GM to shave its headcount by 15% (5,000) by Nov.1
Makes the heart Sad (3)
Posted in * Economics, Politics, Economy
GM to shave its headcount by 15% (5,000) by Nov.1
At one point a clearly frustrated Evangelist said that God sent Hurricane Katrina as a punishment for New Orleans’ sins. It is with similar frustration (and perhaps similar error) that I am inclined to call this God’s retribution on GM for the Hummer. In any case, a lot of innocent people are going to be hurt by this as well.
I got shaved by GM all the way back in 2003. Granted, I was a contract employee, but I had spent a total of 7-1/2 years there, the last five toiling in a body shop. There’s life after General Motors.
From ’95-’97, I was laid off 3 times, as changes in my profession forced changes. Today, I make less money, am more productive, and am far happier than I ever was in my former career. In fact, I recently attended a social affair with folks I worked with 10-15 years ago and left truly glad for the changes of the 90s.
I am certainly not minimizing the pain and difficulties of job loss. But it’s truly not the end of the world.
This is the type of situation where a parish and parishioners can be of help by just being there. There was a time when I was out of work for a period and I was lucky to have 2 friends who kept an eye on me and were supportive. A lot of fellow professionals acted after awhile like it was contagious. Besides the obvious problems ones unemployed have, there is the very real, but less obvious, trap of becoming isolated.