"weather proof" occupation
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I will think the issue will not be which industry are in but how much value add one can bring to the organisation they are working for.
The "hot" industry now may not be so hot 3 or 5 years later. Nursing and Teaching seems to be consistently in depmand for the pass 10 years though, but not very highly paid…
Important thing is to have multiple streams of income, marketable skill sets and save for the rainy day. -
Heard that that semiconductor industry letting off lots of pp. Some implemented madatory leave. Seagate implement plant shut down. anyone from semicon industry got anything to share?
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Hi,
Unfortunately, I think it’s not just semicond. I am in a very stable industry that is consumer related. We are now talking about letting go heads in singapore as well as the region. Though this is a growing region.
All this in the name of pleasing wall street investors.
It’s supposed to be a secret but for those who know, we are pretty upset and would put heads reduction as the last resort. -
Axe falls in last 2 days on those in the equity, fixed income and energy units
By Gabriel Chen
AT LEAST 20 Singapore employees of investment bank Merrill Lynch have been laid off in the past two days.
The layoffs were met with anger, tears and some confusion among the ranks of 700 or so employees at its Marina Bay offices.
About 10 members of the equity team were axed on Monday - that is about 25 per cent of the unit’s workforce. Sources say that around the same number from the fixed income desk and several from the energy trading team were told to leave yesterday.
A banker told The Straits Times that he was told to go on Monday after being asked to see human resources in the morning.
‘It still comes as a surprise to me, as I thought I would be asked to go only next month,’ he said.
He has also lost out on his Merrill stock. A contractual arrangement arising from Bank of America’s takeover of Merrill last month meant shares granted to him had to be ‘bought back’ by the bank.
But Merrill shares have plunged by over 70 per cent since their peak last year so he is taking home much less.
The average severance package across the board is about three weeks’ pay for each year of service, he said.
The banker said before he left yesterday: 'You’re seeing half-empty offices and morale is certainly not good.
‘A lady who went into the room after me came out with her eyes red, tears rolling down her face. Some of the senior folk didn’t even pack their belongings. They stormed out.’
One senior banker said to have been retrenched on Monday was Mr Mark Bowden, head of equities in Singapore.
He apparently came in as usual and was ‘ready to do the lunchtime presentation’, but never turned up.
‘Mark Bowden has already left the company,’ said the operator when The Straits Times called Merrill yesterday.
The lunch briefing was taken instead by Mr Yasuhiro Fujiwara, who heads the Pacific Rim equities desk.
‘He said that they’re done with job cuts for the year,’ said a banker who heard about the talk from his colleagues. ‘But can you really be sure about that?’
Merrill in Singapore declined to comment on the job cuts.
The axe has also fallen on Singaporeans based in Merrill’s Hong Kong office.
‘It has been a long day,’ said a 28-year-old Hong Kong-based fixed income banker who received her letter yesterday morning.
‘I’ll have to sort out my rent,’ she said, as she ponders how to manage the HK$15,000 (S$2,860) she pays every month for her high-end apartment.
‘Maybe I’ll move in with a friend. If I don’t find a job within the next two months, I think I’ll move back to Singapore.’
The Merrill layoffs have sent a chill around the Raffles Place banking zone, with executives discussing the bleak job climate and how global banks are whittling down staff and cutting operations.
At UBS Singapore, two employees from commodities have been asked to go, while the investment banking team has seen reductions, sources say.
‘The Asia-Pacific generally, and Singapore specifically, remain key and growing markets for UBS. Against this background, the headcount reductions are small. We also continue to hire selectively,’ UBS told The Straits Times yesterday. -
It’s sad how some firms treat people when reducing headcount. For banking though, it is a high risk high return thing. hopefully they have save for the rainy day when they are getting 6-15 months bonus…
But I think the other sectors will follow suit soon…Construction is already slowing down. -
Yes, unfortunately, ppl are taken as HC.
Eg. we were asked to do a budget cut in 2009. My VP is aligned with me that we will put headcount reduction as last resort and let’s look at the areas that we can cut. I feel that we should behave ethically.
In the end, we are still being made to do Head cuts despite the VP’s protests and assurance that we can achieve the $ savings that they are looking at. There is this obsession about headcount numbers in the corporate world that’s why they are turning to contractors that doesn’t appear on their heads.
Also, if you do not cut headcount, it appears that the cut is not DEEP enough. "You’ve not bled to death so it’s not serious yet."
Personally I feel that it’s very unfortunate and such actions are not being fair to the employees. Of course, no one would want to be on that list. Maybe I was being too "idealistic" also being a libran, I strive on "fairness" alot of time.
Frankly, when I heard abt the potential head cuts, I was concerned abt my job security too and had lots of questions within myself. It appears for now my job is untouchable as they are looking to strengthen the role rather than eliminate it. Such is corporate life. So unpredictable. -
mincy:
Not everyone gets so much. The local banks certeinly pay so much.It's sad how some firms treat people when reducing headcount. For banking though, it is a high risk high return thing. hopefully they have save for the rainy day when they are getting 6-15 months bonus...
But I think the other sectors will follow suit soon...Construction is already slowing down. -
Hi MMM, I know, things are so unpredictable. my co/dept went through a few rounds of "restructuring" / take over before and sometimes the HC cutting can be quite cruel and unfair. Sometimes, alot is base on perception, but that’s the corporate world. hianz.
kaitlynangelica, I suppose you are right. It’s espescially trying for those who have not rip the rewards but suffered the stress and long hours and finally get the pink slips. -
I think what is more worrying is that this is a widespread thing and affect not just banking but all other industry as well including those that are still doing well.
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Merck to cut 7,200 jobs
Drugmaker will eliminate more than 10% of its work force to cut costs. Weak sales and a restructuring charge also hurt third-quarter results.
Semicon industry has started retrenchment but not reported in the news. What got reported big big is 10K jobs needed for IR.
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