Company buy out

[Frosty]

My first time going through this. It’s not much fun. I’ve worked for this place for twelve years, it’s a family run company and I was pretty happy here. I could go to the owner if I ever had a problem and knew he’d have my back. So we are going from a family run business with around 600 +/- employees to a nation wide company. We have all been assured we are keeping our jobs, so that’s a plus but man, I never imagined I’d grow so attached to a place! The worst part is when I told my son he was pretty torn up about it, he really likes the owner and his son. Both a couple great guys. Ok, thanks for letting me vent.

 

[Brandon]

Have been in 2. One I was layed off, the other only really affected me through benefits and what not. Still not fun.

 

[rooster]

Been through 2 myself. Idk what industry you are in but in my experience if you weren’t directly contributing to the profit margin or working in a profit center it’s time to start looking for a lifeboat. 1st time I worked in a low position “in the field” and all I noticed was a change on the paycheck name.

2nd time I was in mid upper management and my position was eliminated. Funny thing about that was they told the guy who got to do my job and his that I was gonna be working for him when he came to our location to get familiar. I figured this out and took him aside to break the news to him myself . I was laughing because I had already secured myself a new position in the company doing something else for a little more money and benefits. Told him if he didn’t get a raise equivalent to my salary he was getting screwed.

Lasted there another couple years before I decided I didn’t like the culture and wanted to make a big change, new job new industry, whole new path.

 

[Haven]

I am guessing this is related to the news today of a local company out of Clayton being bought out by a company out of Houston.

I was with a company that was bought out. For me it wasn't too bad for a while. I ended up with more responsibility, and more people reporting to me. It was not bad. There were some issues at first as the two companies merged and things changed. Some for the better, some not so much.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I’ve never been through a buy out but I’ve been in a bankruptcy and a near plant closure. Those were stressful times.

 

[bwframe]

Best wishes! Please keep us in the loop.

I worked for two Indiana restaurant franchises of major national chains. Both ran their courses and are now all but forgotten names. Our teams were sure that we would retire at these operations.

Always have a plan B. Never dig yourself in so deep that you cannot part time/grunt/hard labor work your way out of it.


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[KLB]

My first time going through this. It’s not much fun. I’ve worked for this place for twelve years, it’s a family run company and I was pretty happy here. I could go to the owner if I ever had a problem and knew he’d have my back. So we are going from a family run business with around 600 +/- employees to a nation wide company. We have all been assured we are keeping our jobs, so that’s a plus but man, I never imagined I’d grow so attached to a place! The worst part is when I told my son he was pretty torn up about it, he really likes the owner and his son. Both a couple great guys. Ok, thanks for letting me vent.

Did they sell out of necessity or desire?

Hopefully you'll see little negative change from the acquisition. It's possible your benefits could improve, and maybe other things too. Sometimes having that large corp behind you enables spending money on stuff the little guy couldn't.

 

[Frosty]

Did they sell out of necessity or desire?

Hopefully you'll see little negative change from the acquisition. It's possible your benefits could improve, and maybe other things too. Sometimes having that large corp behind you enables spending money on stuff the little guy couldn't.

I talked to the owner and his son yesterday after things calmed down a little, and it basically boiled down to that it was just becoming to much everyday. From workforce issues to supply chain issues.

They say there should be a lot of opportunities for us that they couldn’t afford to give us, I’m hopeful, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

 

[Frosty]

I am guessing this is related to the news today of a local company out of Clayton being bought out by a company out of Houston.

I was with a company that was bought out. For me it wasn't too bad for a while. I ended up with more responsibility, and more people reporting to me. It was not bad. There were some issues at first as the two companies merged and things changed. Some for the better, some not so much.

That would be an accurate guess. I have a pretty good position with them, I am basically unsupervised, I get my paperwork in the morning for the stuff I need to get done for the day, and then I do my own thing, and nobody really cares, as long as I get my stuff done. It’s a pretty good gig, hopefully the new company will be as relaxed but I don’t think they will be…

 

[Bugzilla]

Always have a plan B and never be married to your job no matter how much you like it.

 

[gregkl]

I have been through too many buyouts to count. When I worked for TRW, Federal-Mogul bought us. Then every year or so, they would buy another company and I would be a "lame duck" until they decided who to keep. I had to interview each time to keep my job. After about 4 times doing this, I had enough and left for another company.

I wanted to retire from TRW, but that wasn't in the cards. Since then I have been laid off, furloughed, and worked for a company that was sold to PE firms during my time there. I also worked for an ITW company that was dissolved.

