To clarify this blog entry, I'm only referring to American companies with American citizens...
I was reading an article about a company that is about to layoff 15% of their workforce because they only posted an $0.08 profit per share. The company spokesman said that they owe it to their investors to turn a higher profit. Really, because what about those people who believed in that company and contributed to that $0.08 share profit -- don't they owe something to them?
In this broken economy, I propose that any company that shows any profit or even just breaks even that lays off employees simply to push their profit margin higher is unAmerican. Every employee that is laidoff is a hardworking American citizen and that hardworking American citizen puts their paycheck into our American economy. And, when that American citizen loses his or her job, they don't spend as much money in the American economy, which means another company's profit margin goes down and another company lays off employees and the cycle begins again.
I have to say I'm a little disappointed at the idea that companies would be given tax cuts. These are the same companies that seem to think they don't have any obligation to anyone besides investors. Eventually, as long as employees are considered to be nothing more than a drain on money rather than the valuable resources they are -- companies won't have to worry about their investors, because the companies will eventually not exist. Any company that has laid off any employees in the last year doesn't deserve a tax cut.
There's a story I heard years ago about Johnson Wax. Apparently, during the depression Johnson Wax NEVER LAID OFF ONE EMPLOYEE. They cut their hours, but Mr. Johnson believed that he owed his employees something to keep the company and the employees going. I'm sure that Johnson Wax must've lost money during the depression, but the Almighty Dollar wasn't more important than helping their employees put food on the table. It's really too bad that men like that don't exist anymore.
Years ago I started telling friends that as long as companies see employees as liabilities instead of assets things were going to get bad and unfortunately, I was right.
Right now, I'm lucky, I still have my job, but I have to wonder when the axe will fall and my company decides I'm a liability and not an asset.
God Bless
1 comment:
Ah finally!. Years ago I wrote my congress person about this issue. You see White/westinghouse decided to close a plant near my parents, lay off the workers and move the ops overseas because their profits were not high enough.
I suggested to my representative that companies that do so be fined and taxed heavily for the damage they were doing to the local economy. I got a nice noncomittal letter in return. My congressperson was probably one of those investors that benefitted.
Now it is almost 12 years later and we are seeing the outcome of this way of thinking. I am glad others are seeing it too. Now if only congress would. Write your legislators from the senate level on daown about this.
Post a Comment