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August 25, 2021

Signs you're about to be laid-off

There are few professional experiences as dignity-sapping as being laid-off.

8533724-8533724-unemployment-concept Myself, I was laid-off from a previous employer as the recession began, only the job cutting didn’t happen right away. I was handed a notice saying my days were numbered, and then, along with dozens of fellow slashed workers, continued to show up each day until our termination date – three months down the road.

We mockingly nicknamed our section of the office “the Green Mile.” We all felt like dead men walking.

Of course, the lay-off wasn’t a huge surprise – rumours had swirled for months, and the downturn was turning employed work into a bona fide privilege at the time – but are there sure-fire signs your job is in jeopardy? Under normal economic circumstances, can you tell in advance you’re about to be laid-off?

Bargaineering.com sure thinks so. The site recently published a feature called “Five Signs of a Potential Lay Off,” and chances are you saw many of these telltale signals if you were laid-off.

*Bing: Find a better paying job in your field

Their list, in brief:

1) “You don’t see your boss much.”
2) “Big, long-term projects are slashed.”
3) “Others in your industry are facing problems.”
4) “Cost cutting (in your company).”
5) “You’re training someone else.”

Surely, numbers three and four there probably strike the most resonant chord. If you were an auto worker circa 2007, for instance, it’s a good bet that you didn’t find too much job security in any business headlines of the time.

By the same token, I can recall one friend telling me, prior to their own lay-off, their office had removed items like water coolers from the building. Such cost-cutting was like the writing on the wall; it was only a matter of time.

If you’ve been laid-off, how did you see it coming (if you did)? For those that haven’t, have any of Bargaineering’s measures happened at your office without prefacing layoffs?

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...