The one thing I learned is that I will not work for a PE firm owned company again.

OP, wait and see what happens. Sometimes there are radical changes, sometimes it's just the letterhead or business cards.

 

[patience0830]

I have been through too many buyouts to count. When I worked for TRW, Federal-Mogul bought us. Then every year or so, they would buy another company and I would be a "lame duck" until they decided who to keep. I had to interview each time to keep my job. After about 4 times doing this, I had enough and left for another company.

I wanted to retire from TRW, but that wasn't in the cards. Since then I have been laid off, furloughed, and worked for a company that was sold to PE firms during my time there. I also worked for an ITW company that was dissolved.

The one thing I learned is that I will not work for a PE firm owned company again.

OP, wait and see what happens. Sometimes there are radical changes, sometimes it's just the letterhead or business cards.

Funny. I worked for TRW twice. Once outta high school and once at 30 out of the Army. Was there when Federal Mogul bought us. Stayed for 5 years exactly to become fully vested in the 401k. Apparently, after I left, Northrup-Grumman bought them and part of the sale was a negotiated pension for employees with over 5 years of service. So I found out about it a while ago and just last week, rolled the $ into an IRA with Fidelity.
Coulda been worse.

And doubled my take home when I left by going to truck driving school.

 

[gregkl]

Funny. I worked for TRW twice. Once outta high school and once at 30 out of the Army. Was there when Federal Mogul bought us. Stayed for 5 years exactly to become fully vested in the 401k. Apparently, after I left, Northrup-Grumman bought them and part of the sale was a negotiated pension for employees with over 5 years of service. So I found out about it a while ago and just last week, rolled the $ into an IRA with Fidelity.
Coulda been worse.

And doubled my take home when I left by going to truck driving school.

Yeah, I just took the lump sum distribution from them this past year. I rolled it into my Schwab account.

We must have been there at the same time. I worked for them from 1984-1998 in Virginia. I was a sales rep.

 

[KittySlayer]

They say there should be a lot of opportunities for us that they couldn’t afford to give us, I’m hopeful, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Well general advice would normally be to test out the waters for a year or two and see if this is the place you want to stay.

However these are not normal times. In todays labor market if you have a pulse and can fog a mirror you can get a job. If you have skills you can negotiate your terms. I see this advantage being around through the end of the year for sure but after that who knows. Two to three years from now the labor/employer dynamic could totally turn around.

In addition to the current labor market throw in all the unknowns being stirred up by the swamp dwellers:

• Inflation
• Mid-Term Elections
• Inauguration of Kamala
• Interest Rates (and new owners ability to invest in business)
• Green Energy Initiatives (destroying entire segments of the market)
• General Buffoonary of Politicians

Also be aware that large national businesses think nothing of moving employees half way across the country because some corporate officer's wife likes a more cosmopolitan city. So if you have really deep roots in your current location keep that in mind.

See how it goes for a couple months but if your crystal ball is not full of rainbows and unicorns take a hard look at your other options and decide what is best for the long term.

 

[shootersix]

That sucks!
My history go’s like this
Graduated high school in 1986
went to work for a family owned business in November 1986

In about 2000 the owner sold to a corporation, no layoffs or job cuts! (he gave bonuses to the employees when he sold, I can’t remember if I got 10 or 15 thousand dollars! One lady who’d been there 30 years got 25 thousand!)

3 years later we were sold again, then there were cuts and layoffs.

We were sold again, more cuts and layoffs!

6 month after that, sold again! Yep cuts and layoffs!

About 3 years ago…yep sold again! And about 6-8 months after that, cuts and layoffs! (That round included about 3500 nation wide including me!, we were profitable, we were making money!)

After that I went to work for a person who owned his own company. (Worked there for 2 years)

And last Monday (August 28th) I started at another company (owned by 2 cousins) and on my first day, one of the cousins asked how my week off was, I told him my daughter spent the week in the hospital, and that I hated to tell him, but I might need to take off to take my daughter home if she happened to be discharged, his reply was “family first!, you do what you need to do! Your job is safe!”

I hate corporate America!

 

[Frosty]

Well general advice would normally be to test out the waters for a year or two and see if this is the place you want to stay.

However these are not normal times. In todays labor market if you have a pulse and can fog a mirror you can get a job. If you have skills you can negotiate your terms. I see this advantage being around through the end of the year for sure but after that who knows. Two to three years from now the labor/employer dynamic could totally turn around.

