Canon lays off at least 60 at Virginia, USA facility

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Canon Virginia dismissed 60 employees at its Newport News, VA, facility on February 26, 2024, and conducted further layoffs on February 27, though the number of additional layoffs is currently being finalised. Canon Virginia, Inc. located in Newport News, Virginia is a manufacturer for Canon’s office and consumer products. Our innovative and efficient production methods

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[Richard CR]

We have not reached out to Canon USA to confirm this information, but let's be real. They likely wouldn't respond to a request for comment from Canon Rumors.

lol, indeed.

 

[Del Paso]

Canon is (you know what I mean...)

 

[koenkooi]

"All the people working on the RF35L f/1.2 and RF50 f/1.4 have been layed off" would've created more engagement

 

[stealth_tramp]

Laying off people right before retirement is a dick move.

 

[EricN]

It doesn't suprise me about the printers being mentioned.
Hopefully the affected employees will find another job

 

[AccipiterQ]

Laying off people right before retirement is a dick move.

It's not at all. There's likely an early-retirement package of some sort, as well as the 3-month severance pay. Better them than someone in their 30s with 3 young kids or whatever. Older folks are also further up the payscale usually, and you can lay off fewer of them. If they spread it around by age they might have needed 70 or 75 people to go instead.

 

[bernie_king]

As someone in that age group, it is a complete dick move. Much easier for a 30 something to find a new job than someone in their 50s or 60s. If it retirement age people (not in their 50s) and they give them an early retirement package, that's great. But dumping people who are older because they cost more (there's a reason for that) is awful. How many kids someone has is irrelevant. If they are truly doing this based on age, that is a huge lawsuit and I hope those people win.

 

[EricN]

It's not at all. There's likely an early-retirement package of some sort, as well as the 3-month severance pay. Better them than someone in their 30s with 3 young kids or whatever. Older folks are also further up the payscale usually, and you can lay off fewer of them. If they spread it around by age they might have needed 70 or 75 people to go instead.

I agree with you on this.

 

[koenkooi]

As someone in that age group, it is a complete dick move. Much easier for a 30 something to find a new job than someone in their 50s or 60s. If it retirement age people (not in their 50s) and they give them an early retirement package, that's great. But dumping people who are older because they cost more (there's a reason for that) is awful. How many kids someone has is irrelevant. If they are truly doing this based on age, that is a huge lawsuit and I hope those people win.

I was in my 30s with 2 kids when I was layed off (“No, made redundant!”), the day my wife returned to work from maternity leave. It wasn’t fun, the 3 months severance pay did help to ease the anxiousness a bit.
But I found a new job within a week and used the remaining severance pay to buy an EOS RP and EF100L

At my father’s last job, they heavily hinted at mass layoffs and tried enticing people with slightly-more-generous-than-legally-requiered severance packages. With that and a few months of unemployment compensation he could make it his retirement age, so he was lucky in that regard.
I don’t think he would’ve found another job as a database administrator, maybe he’d luck out and stumble upon a COBOL job opening.

I read through the “at will” propaganda at work recently and the most generous way to describe that is: Your company can screw you at any time, but you also have the option and privilege of screwing yourself!
I very much doubt a US company will do the right thing for the near-retirement people.

 

[Del Paso]

I was in my 30s with 2 kids when I was layed off (“No, made redundant!”), the day my wife returned to work from maternity leave. It wasn’t fun, the 3 months severance pay did help to ease the anxiousness a bit.
But I found a new job within a week and used the remaining severance pay to buy an EOS RP and EF100L

At my father’s last job, they heavily hinted at mass layoffs and tried enticing people with slightly-more-generous-than-legally-requiered severance packages. With that and a few months of unemployment compensation he could make it his retirement age, so he was lucky in that regard.
I don’t think he would’ve found another job as a database administrator, maybe he’d luck out and stumble upon a COBOL job opening.

I read through the “at will” propaganda at work recently and the most generous way to describe that is: Your company can screw you at any time, but you also have the option and privilege of screwing yourself!
I very much doubt a US company will do the right thing for the near-retirement people.

I've been lucky to work for a huge company which hasn't laid off anybody in Germany since 1949. It still is the case , unless you really deserve getting fired...
You could join an well paid early retirement programme, but only if YOU wanted to!

 

[neuroanatomist]

I was in my 30s with 2 kids when I was layed off (“No, made redundant!”), the day my wife returned to work from maternity leave. It wasn’t fun, the 3 months severance pay did help to ease the anxiousness a bit.
But I found a new job within a week and used the remaining severance pay to buy an EOS RP and EF100L

Layoffs are pretty common in biopharma, at least in the US (less so in Swiss pharma, for example). Some large US pharma ‘reorganize’ every couple of years. Biotech funding cycles often mean small companies separate groups of people or close entirely.

I’ve been through it three times. The first was at a large pharma where I was offered a transfer to New Jersey (pass) or to stay in a role with a very different focus, so I ‘hand raised’ (volunteered to be laid off), took my 8-months severance and went to another large pharma. I did leave without a job lined up and our third child was one year old, so it was a bit stressful but worked out well in the end.

The second time was at a biotech where it was clear they were heading for funding troubles. I was already interviewing when the axe fell. Their severance package was up to 3 months, as in if you found a job sooner (which I did), they stopped paying the severance.

