A great start to the year

Ronin

Returned work yesterday after 3 weeks much needed holiday.
3 hrs into the work year a mass meeting is called an it is announced that the plant is closing and we are all made redundant, effective immediately. Nice.....
Not so bad for me as yet, I've been there a long time and will receive a decent package, but not so for some. Almost 70 in total, to add to the 14000 Campbell Newman has added to the doll ques it should prove interesting to get another job.
Manufacturing seems to be taking a dive in Aus and it reeks of recession/depression to me. Hopefully I am wrong.

On a positive note it has pushed me from a job that I no longer enjoyed.
I hope others have had a more enjoyable start to the year.

I'm off to a union meeting this morning to finalize redundancy packages, I imagine there will be some heated exchanges

Brett_H

Our thoughts go with you mate!

conikal

Ronin wrote:

Manufacturing seems to be taking a dive in Aus and it reeks of recession/depression to me. Hopefully I am wrong.

Unfortunately.. you are not wrong. Anyone who can stand back and take a long , unbiased, view of manufacturing in Oz, can only come to one conclusion.....A very steady downward spiral. There are few true , serious, manufacturing businesses still based in Au these days, and new investment is a rarity. Key industries like Steel and Aluminium production, Auto manufacturing, etc, ...are all downsizing. Once the Resources "Boom" cools off, the economic outlook will be bleak . Time for a career change for those of us once committed to manufacturing. ! 🙁 Good luck with your job search.

Koffee_Kosmo

If you want to get into a test and tag franchise - contact me KK

Kelsey

conikal wrote:

Unfortunately.. you are not wrong. Anyone who can stand back and take a long , unbiased, view of manufacturing in Oz, can only come to one conclusion.....A very steady downward spiral. There are few true , serious, manufacturing businesses still based in Au these days, and new investment is a rarity. Key industries like Steel and Aluminium production, Auto manufacturing, etc, ...are all downsizing. Once the Resources "Boom" cools off, the economic outlook will be bleak . Time for a career change for those of us once committed to manufacturing. ! 🙁 Good luck with your job search.

Or it's time to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing and re-invest. I'm against excessive overseas investment in Australian resources - Cubbie Station is a prime example. A cotton farm bought for its water. I have no idea how important cotton is to us as a crop or how many cotton farms remain, but once we lose the infrastructure and know-how it becomes very hard to build that back up again if we need to. That's not xenophobia, it's protecting the economic future of our citizens.

Ronin

Seems we made the Courier Mail today. Page 6 (No that's not me :pan), just after Mr Newman asking for help to run the state, is that a job offer :angel:. Also seems we are being fed some bulls#!t. Apparently its cheaper to produce steel GET castings in America than here, 2-3 times cheaper including shipping them here. It also seems there has been a breach of the EBA agreement and compensation is sort from former workers. We are still being paid until the problem is cleared and they have arranged for professional Resume writers and different employment agencies to help with the problem of new jobs for us. I think for me tho, its time for a career change, taking some time this week to think on it some more (and finishing painting expected babies room 😉). Time to look at the current economic climate to predict the next growth (or even stable) industry here in AUS, as I feel financial times look questionable. We are due for a recession Thanks for the kind words guys.

galumay

Sorry to hear the news Ronin, its never fun to be in that situation. It does seem you are being very positive in the circumstances and i admire that. You seem to be living the saying that "when one door closes, another one opens", and viewing this as a chance to have a career change. Good luck with the future and hopefully you will look back in 6 months or so and think how lucky you were to be retrenched at the time!

RichardM

Sorry to hear, Ronin. A lot of the people who got laid off in public service are merely contractors - opportunists, so you going up against them would be a completely different kettle of fish (you'd have the upper hand in the current market), but post up your skills, and I'm sure someone in the area can help out if you need it (if it comes to that). All the best though.

Jonty

Sorry to hear Ronin. One door closes and another opportunity comes along. It sounds like you have a little time on your side with a redundancy to have some family time and put some thoughts into your future. Similar to the guys at Bluescope steel in Hastings today also got bad news: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/town-to-lose-170-steel-jobs/story-e6frf7kx-1226553876062 Best wishes Jonty

Ol_Grumpy

Not the best way to get a mention in the paper... Not the worst either :Eek Thinking of you... All the best....