In addition to the current labor market throw in all the unknowns being stirred up by the swamp dwellers:

• Inflation
• Mid-Term Elections
• Inauguration of Kamala
• Interest Rates (and new owners ability to invest in business)
• Green Energy Initiatives (destroying entire segments of the market)
• General Buffoonary of Politicians

Also be aware that large national businesses think nothing of moving employees half way across the country because some corporate officer's wife likes a more cosmopolitan city. So if you have really deep roots in your current location keep that in mind.

See how it goes for a couple months but if your crystal ball is not full of rainbows and unicorns take a hard look at your other options and decide what is best for the long term.

I don’t think I’ll be hard up for work, I’ve got a class B CDL, a clean driving record, a clean drug screen, and I’ve missed less work in twelve years than most people miss in a year. I stopped by one of the suppliers the former company used a lot, BS’d with one of the guys I’ve known there for awhile and was told I have a job if I need it. So I’ve got some options out there if need be. I’m definitely going to give them a chance and see how it is, there’s so much chaos right now I can’t tell if they’re coming or going!

Thanks everyone for the advice, it’s much appreciated!

 

[Ziggidy]

Been through 3 and survived, for the most part.

The 2nd one I was a manager of a location in Illinois and was told that I had to stay on for 12 weeks, even though that had already told me I would not be kept. The instruction was I had to show up ecery day for 3 months (transition). If I did not stay, I'd lose my severance which was pretty good. It was rough. I was not allowed to do ANYTHING but show up and sit in my office. NO paperwork, no decisions, no signing off on anything. I walked around allot, talked to allot of my employees and a bunch of nothing. After 12 weeks, I left and received my 12 weeks of severance.

 

[Frosty]

That sucks!
My history go’s like this
Graduated high school in 1986
went to work for a family owned business in November 1986

In about 2000 the owner sold to a corporation, no layoffs or job cuts! (he gave bonuses to the employees when he sold, I can’t remember if I got 10 or 15 thousand dollars! One lady who’d been there 30 years got 25 thousand!)

3 years later we were sold again, then there were cuts and layoffs.

We were sold again, more cuts and layoffs!

6 month after that, sold again! Yep cuts and layoffs!

About 3 years ago…yep sold again! And about 6-8 months after that, cuts and layoffs! (That round included about 3500 nation wide including me!, we were profitable, we were making money!)

After that I went to work for a person who owned his own company. (Worked there for 2 years)

And last Monday (August 28th) I started at another company (owned by 2 cousins) and on my first day, one of the cousins asked how my week off was, I told him my daughter spent the week in the hospital, and that I hated to tell him, but I might need to take off to take my daughter home if she happened to be discharged, his reply was “family first!, you do what you need to do! Your job is safe!”

I hate corporate America!

Yes. When my daughter was born she was put in the NICU for three weeks, both the owner and his son said if you gotta go, go. Text us as soon as possible. The owners son gives me his number, you need anything you call.
They are also the ones that let me bring my son to work on Saturday’s for months, they insisted he drive the forklift around the yard, made me take him for a couple laps and pick up some scrap stuff, then oh go fire up your truck and let him run the boom a little. To say the least they made quite an impression on him, he was pretty torn up about it. I talked to the owner, just to shake his hand and tell him how much we both appreciated all that and he said we’ll have the demo running in a few months, call me and he can come run all the equipment he wants. Solid people.

 

[KLB]

My multi-billion dollar corp has the same policy for family first. One of the reasons I like working for them.

 

[shootersix]

Yes. When my daughter was born she was put in the NICU for three weeks, both the owner and his son said if you gotta go, go. Text us as soon as possible. The owners son gives me his number, you need anything you call.
They are also the ones that let me bring my son to work on Saturday’s for months, they insisted he drive the forklift around the yard, made me take him for a couple laps and pick up some scrap stuff, then oh go fire up your truck and let him run the boom a little. To say the least they made quite an impression on him, he was pretty torn up about it. I talked to the owner, just to shake his hand and tell him how much we both appreciated all that and he said we’ll have the demo running in a few months, call me and he can come run all the equipment he wants. Solid people.

So way back when we were owned by the person (not corporate America) one of the other employees wife tried to commit suicide, she survived (thank god!) and when she was being discharged, my coworker went to the billing department to make payment arrangements (suicide isn’t covered by insurance)…the hospital told him they bill had been paid in full!, the only person he knew who had that kind of money was the company owner!