Are buyouts worth it?

Hopefully, everyone who takes a buyout already has a better job lined up and is just stickin' it to the man.

 

I was a department head in 1995 with my staff facing layoffs, and this was one of the earliest buyout offers in our business. Given all the variables, I came up with the bright idea of laying off myself. It was a good deal, and I could move back to be where my kids were growing up and -- I certainly don't want to make this sound more noble than it was, my first thought was my future and my family's -- it saved some spots in my department.

When I finally came to this realization, I had 30 minutes to decide, because it was on the final day you could opt in. I made one phone call to a friend in the other state, and there was an opening. So I took the buyout, got the other job and was extremely lucky.

Problem these days is with all major chains doing the same things in terms of cutbacks, there's not going to be a lot of hiring, so calling around to see if you can line something else up isn't going to be easy. It's going to be a much bigger leap of faith for many -- and this is a tough time to make that jump.

Hate to fall back on the old standards, but it really is an individual call at this point; there's no blanket right answer. If you want to make a career change, if your spouse is in good shape, if you've got a good idea that something else is lined up, then it might be worthwhile.

If you're completely uncertain about other prospects, like where you live, simply need a job ... you're probably going to want to stay put.

There's no one-size-fits-all answer at all.

 

The most common sentence uttered in these buyout discussions is,

"The offer might not be this good a few months from now..."

 

If you think you'll be there in 27 weeks (or however much longer than your severance pay lasts), you should stay. If not, take the money and use your free time to look for another job.

 

And the proper response is ...

Hell, the offer ain't so great right now.

 

I took it. Y'all tip me at Starbucks, OK?

 

These days, if you take a buyout, you're likely ending your newspaper career.

Sadly, that will probably be a good thing for most.

 

There really is little motivation to move up in this business right now. Seriously. I'm at a small/mid-sized daily, and if I get a job at a 100K or so, whose to say I won't get laid off within the first year? They always axe the new hires first, right? What a shitty business.

 

Correct. [/voiceofexperience]

 

I'm not sure I agree about the new hires. Sometimes that's the case, but a lot of times they target employees who are making the most $$$.

 

If papers really wanted to cushion the blow of buyouts, they would offer more than just the desired size of staff reduction. For instance, if they want to shrink the staff by 30, why not give out 40 buyouts, then turn around and hire 10 people who are specifically qualified for the new-wave jobs? Or people who are among the best that took buyouts at other places, and now have boosted the pool of available talent?

If you just go down by 30, you're left with whoever wasn't ready, willing or able to go. If you shed 40, and hire a new 10, you have begun the move toward the future. I know there are costs associated with hiring but those are short-term. Anyone know if any papers have tried this, or does only their "out" door work nowadays?

 

You're ahead of the game, Joe.

Most newspapers don't even know what the "new-wave" looks like, except that it better be cheaper.