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CNHI second quarter furlough rumblings?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by slotman1, Feb 23, 2011.

  1. slotman1

    slotman1 New Member

    Same question as I posed last quarter for fellow sufferers out there in CNHI land: Anyone getting any hints of more furloughs in Q2?

    Even though it was just four days and not 5 in Q1, our local publisher has been poor-mouthing both local and industry numbers pretty much since Jan. 2, and just about everyone in our shop is fully expecting the death-of-a-thousand-cuts will continue. Anyone hear anything contrary?

    Ain't it more than a little ironic, though, that while they're bleeding us, there's somehow enough money floating around to move corporate HQ a hundred or so miles up the road to some new office palace in Birmingham?
     
  2. Look, I don't want to come across as condescending because I work for these rats, too. But if you have not begun to assume that you will be getting five extra days off every quarter from now until you cease to work for this mismanaged and hugely-in-debt chain, then you are incredibly optimistic or naive.
    This is how it has gone at our shop. First set of furloughs, publisher has newsroomwide meeting, tells everybody how lousy this is and there is much handwringing, second set of furlough days, quick announcement from publisher about this is saving jobs, third set, publisher says "You shouldn't be surprised by this" fourth set, no formal announcement, no acknowledgment from publisher, just another day at work that ends in 'Y' and now our official absence report contains a spot reserved for "furlough."
    Welcome to journalism 2011, we're never going back to 2001, let alone 1991.
     
  3. JimmyHoward33

    JimmyHoward33 Well-Known Member

    Looked it up last night, we were notified on March 11 2010 and March 1 2009, so probably in the next 2 weeks or so
     
  4. Colton

    Colton Active Member

    kimronspringle: Please don't insult rats like that.

    However, ditto everything you said.
     
  5. Kato

    Kato Well-Known Member

    I usually find this news out on SJ first, but I guess I'll break the ... uh, shocking ... news this time: Five more days for third quarter. If you're scoring at home (and you probably are because you're on furlough), that will be 45 furlough days since April, 2009.
     
  6. Suicide Squeezer

    Suicide Squeezer Active Member

    Gotta pay for that new rat lair some way or another.
     
  7. Trey Beamon

    Trey Beamon Active Member

    Shocking.

    That said, you'd think after two years of this crap the company would be in a better financial position. Has anything actually changed?
     
  8. beanpole

    beanpole Member

    cnhi's problem is that it's always been leveraged to the hilt and there's no wiggle room.

    Once they started down the furlough path, there's no going back. cnhi, like most companies, budgets based on the previous year's actual spending and revenues. Since they had a furlough in the third quarter of 2010, the beancounters budget for a furlough in 2011 because they can't absorb the hit in payroll it would take to pay staff for 65 days instead of 60 for the quarter. The only way to get out of the mess is to have a huge quarter with ungodly unbudgeted revenue, and the publisher decides he can forgo furloughs without jeopardizing his own bonus MBO.

    Not likely. :(
     
  9. Kato

    Kato Well-Known Member

    This. ... Our memo this week blames declining revenues, rising paper and fuel prices and the tornadoes.
     
  10. Colton

    Colton Active Member

    (rhymes with duck)
     
  11. Suicide Squeezer

    Suicide Squeezer Active Member

    At this point, I don't think we can expect any changes until the company gets bought out, but why would the Alabama Retired Teachers Association ever want to part ways with their slush fund?
     
  12. beanpole

    beanpole Member

    Particularly since it's still making gobs of cash, from what I hear. You guys are getting furloughed to keep profit margins from falling to unacceptable (20 percent) levels. Corporate wants 23-25 percent.
     
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