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Today at work 21 people recieved their pink slips due to this downturn in the economy.
Fortunately, I was not one of them, at least not this time. This is in addition 19 people laid off earlier this year. Our company is a major employer in the area so the layoff is a large blow to the local econnomy.
I work in the waterworks industry, and as an infrastructure oriented business, we usually are only hit at the end of bad economic times as everyone needs water, right?
This year has seen the company revise its budget 3 times, as sales have been off an average of 30%! They have now gone to revisng the budget quarterly. It was expected that sales would be off as new housing starts are near collapse, but it was felt that infrastructure spending would be stronger than what it actually is.
It seems as though local governments have suspended a lot of the summer time projects that we see at this time. August is generally our strongest month and sales are only at 60% of budget. Other companys in this field are feeling these effects also.
This is some serious doodoo for the waterworks industry. It does not bode well for the american sheeple either. If the locals are not repairing or upgrading their aging water systems, the opportunity for failure of those systems increases and the prospect of neighborhoods and cities without water raises its head.
Now the prepper will have water stored in jugs and barrels, as well as having at least 3 different methods for purifying water available. Water is largely taken for granted in our society, you turn the handle on the spigot and water comes out, right? Except when it doesn't.
Got H2O??
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Sorry to hear about the layoffs. glad you didn't get the ax. Are you .gov? Layoffs in the water industry seem odd to me. Stuff isn't getting more common or easier to get.
ReplyDeleteI work in a foundry that produces components for water systems, pipe couplings and service saddles.
ReplyDeleteI work for a state prison. We are buying lots of water pipe and parts, doing some major institution expansion and rework. It's miniscule compared to the housing bust, though.
ReplyDeleteLays off's are effecting so many family's all across the land. Glad you didn't get the pinks slip. I did last year still not recovered over a 50% payloss to what I used to make compared to my current wages this market is tuff!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you didn't get a pink slip! With the current state of our economy we're all on the choppin' block because the admin types only know how to save money one way - cut the payroll! Wonder what they're going to do when they don't have anybody to do the "actual" work (most won't get their hands dirty).
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head about the real danger of our crumbling infrastructure. Most aren't prepared to handle the very real possibility of having no water when they turn on the tap. They think it's always going to be there. They're in for a very rude wake-up call when it happens!
Thanks for a great post!
Riverwalker
The rotten city I live in never upgrades anything. Our water system is falling apart. I can only imagine the "bad times".... Glad you didn't get the axe.
ReplyDeleteWow 21 people in one day.. that's horrible...
ReplyDeleteYeah, one way they save money short term is to go without proper maintenance. This is possibly a symptom of falling revenue (taxes). Rather than salt some away when times are good, the government has a nasty habit of increasing spending and relying on more to come their way over time.
ReplyDeleteOkay. You haven't posted since August and you are off my list. Tired of nothing.
ReplyDeleteMichael