Should we stay or should we go?

[bibiche]

Umm, it's racism. Everyone not of one particular race/nationality from his team laid off. I didn't even say it was racism. I pointed out what it was. And it's not reverse racism, it's just as racist as if all the Indians were laid off and all the white and biracial people were kept. It is what happened.

Gently, Janeway, you don't know why certain people were retained while others were let go. To automatically assume that it is because of race/nationality/ethnicity is damaging. I am very sorry your husband lost his job and a I hope he is able to find another soon. Best wishes.

[Selkie]

Janeway is the only one here with any knowledge about her husband's workplace or the circumstances of his termination.  I'm certain she has a better idea of what happened than those who know absolutely nothing about the situation.  So why is she being told she is wrong and to hush up?     

 

Janeway, I hope your husband finds a new job soon in a location that you all love!  :001_smile:  

[Bluegoat]

It isn't unheard of for companies, especially in some industries, to get rid of all the domestic employees and use people hired from outside the country.  It doesn't seem like an implausible situation to me at all so without more information why would anyone assume it's somehow made up?

[bibiche]

It isn't unheard of for companies, especially in some industries, to get rid of all the domestic employees and use people hired from outside the country. It doesn't seem like an implausible situation to me at all so without more information why would anyone assume it's somehow made up?

No one said it is made up. But if the people who were retained were retained because they are on H-1B visas, then *that* is the issue, not race. Maybe everyone who didn't get fired was on an H-1B and maybe the reason her husband got let go is because he wasn't. It has nothing to do with being white or not. So blame it on visas and not on race/ethnicity/nationality.

[Reefgazer]

I would narrow down your choice of places once you decide whether you want city versus rural, cold versus hot, the mountains versus the Ocean, conservative versus rural, etc. no sense moving to the coast when what you really like is mountains, you know?

[eternalsummer]

Also I would really consider the relative cost of living and state income tax.  Sometimes a lower tax environment for your kind of living (for instance, a state that collects a lot of revenue through property tax when you plan to rent or something) can make up for a generally high COL.

 

I agree that it sucks that your husband was laid off, whether because of his race or his citizenship status or some other issue.  Certainly it is possible to be racist against white people - how could different races of people be *so* different that some of them don't even share the tendency toward same-tribe preference?  

 

But regardless of the reason he doesn't have a job, it's still a bummer :(

[Bluegoat]

No one said it is made up. But if the people who were retained were retained because they are on H-1B visas, then *that* is the issue, not race. Maybe everyone who didn't get fired was on an H-1B and maybe the reason her husband got let go is because he wasn't. It has nothing to do with being white or not. So blame it on visas and not on race/ethnicity/nationality.

 

I don't think people need to dissect everything in an off the cuff comment.  In some areas, ethnicity is a good indicator or whether someone is from the place or not.  It's a guess from my point of view that perhaps the reason all the whie employees would have been dismissed might be because they were more expensive domestic employees.  It may be that the OP doesn't even know what the nationality of those employees is, only that there seems to be an ethnic/race line that  has been drawn for some reason.  It might be chance, too, and not meaningful.

 

But I would not at all jump to it being racism because someone noticed that line and is suspicious of what is going on. 

[bibiche]

Yeah. I didn't bring up race. Racist remarks don't get a pass from me. Ever. Nor should they from anyone. Ever.

[Selkie]

No one said it is made up. But if the people who were retained were retained because they are on H-1B visas, then *that* is the issue, not race. Maybe everyone who didn't get fired was on an H-1B and maybe the reason her husband got let go is because he wasn't. It has nothing to do with being white or not. So blame it on visas and not on race/ethnicity/nationality.

 

By telling Janeway she is wrong, you are saying she made it up, and how could you possibly know that?  

 

It's wrong to jump down her throat with accusations when you don't know the facts.

[Bluegoat]

Yeah. I didn't bring up race. Racist remarks don't get a pass from me. Ever. Nor should they from anyone. Ever.

 

Sure, do you have a full-proof way to know if a comment is in fact racist?  I find few people approve of racism, but there is often disagreement about what constitutes it, or what someone means, or what the facts are.

 

In any case, if there was an ethnic division in those who were fired, it is not odd that someone would notice.  Was it that obvious?  I don't know, none of us know how many people were involved.  But it really does seem like some people would just prefer that it not get mentioned.

