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Genie lay-offs and others....

rent for nowrent for now
edited September 2009 in Seattle Real Estate
2 area manufacturers will cut hundreds of jobs
Genie Industries Inc.'s parent, Terex Corp., laid off 120 full-time workers and an undisclosed number of temporary workers in its aerial work platforms segment. Redmond-based Genie, which makes lifts, booms and light towers, makes up the majority of that division, but the company didn't disclose how many of the layoffs were there or at its manufacturing plant in Moses Lake.

Those layoffs occurred this week.

"Our business is a cyclical one," said Genie spokeswoman Melinda Zimmerman-Smith. "We're responding to the industries we serve, particularly construction," which has been hit by rising fuel and raw-material costs.

Comments

  • The_TimThe_Tim
    Hmm... Genie is where I worked until January. Considering how new our group was, I wouldn't be surprised if the layoff eye turns toward my former coworkers soon. :(
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    500 more people at my former employer got the ax yesterday, including at least one engineer I used to work with.

    Genie Plant Layoffs Employees In Redmond
    Nelson Wong was carrying his possessions in a box. He too feared this day would come.

    "For the last four years you just keep your things lean and you're just ready to go," Wong said.

    Wong, an engineer who's been with Genie for 12 years, said in some ways he is relieved.

    "Being at work has been kinda tough, everyone is walking on eggs," Wong said.
    Nelson was a nice guy, and he knew Genie inside and out. I guess when you've been there so long, your salary gets big enough to put a big target on your back. Sad.

    Additional coverage:
    Seattle Times: Genie Industries cuts nearly 500 jobs
    Seattle P-I: 375 lose jobs at Genie in Redmond

    A comment I left back in January before leaving:
    The Tim wrote:
    At an all-hands meeting yesterday for the 30-40 people in our building, the building manager (my boss' boss) was talking about the company's business prospects with respect to the current economy, and actually said "If we all don't participate in the recession, and we tell all our neighbors not to participate, maybe there won't be a recession."

    I have to admire his optimism.
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    Aw, geez. 260 more people, 180 in Redmond, 80 in Moses Lake:

    More layoffs at Genie Industries
    REDMOND, Wash. – Redmond-based Genie Industries is laying off more workers.

    The company said 180 people in Redmond in both management and plant production would be let go and in Moses Lake, 80 people will lose their jobs.
    By my count, layoffs at Genie Redmond are up to 675 people in seven months, plus "an undisclosed number of temporary workers." Yikes. I seem to recall that total employment at Genie there in Redmond was somewhere in the ballpark of 3,000 before the cuts. If my memory serves me correctly, that means their cuts are over 20% so far.

    More and more I'm glad I got out of there when I did. Doesn't sound like a terribly fun environment to be working in, for those still working there.
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    Dang. I am really glad I got out of there when I did...

    KOMO News: Genie announces more layoffs
    Genie Industries, in its third round of layoffs since October, on Monday laid off 184 employees in Redmond and 58 more in Moses Lake.

    Genie, which makes industrial lifts and aerial work platforms, said without construction projects fueling its sales, the company is struggling.
    ...
    Along with the shift, the company is aiming to cut costs by $100 million each month. Genie will cut work week hours, and managers will take a 10-percent pay cut.

    On Monday the laid-off workers got a free cab ride home to mark the end of their careers at Genie. Workers said they knew pink slips were around the corner since each quarterly report since July has been followed by job cuts.

    "They shut down one week, then they shut down last week. They let us work this week, and they're laying us off now," said former Genie employee Tina Moran.

    In the last year, Genie has cut more than 1,100 jobs in Western Washington. The layoffs began last July when Genie said it needed to cut some of its 2,400 employees in Redmond. In October, 375 workers in Redmond and 100 more in Moses Lake got their walking papers. In January, Genie cut another 250 jobs.

    After Monday's layoffs, only 1,500 are still stranding (sic). The latest cuts represent about 6 percent of Genie's worldwide workforce.
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    Aw, geez...

    Genie lays off 400 employees
    Hundreds of employees of Genie Industries were given the pink slip on Tuesday.

    The company announced it laid off 400 workers - 325 from its Redmond office and 15 from its Moses Lake location. Of the 325 laid off in Redmond, 200 were voluntary workers, the company said.

