any companies laying off ?

[Jerry Fedora]

Three day work week and all other restrictions will remain in place for the next quarter, end of September. We are also offered an incentive to leave the company if our individual situation makes this desirable.

Same here. But we were told our branch and geographic area was doing really well (both monetarily - all things considered - and reopening) and might open sooner. We are heavy into schools and uni's and I personally can't see us opening earlier. We've been on the edge of needing to go to 4 days/wk since the schools went back PT. They are expected to go back PT in Sep and Uni's are all online until Xmas. This is going to be a long road.

[KenB]

Ricoh was struggling before the pandemic, with layoffs and early retirement being common.

I can only imagine how much worse it will ultimately get.

[zed255]

We have been offered a voluntary separation package. Offer is two weeks paid per year of tenure (salary continuance, not lump sum) with benefits for that period, minus LTD and STD. Unused vacation paid out. Retirement savings outside the defined contribution plan would have to transfer into a personal account, leaving the company plan. Obviously we loose the company car, laptop and phone, but only the car is any hardship.

I can take almost a year to find something else, would anyone else consider this? Doing a lot of soul searching.

[toddanderson]

I would say no,
unless you have updated your skill set, but we may very well be in this same mess a year from now.
may or may not find a better job.

We have been offered a voluntary separation package. Offer is two weeks paid per year of tenure (salary continuance, not lump sum) with benefits for that period, minus LTD and STD. Unused vacation paid out. Retirement savings outside the defined contribution plan would have to transfer into a personal account, leaving the company plan. Obviously we loose the company car, laptop and phone, but only the car is any hardship.

I can take almost a year to find something else, would anyone else consider this? Doing a lot of soul searching.

[KenB]

We have been offered a voluntary separation package. Offer is two weeks paid per year of tenure (salary continuance, not lump sum) with benefits for that period, minus LTD and STD. Unused vacation paid out. Retirement savings outside the defined contribution plan would have to transfer into a personal account, leaving the company plan. Obviously we loose the company car, laptop and phone, but only the car is any hardship.

I can take almost a year to find something else, would anyone else consider this? Doing a lot of soul searching.

Keep in mind that if you accept the package, you would most likely not qualify for unemployment once the severance pay expires. It depends on your state, but as far as I know, most states work that way. (That's because you technically quit by accepting the package.)

Also, be careful on the max number of severance weeks offered; it most likely caps out at 26, plus any incentive on top of that, which is likely to be 10 or fewer.

[Jerry Fedora]

We have been offered a voluntary separation package. Offer is two weeks paid per year of tenure (salary continuance, not lump sum) with benefits for that period, minus LTD and STD. Unused vacation paid out. Retirement savings outside the defined contribution plan would have to transfer into a personal account, leaving the company plan. Obviously we loose the company car, laptop and phone, but only the car is any hardship.

I can take almost a year to find something else, would anyone else consider this? Doing a lot of soul searching.

If you are in Canada, I'd do some "boat rocking" to get them to let you go (involuntary) then before you sign anything, go to a lawyer. You'll get much more. It sounds like you are of the age where what Ricoh Canada offers meets the employment standard but isn't really fair. "Boat rocking" might look like asking the really tough questions that management doesn't want asked and can't answer. Our experience here in the west has been those are the techs given packages. They don't have a reason to fire you but want you gone so they "package you off". One of our best and very valuable techs was "packaged off" because he questioned whether OFSC was actually going to work for us. He (and most of us) knew Ricoh Canada didn't do their homework and was bringing in an ineffective system. They bragged they found the perfect system, he questioned it (due to past experience with Ricoh) and they let him go. We soon found out they didn't do any homework on it and after a couple years when asked why we were still using a system that didn't work they told us the US mandated we use it. *shakes head*

So, no I wouldn't take it unless you have a plan in place to replace the income or you are at the age where retirement is doable.

I'm personally not close enough yet or I'd "rock the boat" and get out.

Oh, and you max out at 52 weeks not 26. Not sure where you would max out.

[fshead]

We have been offered a voluntary separation package. Offer is two weeks paid per year of tenure (salary continuance, not lump sum) with benefits for that period, minus LTD and STD. Unused vacation paid out. Retirement savings outside the defined contribution plan would have to transfer into a personal account, leaving the company plan. Obviously we loose the company car, laptop and phone, but only the car is any hardship.

I can take almost a year to find something else, would anyone else consider this? Doing a lot of soul searching.

i guess it depends where in the world you live..
one could always jump industry if you have an expanded education or experience..

[KenB]

Ricoh max severances have been 26 weeks for many years now.

They added bonus weeks for the early retirement packages.

[SalesServiceGuy]

If you are in Canada, I'd do some "boat rocking" to get them to let you go (involuntary) then before you sign anything, go to a lawyer. You'll get much more. It sounds like you are of the age where what Ricoh Canada offers meets the employment standard but isn't really fair. "Boat rocking" might look like asking the really tough questions that management doesn't want asked and can't answer. Our experience here in the west has been those are the techs given packages. They don't have a reason to fire you but want you gone so they "package you off". One of our best and very valuable techs was "packaged off" because he questioned whether OFSC was actually going to work for us. He (and most of us) knew Ricoh Canada didn't do their homework and was bringing in an ineffective system. They bragged they found the perfect system, he questioned it (due to past experience with Ricoh) and they let him go. We soon found out they didn't do any homework on it and after a couple years when asked why we were still using a system that didn't work they told us the US mandated we use it. *shakes head*

So, no I wouldn't take it unless you have a plan in place to replace the income or you are at the age where retirement is doable.

I'm personally not close enough yet or I'd "rock the boat" and get out.

Oh, and you max out at 52 weeks not 26. Not sure where you would max out.

The VP for Ricoh Canada Dealer Sales, recently opted to retire early. He probably knows the next six months will not be pretty. His replacement is said to be a tough charging sales guy who will likely rub dealers the wrong way as copier sales are way down and dealers are reluctant to buy inventory plus the are trying hard to sell what inventory they have.

[zed255]

Ricoh max severances have been 26 weeks for many years now.

They added bonus weeks for the early retirement packages.

Ken, I'm not guessing. I have the package details from HR. Maybe it is different in the US, but here in Canada they typically offer 2 weeks per year served for severance. If you are invited to leave it is often a lump sum, for a voluntary split it is salary continuance. I have spoken to people who have experienced both kinds of split.

For my tenure my salary continuance is 48 weeks at pre-COVID levels, not the 75% I'm getting now (and will continue at 75% until at least the end of September). Unused vacation is paid out. Benefits except disability continue for the 48 weeks. My pension stays invested with Ricoh's plan, but my personal investments connected with the plan move with me. I do lose the company car, laptop and phone for obvious reasons.

Just thinking of breaking away from the industry. I know this is a bad time to get hired elsewhere, but my individual situation has me with very minimal financial commitments, so taking a more 'menial' job if necessary will float me, even if just a temporary situation. I have been doing this so long I'm just spent, bored, stagnant, whatever. There is no path forward for me that I see. I do not want to work on production machines (I used to and hated the machines, with the clientele not much better), and I'm not likely management material, not that those opportunities occur often anyhow. Other job functions at Ricoh don't interest me much. Or, I just stay put and see how long the ride actually lasts. About 15 years puts me in striking distance of retirement, but will I still have a job here? Ricoh has been spinning off its sales and service business to dealers lately and shifting away from its current hardware based model to a new more services oriented model. The screwdriver turners days are numbered.