Today GM Tonawanda released about 80 salary employees in a humiliating manner that had everyone shaking their heads in the plant..one by one each was called up to the room where they were told their fate, then given a white plastic garbage bag and an escort that was brought in from St. Catherines GM facility, then walked back to their respective work area, allowed to clear out their personal possesions and paraded back through the plant by their escort to the gate. Each salaried employee had been hanging for weeks on weather they were here or gone, and some of the fine young foremen and engineers, and a suprising amount of expierienced skilled trades supervisors were let go today.
Many hundreds of Hourly employees are laid off already, but at least you knew it was a seniority issue and didn't need to be left hanging and embarrassed as many of these fine men and women were. The worst part was knowing the people at the top making the decisions...have you butted heads with them? Did you stand up to them on issues? Did you defend your employees against their questionings?
I've been there 30 years on the other side and my heart goes out to each and every one of these people. I'm not ignorant, I know this is a crisis situation we are in world wide, but a little class and respect shown here would have made a horrible situation a little more palatable.