and always been rated a 1 or 2. 62 years old. Told management I was retiring with a drop dead date of 8/31 and yet they still resourced me with no real explanation. Now i'm lucky because I get the 90 day severance etc but man they nailed alot of guys in my age group who were excellent technicians and dedicated even thou there were no recent raises or any bennies at all. You can all comment on how IBM has deteriorated in service over the years but there's been a core of people that actually really cared about customers. Alas there's a lot less of us now. I would of liked to retire with a thought that I mattered but in the long run I was just a serial number like all the rest... any way just venting.Thanks

Kick the dust off your feet, and walk on.

You know if you did the best you could, and many people you worked with and for over the years know/knew it.

Waste no time on those who missed out on that.

Many realize that there is a small percentage who give the best of themselves, some are those "givers", others let them give while taking, and the rest are to self absorbed to notice.

Enjoy your life and your retirement.

You earned it.

Sorry V, you did matter. To the customers anyway. You did your stent. Sure you did it well. So hold your head high. Sorry for the rest too. Kind of the way of our society.
It is a disaster for us that most of these young workers think that a .gov job is the way to go. Very sad. And in the end it will be so unfulfilling for most of them.

41.5 years is one hell of a run. Congratulations!

Don't let this event define you.

IMHO, 41 years is a tremendous display of dedication, hard work and loyalty to IBM. What a shame that they cannot appreciate your service to them and their customers.
Its their loss. Not yours.

I'm in your age range, and 41 years is a hell of run, especially at a iconic company whose star faded but is still around (because of guys like you). What's a few months any way, plus you're getting the unemployment bennies right?

IBM, "I've Been Moved"

Good run, V. Enjoy the retirement.

41.5 as an IBM FE? That’s a great distinction in my book! Well done on that run Sir

If they were tasked to cut force, someone who was retiring anyway would be VERY obvious to include. It's a win/win with you benefiting as well. Don't take it personal. That's silly. Enjoy the benefits and look back on the good times.

There are advantages to working for a huge company. There are disadvantages. These less-than-intimate (read: tidal) shifts in staffing and process are one of the biggies.

Any time there is a need for FTE/headcount. Those about to retire, and those rolling into different buisness groups with in the company are the first places to start. The severence is often their way of saying we know it is a dick move, take the muh la so we dont feel bad.

41.5 years is essentially 2 careers in the modern world. That is an achievement much grander that just saying you showed up every day. Companies are soulless, you are not.

Val, sorry, seems most inconsiderate indeed. We see these stories in the business pages often. It’s easy to overlook the human element. Congrats on the retirement, even if it didn’t come on your terms. Enjoy the next chapter.

CNBC - IBM is laying off more than 1,000 employees

If you're happy with the severance....move on.

But, cutting you loose at your age/years of experience could be of interest to a Labor Attorney that would luv to stick it to Big Blue - hopefully in your financial favor.

Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by valkyrie1:
there's been a core of people that actually really cared about customers.

An app will never do what those people put into the job.

It is said that the best revenge is living well, live well my friend.

Don’t feel bad, you gave that company decades of loyal service. The employer/employee loyalty relationship has been gone for a long time now. It has long been the practice of companies to stand by your desk as you clear it out, close your access to the computer systems, and have security walk you out of the building after giving notice of leaving. My guess is that they are averting the possibilities of theft of intellectual property, or system sabotage. What ever their reasoning is, don’t take it personal. What you did at IBM mattered if it didn’t you would have been long gone. Be proud of the work you did and enjoy your retirement.

Happened to me a couple of years ago after 35 years with them. I took a couple of years off and did odd jobs, enjoyed life a bit more and then found another job making the same $ with a lot less stress and it will help me get to full retirement.
Many say you'll go through stages and then accept it and look for the positive. I know it's hard to be thought of as a number when the sacrifices that were made over the years seem to go unrecognized by a company , but like others have said, There are people who know and that you have made an impression on I'm sure.. Best of luck to you!

There used to be loyalty to dedicated workers, a friend of mine was forced to retire after 41 years with my company. My saying is now - “you need to be done with your employer before they are done with you”.

I lived in Armonk, NY in the 80's. My mom was a secretary at IBM corporate HQ. She remembers seeing employees they were try to ditch, being transferred to jobs that they had no skills or desire to do. She said she saw men at their desks in tears.

I get it as I was riffed 30 years ago, a month after an excellent review and salary increase. Still stung like hell even though I was also planning to tender my two weeks the same day it happened. (Newly married and we were moving back closer to family). In the end it was a really good thing. Just took a little while to look at it completely objectively. I think we take it as rejection so it seems personal when it's just business numbers.
I'd encourage you to try to view this through the positives. You get a severance. Based on your planned retirement date that has to get you darn close to your original plan. Bonus is you don't have to work it.
Good luck in your retirement. You had a really impressive run.

So if you were already leaving 8/31, are they basically now paying you to not work until you would have retired anyway?

Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.