Ronin

galumay wrote:

You seem to be living the saying that "when one door closes, another one opens", and viewing this as a chance to have a career change.

Its the best way to look at it. Sure there's some down sides but I'm about to be paid to leave a job I had no heart for anymore and was thinking of leaving anyway. On another positive note I just got this via email I am Mrs. Mona Saeedi, a Muslim woman.I have picked you for an inheritance.I am aware that this is certainly not a conventional way of approach to establish a relationship of trust and confidence, but you will realize the need for my action.Please contact me on my private email for more details: mrsmona@safadi-saeedi.com Awesome, just at the right time too. And it's not from Nigeria either :stir

Brett_H

Ronin wrote:

Its the best way to look at it. Sure there's some down sides but I'm about to be paid to leave a job I had no heart for anymore and was thinking of leaving anyway. On another positive note I just got this via email I am Mrs. Mona Saeedi, a Muslim woman.I have picked you for an inheritance.I am aware that this is certainly not a conventional way of approach to establish a relationship of trust and confidence, but you will realize the need for my action.Please contact me on my private email for more details: mrsmona@safadi-saeedi.com Awesome, just at the right time too. And it's not from Nigeria either :stir

Just a warning on the above folks... I know it seems funny to post these things but seriously, inheriting the sort of money implied by this message could really change someone. I for one would buy all new friends! Don't say you weren't warned!! :rofl: Your positive attitude Ronin is inspiring mate!

derrilex

Geez that's crap Ronin. On the positive side its good incentive to change paths. I have done it 3 times now and each time, with time, a hobby has turned into a job/business which looses its shine pretty quickly. I too am constantly on the lookout for something new and fulfilling. Building stuff is good but hard, unappreciated, underpaid, irregullar ( in this economy) work. The resin didn't work out ( as I new in my heart) but geez I had fun doing it. I'm sure something will crop up for a man of your talents :thumb:

Ronin

derrilex wrote:

Geez that's crap Ronin. On the positive side its good incentive to change paths. I have done it 3 times now and each time, with time, a hobby has turned into a job/business which looses its shine pretty quickly. I too am constantly on the lookout for something new and fulfilling. Building stuff is good but hard, unappreciated, underpaid, irregullar ( in this economy) work. The resin didn't work out ( as I new in my heart) but geez I had fun doing it. I'm sure something will crop up for a man of your talents :thumb:

Resin work, is in my opinion, a dying skill in Aus. Between being cheaper overseas and Health & Saftey concerns its just not viable as a business. Manufacturing in general is dying here and I think the shill loss will be felt for a long time, with the only option when the skills are needed again will be to import them. Engineering Patternmaking as a trade (my trade) is being replaced with CAD/CAM type systems. the problem with this is you still need a practice working knowledge that needs to come from experience. New doors don't take to long to open tho, I've been lucky in my working life, with only 1 week gaps between jobs thus far. This one might be a bit longer but doors are opening already, I'm just unsure which one to go through. The plan at the moment is to go through all of them until I decide which one to commit to. Anything I choose will be a pay cut, but I've known that if I changed career it'd be that way. Thanks for the support guys, one of the reasons I do like this forum

LydiaKitty

I do very like this forum.

Lacehim

Think of it as a another page in your book mate. There is plenty of work out there, just be postive and be willing to try something different. You might be suprised. I'm looking at re-entering the workforce between kids drop offs and pickups this year. Will only be pocket money, but I'm looking fowards to doing something that doesn't involve changing nappies! :rofl:

Ronin

Funny story today. I received a performance bonus ($380 and a $53 meat voucher) for the last quarter of last year. Looking at some study for a career change at the moment.

derrilex

I see you working the 10 - 2 shift at a coffee shop Lacehim

Ronin

Some good news. Got a job as, wait for it, a barista. Had a trial at a cafe against 3 other experienced baristas. I've never been employed as one before but got the position over the others :thumb: It's at a new cafe at newstead called (mods feel free to edit) 'The Golden Pig' food and wine school. Owners have both been chefs and one even head chef at Neil Perry's Rockpool in Sydney. Using Cup Speciality Coffee beans but challenging equipment I do the best I can & have had good feedback so far. I have taken it from 2kg ish to 8-10kg a week so far & seems to be building for now.

galumay

Great news, Ronin. It's never easy being out of a job & it happens to all of us at some time.