Tell me 'bout it. I'm hearing a lot of varying opinions.

Non-technical jobs, preferably.

10/5/2007 10:37:51 PM

my uncle works there. He's always worried about losing his job.

10/5/2007 11:01:48 PM

I know a lot of people who used to work there. Job security isn't really their thing.

10/5/2007 11:20:09 PM

be prepared to be cut

on your first day, and every day after that

and youll be ok

10/6/2007 12:11:41 AM

yeah, i work with several 40-50 year old guys who worked there in the last 90's. They had stock-options and million dollar retirement plans, ready to retire in a few years with kids in college.

.... then they got laid off and lost their entire retirement savings and work as normal middle class engineers

10/6/2007 12:21:32 AM

I work there currently w/ a BUS major, so my job is pretty non-technical.

They've def. fired off some "older workers" and are replacing jobs w/ new workers because the older folks have driven the stock into the ground. No choice really but to change culture by uprooting what's there.

It's okay. Typical day job at a corporate office. Pays me well so I can't complain. I don't want to stay here forever, but it'll do for now.

10/6/2007 1:29:27 AM

worked there for about 6 years. 3 years were awesome (pre-tech bubble burst), last 3 years were a constant sense of dread as you watched people get fired and waited to get fired yourself. Finally happened to me a couple of years ago. I still have friends that work there and to say they dread going to work would be an understatement.

10/6/2007 3:20:06 AM

^^

Quote :

"because the older folks have driven the stock into the ground"

They're fucking screwing people out of retirement and you think its b/c they drove the stock into the ground. It's called a company that doesn't give a fuck about their employees, bunch of god damn dirt bags. Executives make bad decisions and the guys who have put their life into it have to pay...some sad ass shit.

Think about it smartass.

10/6/2007 3:48:20 AM

^^^^"They had stock-options and million dollar retirement plans, ready to retire in a few years with kids in college.

.... then they got laid off and lost their entire retirement savings and work as normal middle class engineers"


Why did they lose their entire retirement savings? Please tell me they did not invest all of their retirement in the stock of the Company they work for? Thats stupid.

My dad worked for Nortel for 20 yrs and got laid of ~5 yrs ago. He got early retirement, but the stock options were worthless.

10/6/2007 7:14:21 AM

Oh, I'm not saying it's right. Just sayin' that "the mindset." It's happening everywhere. I worked at a "flourishing" fortune 500 company as my first job outta college, and even though their stock was on the rise and had been high for years, they too axed pensions and cut all that crap out about 3 months after I left.

10/6/2007 7:45:09 AM

One of the Hurricanes pep squad (also an NCSU EE grad) works there

10/6/2007 10:00:31 AM

I worked there as a co-op, most guys that i know lost a load when the stock collapsed and the entire division i was with was dissolved...

i was there during the gravy train years, but it collapsed right after i left, had a job lined up for after graduation, but that didn't pan out...

10/6/2007 10:18:38 AM

Quote :

"Why did they lose their entire retirement savings? Please tell me they did not invest all of their retirement in the stock of the Company they work for? Thats stupid."

no, that was an exageration, and i haven't gone into deep details with these guys. but i do know that they were within a couple years of retiring with a very nice nest-egg, and most of that got taken away from them

10/6/2007 11:26:59 AM

I don't understand how retirement accounts can be taken away. Were these defined benefits plans and not defined contribution accounts?

10/6/2007 1:20:08 PM

Basically, people are talking about Stock Options and including them under the umbrella of a retirement plan - My Dad had the same situation happen.

The company loved to give out stock options, so when you hear people complaining about stuff like that it is the fact that they were including these options as part of their planning for retirement. My dad (even in the hayday) knew how much his options were worth (plenty to retire on if he had been able to take them right away - at the time), but he wasn't the type to bitch once they became worthless.

10/6/2007 1:41:09 PM

I heard the sales guys totaled up their own yearly sales and of course, added extra.

Also heard they gave a guy 2 bonus checks by accident for $10,000 each. He tried to return it but nobody would listen so he just kept it.

10/6/2007 2:36:20 PM

Quote :

"be prepared to be cut on your first day, and every day after that and youll be ok"

Sounds like every job to me

10/7/2007 12:24:33 PM

They're assholes for firing my dad a few years before retirement so they didn't have to pay out.

Also you'll end up being told what to do by an inept Canadian because most of middle management is like that.

10/7/2007 2:12:35 PM

If you want to work for a company that has no clear direction, then go to Nortel.

10/7/2007 6:53:29 PM