    The remaining 60 workers are said to be spread out worldwide.

    The latest round of cutbacks leaves some 1,000 employees at Genie's Redmond branch and 250 at the Moses Lake location.
    I'm pretty sure when I was there in 2006-2008 there were close to 3,000 people at Genie Redmond.
  • jillaynejillayne
    Tim, what kind of jobs would these 2,000 people be qualified to do?
  • deejayohdeejayoh
    jillayne wrote:
    Tim, what kind of jobs would these 2,000 people be qualified to do?
    bubble blogging. definitely. I expect an explosion!
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    jillayne wrote:
    Tim, what kind of jobs would these 2,000 people be qualified to do?
    Over half the people that have been cut have likely been off the manufacturing floors. These are welders, painters, assemblers, etc. There have also been cuts from the design and administrative sides as well, so management, engineers (mechanical and electrical), salespeople, etc.

    With Boeing currently in contraction as well, I'm not sure where all the manufacturing jobs would go.

    Also, I started SB before I started at Genie, so I don't think there's likely to be much correlation there :wink:
  • MarkorMarkor
    Wow. This is why I'll be encouraging my kid to learn one of the skills that is last to go in a recession. Also don't work for a company that goes down hard in a bust, unless you get compensating bonuses in boom times (e.g. Wall Street workers). Or maybe two skills, one for boom and one for bust.
  • rose-colored-coolaidrose-colored-coolaid
    Markor wrote:
    Wow. This is why I'll be encouraging my kid to learn one of the skills that is last to go in a recession.

    Like what, panhandling?
  • MarkorMarkor
    rose-colored-coolaid wrote:
    Like what, panhandling?
    Anything in health care, apparently.
  • WestSideBillyWestSideBilly
    Repo men are probably the most recession safe jobs. That or prostitutes. :D
  • Dave0Dave0
    Markor wrote:
    Wow. This is why I'll be encouraging my kid to learn one of the skills that is last to go in a recession. Also don't work for a company that goes down hard in a bust, unless you get compensating bonuses in boom times (e.g. Wall Street workers). Or maybe two skills, one for boom and one for bust.

    Or you could just teach your kids good personal finance skills, like always having 3-6 months in living expenses on hand, don't go into debt so you can cut back on expenses when times are hard, always make more than you earn, etc. and he/she will be able to ride out recessions like this and be able to do whatever career he/she wants.
  • The_TimThe_Tim
    Dave0 wrote:
    ...always make more than you earn...
    Wow you will have to show me how that particular trick works.

    ;^)

    Seriously though, great points. I was essentially "jobless" by choice for most of 2008, having left my job at Genie voluntarily in January '08, and not picking up the "part time" job I'm at now until January '09. This site was making some money, but nowhere near what I got from the "stable" job at Genie.

    The only reason I was able to do that was because of the financial discipline instilled in me by my parents. I graduated college with close to $40,000 in school debt, paid it all off in just over three years, bought two (used) vehicles with cash, got to zero debt, built up a nice buffer of cash savings, and avoided letting my spend inflate with my earnings. Even if I had stayed at Genie and gotten cut, I would have easily landed on my feet.
  • MarkorMarkor
    Dave0 wrote:
    Or you could just teach your kids good personal finance skills, like always having 3-6 months in living expenses on hand, don't go into debt so you can cut back on expenses when times are hard, always make more than you earn, etc. and he/she will be able to ride out recessions like this and be able to do whatever career he/she wants.
    Good advice. However, it's looking like some careers will be tough to have for 10+ years.
  • MarkorMarkor
    The Tim wrote:
    The only reason I was able to do that was because of the financial discipline instilled in me by my parents. I graduated college with close to $40,000 in school debt, paid it all off in just over three years, bought two (used) vehicles with cash, got to zero debt, built up a nice buffer of cash savings, and avoided letting my spend inflate with my earnings.
    Good for you. The best financial advice I got came from a chronic alcoholic. He reached a point where couldn't work, but still managed for years. I found out it was because he had religiously saved 25% of every paycheck.
  • perfectfireperfectfire
    Thanks for destroying the economy The Tim. Now go and repent by breaking some windows.
  • jillaynejillayne
    Oh my goodness. Look what two former Genie workers are doing:

    http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ts26m.html
    Better this than becoming loan mod sharks.
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