Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: regli who wrote (44526)	1/15/2006 8:38:37 AM
From: shades	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

Here is what one of my old co-workers at IBM just posted on slashdot: Some things that happened to me as an IBMer in the last few years: 1. Tuition reimbursement cut 2. Personal utilization target increased from 70% to 75% to 80% to 85%. Probably 90% this year. 3. Benefits cut 4. Salary cut 5. Pension plan cut as of 2008 6. Employee stock purchase program cut 7. Comission payouts cut 8. "Variable pay" cut 9. No such thing as a 40 hour week anymore to meet item 2. 10. Training reduced to bare minimum. Takes god's approval to go to any external class. 11. Number of manageres steadily increased. I have at least seven managers. 12. Silent layoffs, 2-3 times a year. I was watching steve forbes yesterday and he says pension cuts are great and IBM is going to lead the way for the rest of corporate america and unleash all the employees onto wall street to invest on their own - hehe. Steve Forbes sure knows how to lipstick a pig - he was very happy and positive. I was at IBM in the mid 90's and they had a big push from the marketing division on TQM and training. They spent up many budgets getting training for basically any employee that wanted to make the time to go learn - there was waste in that program - but they had people with training at the end. I am very dissapointed they have reversed this policy. Better training made for better teams and workers. Its like the new military policy of letting in the high school dropouts or category 4 fuggups to run our million dollar tanks and nukular. I made money on the employee stock purchase program while there - we were able to buy shares at 15% cheaper than market - I hate to see it has been cut. Do the accounting shenanigans ever stop? Message 22061116 ....But freezing PENSIONs can bolster a company's profit, too. Because workers stop building PENSIONs, the company gets to reduce a liability it has already recorded on its books that represents the promise to pay their future benefits. This generates accounting gains that boost income, at least on paper. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. froze the PENSION of a subsidiary effective Jan 1. The company recorded a gain to income of $70 million when it announced the move in 2004. A Berkshire executive didn't return a call seeking comment. In short, thanks to the accounting rules, companies can realize income from cutting benefits they haven't paid. That could encourage employers to cut or freeze PENSIONs even when the plans are fully funded and don't require any additional contributions from the companies....