Hopefully for more money.

I never got into this exact situation but I have run into a couple when I was working where they'd give a newbie engineer a project because management felt he could handle it. Well, that didn't work out so well and it got dumped in my lap. Now what happens is that you not only are faced with getting the project done, but correcting all the screw ups the newbie made, and still meet budget and schedule.

I worked for GM during the early 80's for a few years and I'll add that the same scenario described by the original poster can be found in many, if not most, large companies in this country. The rub is generally speaking, the big companies pay the big bucks. In the smaller companies, for doing the same job, you can get a fancy title, but generally not as good pay or benefits. So it all comes down to how much BS you're willing to put up with for the big bucks, and the possibility of being able to retire sooner, if you're smart enough to save and invest some of those big bucks to leave all of it behind one fine day

The longest job I ever had was 21 years where I worked as a packaging mechanic I was laid off 20 years ago this coming June due to company product problems. But because of a good pension and 401 K plan and the fact that I worked a lot of overtime greatly added to my contributions. As a result my wife and I ( no children ) can live comfortably in our " golden " years . Sure I had animosity towards the company for my departure but the benefits provided me softened the blow. I was never able to duplicate the job , benefits or salary I made there , not even close. My last packaging mechanic job turned into doing everything , truck driver, shipping and receiving , trying to teach other unqualified /uninterested individuals how to be a mechanic etc. Even after 10 years there my salary and benefits were nowhere near what I made before plus my commute was terrible. I was laid off there in March 2020 , I was almost 66 at the time and they were afraid I would get Covid due to my age ( I never got it ) they did me a big favor as I really didn't 't have to work and I received my first SS check a few weeks before they let me go. I really didn't mind the job or most of my coworkers but management was awful. I had so many ideas on improving various things with in the company ( I increased their packaging production almost 75% in my first couple months , set up one complete new packaging line and reconfigured another ) but the husband and wife owners would never accept the fact that somebody knew more than them on certain things . It took me a long time but I finally realized that just keeping quiet is sometimes the best thing . I now work part time ( sort of on call ) : truck driving , equipment operating and doing some mechanic work for a small excavating company a few miles from my home. I really like the job!! I am back at my first passion: heavy equipment and trucks and the owner treats me well . I have been there almost 4 years now sure there are things there I know need improvement but its not my place to bring attention to them unless I am asked. There are less than 8 employees my boss / company owner is a lot younger then me being in his mid 40s if he asks my opinion something I will give it to him but otherwise I just do whats asked of me if its something outside of my capability I will tell him and he understands.

Been with my current employer since I was 16. Started there full-time at 24. Am now 53. I have 4 years, 10 months, and 23 days left until I retire.

You hope....

If they let me go before then, I'd get a severance + all of my banked PTO cashed out. The only reason I'm not retired already is that I have one more kid to put through college, though I only need another $15k or so to fully fund that for her, and she just turned 17. I'll be fine either way. But there's very little chance I would be downsized. We haven't done that since 2008, and we're growing and making money.

I never let one man's opinion sway my own one way or the other. You never know if he has an ax to grind, or how he views the world or his employer. He might be dead on or he might be 180° off.

I worked for a Corporate Entertaiment company in the 90's and we did a few of your big company picnics.
I think the campus was in Schaumburg?
It was a very nice campus and they spent a lot on their employees.

Respondents so far have pretty much echoed his statements. So there's that.

I have been involved with Standard Oil's Old Ben Coal subsidiary and with Outboard Marine Corporation, specifically Evinrude.

Everything came down from on high. Nothing went up the chain.

Both companies are long gone. It's a shame. It didn't have to be that way. I don't know about what went on in the corporate offices. But neither company would listen to the 'boots on the ground'. And it killed them.

I truly hope the gentleman can collect his pension and live the rest of his life in comfort. With that said...I have been spinning wrenches in some form since the late 70's. The last 25 yrs my job has required me to do monthly online type training with GM as well as other contact with them. Seems everything with them is convoluted and hard to get done. We deal with other manufactures at different levels but everything with GM is a challenge.

This whole business with cars has really tanked. The latest online training(today) was mostly about Cadillac and their new power doors. That's right....seems we can no longer open and close doors without the assistance of a slew of motors, switches, modules and radar. What's more is they know their design will cause user confusion(tug of war with the door). So instead of a design for something stupid that actually works.....we have to educate the customer. Educate the customer how to open and close a car door....are you kidding me??? Can ANYONE see how stupid this has become???? Glad I'm retiring the end of this month...I'm done!

Yes, I worked at the Schaumburg facility for 13 years total, it was the Motorola Mother Ship. We had Motorola West also, it was a bar called The Snuggery...LOL..

I cannot remember the number of BORED room meetings where in spite of known issues the CEO's said in the following order
1. Start shipping ASAP
2. Engineering, start working on correcting the known issues
3. Service, be ready to implement the fixes IF the customers complain.

There were two priorities
1. Be first to market with the product
2. Start getting a return on the development cost

One thing that surprised me when I worked for GM has how few "car people" worked there. To most it was just a job.

Who? lol, the company that celebrated their 100th anniversary by going BANKRUPT?

Screwed their Retirees out of a pension by declaring Bankrupt, and that was their goal all along.

Screwed their Investors and Employees with Preferred shares in the company.

In the end, screwed the Taxpayers for 12 Billion, look it up. You may also come across Fiat Chrysler re-paying their bailout, in full, ahead of the deadline.

Blunder Motors is the biggest Embarrassment of the Industrial Era. Just for erasing pensions of dedicated Employees I think the entire management at the time should be investigated and thrown in jail as a proper Crime was committed intentionally.

The bigger embarrassment though, is people keep supporting them. To Me, that's the same mentality calling the OP's post, "just one Complainer".....

You are directly on target. But it's not just 1 company, it's our entire corporate and DC structure ( trying to stay non political). One does not have to look very far to figure out how bad things have gotten and how. I'll stop now before it gets moved. 🤔

Do you have a link to this post?

Reading comprehension is your friend. Look at page one of this thread.

Re-read my post:


I asked DaveRS23 if he had a link to this post on the Yellow Bullet website.

He copied and pasted the post from Yellow Bullet but he didn't include the link to the original post.

100% correct. At the time of the bogus bankruptcy I was working for a supplier that made equipment for them. The number of companies that they shafted in the process was beyond crazy. And yet, they washed their hands of all kind of debt, taxpayers picked up the cost of clean-up of many of their toxic plant sites and they came out a 'brand new' company and still remain. I will buy NOTHING from them.