Major Shaw layoffs in the near future?

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Wormius

How enforceable are those non-compete clauses anyway? From what I understood, even if you sign them there isn't much a former employer can do.

Probably can't prevent someone from taking a job with Telus, but they likely could seek a judgement against you for the amount of the package taken.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

Probably can't prevent someone from taking a job with Telus, but they likely could seek a judgement against you for the amount of the package taken.

I think non-competes are useless, but I don’t think it’s the same think as a severance that’s tied to your not working for a competitor? Like you can’t have a person in a position where they can’t work, and it’s absurd that an installer is “competing” with a billion dollar corporation. So a non-compete wouldn’t hold up in that sense. At the same time though, I have seen clauses in people’s severance packages before where the amount would be reduced if they worked for a certain period of time.

[BigNumbers]

No effing way there is a non-compete in a 1yr package for an installer or any other non-executive level Shaw employee. I'd eat my hat if that was true.

"Sorry Mr. Installer - here's your package, but you can't go do your job for a year"

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Wormius

How enforceable are those non-compete clauses anyway? From what I understood, even if you sign them there isn't much a former employer can do.

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

Probably can't prevent someone from taking a job with Telus, but they likely could seek a judgement against you for the amount of the package taken.

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

No effing way there is a non-compete in a 1yr package for an installer or any other non-executive level Shaw employee. I'd eat my hat if that was true.

"Sorry Mr. Installer - here's your package, but you can't go do your job for a year"

The truth is likely somewhere in the middle.

Non-Competes seem to fail spectacularly in exactly these types of situations where there are really only 2 places to ply your trade or expertise and you've just been paid to leave one.

You have the right to earn a living based on your skills and if theres only 2 places to do it and one let you go its unreasonable to bar you from working at the other.

Then again, as Cowboy indicated, some of the severance is there specifically to make it so that you dont have to work at the competitor to make a living during the indicated time-frame.

So Shaw probably couldnt prevent it completely but would likely be entitled to repayment of a portion of the severance that was in place to deal with that contingency.

At the end of the day though enforcement of the Non-Compete is insanely expensive and unwieldy so they might do it once or twice to try and set an example, but if somebody's severance was like $20K thats not enough to live on for a year so they'd take the job and risk the consequences.

I was speaking with a Shaw (now former) employee today and the buyout packages were pretty generous, especially for longer term employees. That being said, I didnt hear about the Non-Compete clauses.

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Hearing about 3300/6500 took the offer.

10% expectation hey? .

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by flamesrule_kipper34

Hearing about 3300/6500 took the offer.

10% expectation hey? .

I know if my job offered me the same package, I'd wouldn't have to think twice about taking it. was just an amazing offer.

[Firebot]

https://www.thestar.com/business/201...t-package.html

[calf]

The people who didn't take the package are going to regret it real soon with all the work that's going to be dumped on them now.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

I know if my job offered me the same package, I'd wouldn't have to think twice about taking it. was just an amazing offer.

Obviously most of them didnt which is why Shaw's 10% estimate ballooned out of control to ~50% and the ones that didnt take it are probably employees with less seniority trying to stick it out because they couldnt realistically live on the package.

But some of those guys who have been there long-term would be making out like bandits.

[metalwinger]

The latest, as of today:

http://business.financialpost.com/te...-accept-buyout

[Kjesse]

Shaw is going to have to take a long hard look at this.

It looks like a lot of employees were jumping ship. Shaw overestimated how many liked working there and the morale of their employees, at a minimum. The offer was good but only a slight windfall at an extra 6 months.

The stock dipped on the announcement but recovered in an hour or so.

[getbak]

So, does this mean there will be a hiring blitz soon?

[CliffFletcher]

I don't know anyone who works at Shaw, so the only way this will affect me is in customer service. Which I assume is going to get worse. So BOOOOOOO!

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Kjesse

Shaw is going to have to take a long hard look at this.

It looks like a lot of employees were jumping ship. Shaw overestimated how many liked working there and the morale of their employees, at a minimum. The offer was good but only a slight windfall at an extra 6 months.

The stock dipped on the announcement but recovered in an hour or so.

Everyone I have ever met that worked there described it as toxic. They were IT professionals. It has a pretty bad reputation out there, and this seems to validate it. I can't believe a "good package" was enough for that many people to leave.

[photon]

The package was 6 months + 1 month for every year worked.. that's the best package I've ever heard of in IT. Heck it's better than most I've seen in O&G

[Locke]

Originally Posted by photon

The package was 6 months + 1 month for every year worked.. that's the best package I've ever heard of in IT. Heck it's better than most I've seen in O&G

It wasnt just IT either, any non-customer facing service personnel including installers.

[WinColumn]

Originally Posted by flamesrule_kipper34

Hearing about 3300/6500 took the offer.

10% expectation hey? .

I love how they frame it in press releases as 25% will take the package. It's 25% of the total company. Greater than 50% of those eligible! I also like how they claim that it was within expected limits. I highly doubt that. It was 5 times higher than they were expecting.

[Hack&Lube]

Another CPer told me he was staying but the offer was extended so that anybody who chose to stay, would also be guaranteed the same package if their job was made redundant in the future. That's very generous as well.

[Slava]

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but there is an interesting wrinkle to these packages. Basically you can opt for the package and find out by next month when you actually get this package. It could be 18 months away, meaning that you accept the offer today (well yesterday was the deadline) and you work until mid 2019 before you actually get the package.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Another CPer told me he was staying but the offer was extended so that anybody who chose to stay, would also be guaranteed the same package if their job was made redundant in the future. That's very generous as well.

Really? Generous is an understatement!

I have to say, if true, people have to really commend Shaw on treating their employees well.

One the one hand its something of an indictment that so many are taking the money and running but on the other hand they've made the offer so sweet its almost impossible to say no.