Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Archive for August 5th, 2008

Severance and Redundancy

Those of you who are regular readers know that I work in the High Tech industry at a large telecommunications company, that was until Wednesday July 30th, when my position there was declared redundant and I was given a severance package.

This is not a parable or a story on my part, this has actually transpired, I am now gainfully looking for employment after 20 years of work at the same company. As I mentioned yesterday, this is most likely going to temper and change the tone of this blog, to be less “savings” oriented and more “survival” oriented. As most can tell, I write about things in the financial area that matter to me and to my family, and this kind of upheaval and change is bound to cause a thematic change in my writings (at least for now).

I have spoken to many people about this already (including most of my loved ones, hopefully no more are learning from odd places, as my Brother learned from a comment I left on an industry web site), and I have already “activated” my network of contacts for job searching.

I am open to requests for articles or requests from my readers about this event in my life, however I must say that legally I am not allowed to say how much my severance package is, and there are some other points I am not supposed to discuss, that I can’t remember. I will say that it is very generous (but it should be given I have been there for 20 years, and am now 47 years old), and I have been given access to a firm that will help me get ready to find a new job.

I am also eager to hear of stories of redemption and success in this area, as well as helpful tips on how to survive and better still overcome this tumultuous event in any worker’s career.

Excellent Layoff and Severance Articles So Far

• Gail Vaz-Oxlade has written this excellent article: 9 Things to Do If You Lose Your Job . Good reading.
• Canadian Capitalist made a post a while ago (and he and I have spoken in E-mail about this situation already): Surviving a Layoff .
• Uncommon Sense also lays out some important points in: 14 Tips For Living Through a Layoff