provincial governments provide basic health care, emergency and hospital visits including surgical procedures. Employers generally provide dental, eyeglass, drugs and some even have extra benefits like orthotics, physio and massages Employer plans vary, some are 100% coverage for many things down to around 50% of certain procedures or drugs.

Where I worked for 36 years even covered LASIK eye surgery. My benefits continue after retirement, although most companies don’t provide that.

It’s a big part of our high rate of taxation.

Edited July 13 by French Collection

[RangerDave]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

It’s a big part of our high rate of taxation.

In your opinion, do you think your rate of taxation is worth the coverage that you get, and never having to worry about not having coverage?

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, RangerDave said:

In your opinion, do you think your rate of taxation is worth the coverage that you get, and never having to worry about not having coverage?

It’s all I’ve ever known so I am OK with it.

It’s a good safety net for people who don’t have much money, get can get heath care.

When I was working, making good money almost half of my earnings were gone to tax but now I am not paying too much.

I have been relatively healthy, knock on wood, so I am not too familiar with the health care system but I am sure a lot of people would be dead without free care.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

20 hours ago, RangerDave said:

In your opinion, do you think your rate of taxation is worth the coverage that you get, and never having to worry about not having coverage?

I will also address this.  We pay a lot for our 'universal coverage', which is not 100% universal.  About 60% of every single tax dollar collected goes to fund health care in Canada.  I do the math in simply terms and we actually pay more than anyone in the US, even if they had to pay themselves.

Another major issue in Canada are extremely long wait lists to see specialists / treatments and for most tests that are not linked to an emergency situation.

[Big Guava]

On 4/19/2024 at 4:19 PM, Brawndo said:

Nothing worse than being on vacation and getting a text message from your boss that we need to talk when you get back. I reached out to him and asked what was up and he mentioned there was a reduction in workforce of 20-35% and that 75% of the physicians from our division where being laid off. It was done over a Zoom Meeting earlier that morning and of course the higher ups still had not shared the list of who was being cut with him( He is a very good friend of mine we have known each other since college so I know he wasn’t BSing me) I checked my work email and unfortunately I got an invite to the meeting and My Severance Package was emailed to me this morning.
 

Gotta love the practice of maximizing profits for shareholders over patient care, but that’s healthcare now a days 
 

 

Damn that sucks, but as a doctor I presume you should at least have no issues finding a job and one that likely pays more to boot.

[Big Guava]

On 7/13/2024 at 12:55 PM, Scottysabres said:

I work for a Canadian Corp. Here in Niagara Falls, NY. As a matter of fact, I'm pulling 76 hrs this week, 84 next week, 68 the following week. It's the way the corporate world works in today's era I'm afraid, "Lean Manufacturing".

As a senior software engineer I likely barely work 84 hours in 3 weeks if I factor in actual time working and not doing other stuff like browsing the internet, waiting for pipeline builds to deploy or other random stuff. Probably between 85-90.

Luckily I make up for it by being super efficient and focused when I do actually work so the net result is that I usually finish things well ahead of the expected time.

I used to work crazy hours and OT at different jobs(especially the restaurants) but at some point I realized that it wasn't appreciated really and that all it did was cause me to get burnt out.

Never again. I'm the CEO of Me, INC and I realized that companies don't give a crap about you in the end so if they are always looking out for their best interest then I will do the same for mine.

I definitely take pride in my work and getting things done but the days of pushing harder and harder to get things done is over. All that leads to is the expectation it will always be like that and the dumping of more work onto you from people who aren't moving as fast...your reward? Extra work without extra pay...or a minimal promotion and pay increase with double the work...no thanks.

If I want a raise I either wait for the IT recruiters to contact me about positions or get in touch with them and let them know what I am looking for and when they have something they get back to me. Last 3 job changes have all been from recruiters reaching out to me when I wasn't even looking. The offers were too good to pass up tho, basically got 20K raises each time with bonuses on top of it. Switching jobs every year to two years is pretty much standard practice until you reach a certain pay level that's near the ceiling, then you become more selective.

I realize in the factories it can be different as they can require it as part of the job, but that wouldn't be for me.

Edited July 14 by Big Guava

[Scottysabres]

15 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

As a senior software engineer I likely barely work 84 hours in 3 weeks if I factor in actual time working and not doing other stuff like browsing the internet, waiting for pipeline builds to deploy or other random stuff. Probably between 85-90.

