I very much agree with you. I work for a Fortune 500 company that shall remain nameless, but was shocked when I found out that the stated attitude that upper management had verbalized all over the place about taking care of their employees was all a bunch of hoo-hah, during the 2001 economic downturn. The company started a series of outsourcing and layoffs, and things still haven't returned to "normal." Even when they have to fill positions, they fill them with temps and consultants, so that they can cut them more easily.

I'm finding that my management doesn't back me up, when I make my case for staffing to do my job well, and I'm just about at the end of my rope, anticipating leaving the company.

My husband has a business of his own (on the side), and I keep thinking that if I could put my efforts in there, and make as much money as I do in my current job, I would gladly quit. It's so nice to be able to take an action, or make a recommendation, and to see results!

Most people have caught on intellectually to the fact that The Company is not your friend, but it's still a punch to the gut when they kick you to the curb. Oh! I'm sorry...I meant downsize, outplace, outkick...

What gets me is that CEOs and the top cronies still make ridiculous amounts of cash for doing mostly nothing even when their company is losing lots of money.

Unfortunately, this is a reality now. And it is now an accepted practice for companies to lay off employees as a normal course of managing shareholder value by management at big companies.

I think the most important thing to realize from this is that you need to take care of your own career planning. Starting your own company is a great option if you are so inclined. But, even for folks who don't want to start their own companies, make sure that you are in jobs that use your best skills and that you are making a difference through your work. If you do this, you will be better positioned if you are caught up in a layoff. Or when you decide to "lay off" your company by finding a better role elsewhere.

It's a tired old cliche but ALL companies constantly look at "bottom line" And so will you when you form your own company--otherwise you won't succeed in a world where GREED is the real bottom line.

"In the absence of a better word, Greed...is Good. Greed will not only save this company but that other malfunctioning corporation known as the United States of America." -Gordon Gekko, Wall Street (Movie)

I agree Greed is a good thing unless you place the pursuit of money over people.

cameron: In the sense I meant it Greed is "the love and worship of money" and its use as an instrument of Power over others.

I'm no Johnny Appleseed living out in the forest and sprinkling seeds for the next generation. I rely on a check deposited in my account each month to survive and appreciate living in a country where that is possible. But when I see CEO's retire with multi-million dollar parachutes from companies they have mismanaged I do grow a bit cranky. By the way, I saw the Michael Douglas movie to which you refer and, as a case in point, early in his career Young Douglas bought the film rights for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" from a very talented but naive Ken Kesey. The contract stipulated that "if the movie is not made within x number of years the author will not receive residuals from the movie." Douglas then SAT on the book for x years--made the movie and screwed Kesey out of his money for creating the book. Now THAT is greed--and I guess that is why Douglas was so convincing in his later portrayal of

"Gordon Gekko"