For the remainder of my blogs I will focus on how Outsourcing has had an impact on friends, family members or coworkers. This week I will write about Allan… Allan’s story is probably very similar to someone you may know.
Allan worked as a Tool and Die Maker for a small manufacturing company since graduating from high school in 1979. Allan liked his job; he was offered many opportunities to continue to upgrade his skills and received good benefits, vacation pay and a fair wage. On average he worked 50 hours a week (5 – 10 hour days). He was content to work for this company until he reached the age of retirement. The company he worked for primarily manufactured parts for the automotive industry. They manufactured parts for American and foreign car makers. Beginning in 2003, the company started to see a decline in sales. Allan said that the automotive companies began purchasing some of the easier to manufacture parts from China or Korea. Over the next 4 years, more and more of the parts they manufactured shifted to being manufactured and purchased from overseas suppliers. As sales continued to decline, Allan and his fellow coworkers lost their overtime hours. For many blue-collar workers, overtime is a key component in making ends meet. The company continued to see a decline in sales and employee hours dropped to 30 hours a week. They offered the reduced hours so they could retain their workforce as they continued to seek new manufacturing work. The company also wanted to continue to provide medical coverage for employees. If the employee chose to be laid off they would lose medical coverage or have to pay into COBRA. The hours were again reduced again down to 20 hour work weeks. Some employees opted to seek other employment or to get laid off, Allan opted to stick it out. However, one by one, all employees were eventually laid off. In December 2008, the company closed their doors. Allan was one of the last men standing. He was now out of job, because the parts that his company manufactured were being purchased by the automakers from overseas suppliers.
Allan signed up for unemployment. Unfortunately, because Allan’s company closed its doors he did not have the option of purchasing COBRA. Allan was now without a job and without medical insurance for the first time in his adult life. Allan remained on unemployment for 99 weeks, which was the maximum with all of the extensions allowed by the federal government, plus an additional 20 weeks without any income coming in. Allan looked for work in his trade throughout this time. Allan was at the top of the pay scale for his trade which made it hard to find a job. Not many employers were hiring and the ones that were offered him one-half of his pay. In April 2011, Allan found new employment, not as a Tool and Die Maker, but as a Warehouse Manager.
Outsourcing Work ENG101H 