Luckily I make up for it by being super efficient and focused when I do actually work so the net result is that I usually finish things well ahead of the expected time.

I used to work crazy hours and OT at different jobs(especially the restaurants) but at some point I realized that it wasn't appreciated really and that all it did was cause me to get burnt out.

Never again. I'm the CEO of Me, INC and I realized that companies don't give a crap about you in the end so if they are always looking out for their best interest then I will do the same for mine.

I definitely take pride in my work and getting things done but the days of pushing harder and harder to get things done is over. All that leads to is the expectation it will always be like that and the dumping of more work onto you from people who aren't moving as fast...your reward? Extra work without extra pay...or a minimal promotion and pay increase with double the work...no thanks.

If I want a raise I either wait for the IT recruiters to contact me about positions or get in touch with them and let them know what I am looking for and when they have something they get back to me. Last 3 job changes have all been from recruiters reaching out to me when I wasn't even looking. The offers were too good to pass up tho, basically got 20K raises each time with bonuses on top of it. Switching jobs every year to two years is pretty much standard practice until you reach a certain pay level that's near the ceiling, then you become more selective.

I realize in the factories it can be different as they can require it as part of the job, but that wouldn't be for me.

I'm on course to clear 130k gross this year, but ya, I sacrifice the time to do so.

[RangerDave]

3 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

I will also address this.  We pay a lot for our 'universal coverage', which is not 100% universal.  About 60% of every single tax dollar collected goes to fund health care in Canada.  I do the math in simply terms and we actually pay more than anyone in the US, even if they had to pay themselves.

Another major issue in Canada are extremely long wait lists to see specialists / treatments and for most tests that are not linked to an emergency situation.

I appreciate the education on the Canadian health care system. 

Are there options in Canada to purchase additional private insurance, so that you can "jump the line", so to speak, and get in sooner, or get treatments/ tests not included in the "universal coverage"?

[dudacek]

4 minutes ago, RangerDave said:

I appreciate the education on the Canadian health care system. 

Are there options in Canada to purchase additional private insurance, so that you can "jump the line", so to speak, and get in sooner, or get treatments/ tests not included in the "universal coverage"?

Canadian health care is funded nationally but administered provincially so I can’t speak for the entire country.

Here in B.C., that’s not really an option and I believe that’s pretty standard nationwide.

People get around that by going south of the border.

A defining principle of the system is access to health should not be limited by an individual’s means.

Speaking strictly for myself and my family I have been grateful for the unfettered access to excellent care without ever having to worry about a personal monetary cost. I simply do not hear people complaining about paying for taxes for our health system. They do complain about waiting and access.

The resources available do not cover the need here, which I suspect is also the case in the US, it’s just that the gap is manifested in different areas. That said, in either country, the stories on the margins do not reflect the experience of most.

[Big Guava]

1 hour ago, Scottysabres said:

I'm on course to clear 130k gross this year, but ya, I sacrifice the time to do so.

Me too, but I work 1/3 of the hours

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 hour ago, RangerDave said:

I appreciate the education on the Canadian health care system. 

Are there options in Canada to purchase additional private insurance, so that you can "jump the line", so to speak, and get in sooner, or get treatments/ tests not included in the "universal coverage"?

There is private insurance for prescriptions, glasses and dental.  Those are usually purchased through employer plans (cheaper premiums due to volume), but often have a co-pay (Intuit pays 100% of my premiums for me and my wife - over $4,000 / year).  There are limits as to coverage for certain things and amounts per year.

There are no plans to get a jump on the lines for tests and such.

Here in NS there are some private for profit companies that offer certain tests - mostly MRIs and such.  If you can / want to pay you can go to those clinics.

I do know many people who opted to go to the US or even Europe for treatments of certain cancers and such.  In NS MSI (the provincial medical services administrator for the government) will reimburse out of pocket expenses up to the limits set in NS for similar services or for services not offered in NS.  Private insurance may help a bit for out of Canada treatments depending on the plans - most people travelling will purchase additional coverage for example.  That coverage can be purchased when going for treatments. 

There are also tax credits available for medical expenses paid for my the taxpayer, including out of province / country treatments and travel costs.