 

It just seems to me that the OP might be using race/ethnicity in place of nationality, which in some places would make some sense though it's not very precise.  But people aren't always in casual conversation.

[Arcadia]

There are jobs here but there are also families out at store parking lots and traffic junctions begging.

 

It isn't unheard of for companies, especially in some industries, to get rid of all the domestic employees and use people hired from outside the country.

Some employers also delay the last day of work for H1 holders because the family are supposed to leave the states within 24 hours of termination unless the spouse is also H1. So it looks like the H1s get to stay when they are just given some time to hopefully secure another job and/or to close accounts and leave the country.

 

We knew someone retrenched while on H1 who went to Canada and came back to the states as a tourist to tie up loose ends like rent and bank accounts so he does not become an illegal.

 

Edited for typing mistakes.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Arcadia

[Janeway]

It is possible that no one from his team is from this country. My husband 100% telecommutes and would not clarify. It is possible that everyone domestic was laid off or it is possible that people with visas are being delayed in the lay off. And it is possible that it is racism. But not the racism where they said they hate Americans but rather where the people from one particular nationality when left to make the decisions as to who to lay off, they decided not to lay off the people from their own nationality. It was not a situation where layoffs were done because of race, but rather that lay offs were being done, and the people from his section who made the decisions as to who goes happened to be of one nationality and no one from that nationality was laid off, even though a significant portion were laid off.

[Chelli]

There is a job in Littleton that I guess he can go to. They offered it to him previously and said they would happily take him if he ever wanted to come back. Do you have an opinion of Littleton?

 

We lived in Littleton for two years while dh was in seminary. It was wonderful! It is one of the western suburbs of Denver so the location was great. We could be in the foothills of the Rockies in 15 minutes and be in downtown Denver in about 30 minutes (if you timed traffic well). I would move back in a heartbeat.

[eternalsummer]

Yeah. I didn't bring up race. Racist remarks don't get a pass from me. Ever. Nor should they from anyone. Ever.

 

I don't understand how what she said was racist. Suggesting that someone can make a decision on the basis of race is racist?  Are you really saying that only white people sometimes make decisions on the basis of race or nationality, and other races don't do this?

 

That just sounds insanely, well...racist, to me.  You're saying there's a whole category of behavior that only one race of people participates in, by virtue of their race?

[Splash]

I've lived in both Littleton, CO and Seattle, WA and loved both for different reasons.  We moved to Colorado from Seattle 19 years ago because I couldn't deal with the rain and lack of sunshine while staying home with babies.  I wanted to live somewhere sunny with seasons. The cost of living was great then.  I love Colorado, it suits me.  It is however very expensive to live here now, comparable to Seattle.  There is a lot of growth and housing costs are going up rapidly.  Because we live in the foothills we don't get that much snow and it doesn't last too long once it snows and we very rarely get a snow day.  In Seattle it snows maybe once a year for a day and the whole city shuts down because they don't have enough snow plows.  It usually just rains which makes it beautiful, lush, and very green.  Tons of things to do in both places, especially if you like the outdoors.

 

 

[Bambam]

When we were in the same situation, I told my dh I would prefer to stay in TX (love this state, love our homeschool freedom), but that I would relocate anywhere. I did let him know there are a few states with many homeschool regulations that I would prefer not to relocate to - but if they were the only option, we would deal with it.

 

Because, unfortunate as it may be, it does get harder to find jobs as you age. Companies seem to prefer younger, fresh out of college (i.e. much cheaper salary,  to relocate (lots cheaper to move one college student with nothing vs. a family with a 2000 sq ft house) and to insure (one young college student vs. a family of 5)) highly trained professionals than mature, well-experienced highly trained professionals. The goal of many companies is to cut costs right now. And you can save $$$ by off-loading your experienced workers and bring in fresh workers. It doesn't work in the company's best interest long-term, but right now many seem only concerned about short term. (BTW, at your husband's previous company, were all the workers who were laid off the ones with the most time there? Were the ones who were left the relatively young/new-hires?) 

 

He needs to start looking now. Maybe he should be able to find a job easily, but maybe not. I hope he finds one quickly and easily in an area that will work for all your family. 

Edited November 3, 2016 by Bambam

[lllll]

nm 

 

Edited November 25, 2016 by cathey