The third time was during COVID, and was a windfall for me. I received an ‘urgent meeting’ request, and when I logged onto the Zoom call the first person there was the head of HR so I immediately knew what was happening. The kicker was that earlier that day I had verbally accepted an offer for a new role, and was thinking of when I would give notice when I was notified that I was being separated. No ‘official’ reason (at will employment and all) but it was because I pissed off the CEO by refusing to require my team to return to the office full time in the summer of 2020 (that demand was the reason I started looking in the first place). The HR guy kept asking if I was ok, I guess because I had an odd expression on my face...here they were telling me I was being laid off, and I was trying not to grin knowing I'd get severance and was about to step into a new role anyway. I was able to have the new start date pushed out so I ended up with two months paid vacation then four months getting severance alongside my new salary, and not only that but the company that laid me off realized they shouldn't have done so when they did, and ended up needing to ask me to come on as a consultant for several months, so I ended up being triple-paid for a while. The additional income went to the kids' college funds.

 

[Jethro]

the company that laid me off realized they shouldn't have done so when they did, and ended up needing to ask me to come on as a consultant for several months, so I ended up being triple-paid for a while.

I witnessed something similar, when the section of a large consulting firm I was with at the time sacked 50% of their staff (GFC era), not including me, but including one guy who was the only living human being who knew how to run the monthly tax software of a particular banking client. They had to grovel to the guy to get him to consult for a few months (at double pay in addition to his redundancy pay) until we could train up someone else. I won't say it was actually 'funny' in all the circumstances - but there was some rare Orporate Karma going on.

 

[josephandrews222]

My own 'serious' travel photography, in some ways, began at Disney World thirty-five years ago.

Reading layoff details in this thread reminded me of Disney's "exploits" nearly a decade ago.

Pink Slips at Disney. But First, Training Foreign Replacements. (Published 2015)

American tech workers in Orlando found their jobs and desks transferred to immigrants brought in under H-1B visas by an Indian firm.

www.nytimes.com

Ex-Disney IT workers sue after being asked to train their own H-1B replacements

Anger at Disney over last year's hiring of foreign IT workers won't relent.

arstechnica.com

=====

I myself witnessed more-or-less mandated annual layoffs at the General Electric R&D Center in Niskayuna NY...GE's 'sainted' leader Neutron Jack Welch instituted a policy where, each year, every employee, in every unit, was ranked, and the bottom 10% were lopped off in the name of increased efficiency (and GE's stock price and quarterly profits).

For what it's worth, have you looked at GE's financials lately?

=====

FWIW...Canon's G620 printer is very very good at what it does.

 

[Berowne]

When i was young, i was on temporary contracts and changed two or three times. Since nearly 20 years my contract is unrestricted and now i am in the retirement age but extendet my contract, because there are not enough physicians in Germany and nobody wants to work in my field.

 

[tbgtomcom]

This shouldn't really surprise anyone. Most offices are still not at full capacity from covid, the office I work in only has people coming in office one day a week. Add to that most offices are trying to go paperless as much as possible, and the need for printers will eventually drop to "occasional" or "never" printing.

 

[GMCPhotographics]

As someone in that age group, it is a complete dick move. Much easier for a 30 something to find a new job than someone in their 50s or 60s. If it retirement age people (not in their 50s) and they give them an early retirement package, that's great. But dumping people who are older because they cost more (there's a reason for that) is awful. How many kids someone has is irrelevant. If they are truly doing this based on age, that is a huge lawsuit and I hope those people win.

In the Uk, this is illegal and called age related discrimination. Canon would be sued just by admitting this policy.
So yes, it's a Dick move by Canon.

 

[TwoWheeler]

Older folks are also further up the payscale usually, and you can lay off fewer of them.

…and they have accumulated raises and accrued vacation time… Older people are also less likely to buy into the company BS and more likely to use the insurance. The whole idea is to have a building full of entry level employees. There’s even a term for it: churn. It’s as low and slimy as it gets.

Much easier for a 30 something to find a new job than someone in their 50s or 60s.

About 8 years ago - at 56 - I was once again in the job market. I applied at numerous places, for jobs I was well qualified for and heard nothing but crickets. At one place I interviewed with the shop supervisor. We spent about 2 hours and he concluded by saying - direct quote - “We haven’t had anyone come in with anywhere near your qualifications. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve got the job”. I emailed him a few days later, asking about profit sharing and such, and he got right back to me. Then…nothing. I can almost guarantee he went to HR, said “I want this guy” and they said “Nope, too old”.

When I went back and trimmed my resume by ten years my inbox lit up with offers. (It helps greatly that I look a lot younger than I am). When he advised me to pare my resume back, the guy at Job Service said “Age discrimination is alive and well”. Damned if he wasn’t right.

 

[EricN]

…and they have accumulated raises and accrued vacation time… Older people are also less likely to buy into the company BS and more likely to use the insurance. The whole idea is to have a building full of entry level employees. There’s even a term for it: churn. It’s as low and slimy as it gets.



About 8 years ago - at 56 - I was once again in the job market. I applied at numerous places, for jobs I was well qualified for and heard nothing but crickets. At one place I interviewed with the shop supervisor. We spent about 2 hours and he concluded by saying - direct quote - “We haven’t had anyone come in with anywhere near your qualifications. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve got the job”. I emailed him a few days later, asking about profit sharing and such, and he got right back to me. Then…nothing. I can almost guarantee he went to HR, said “I want this guy” and they said “Nope, too old”.

When I went back and trimmed my resume by ten years my inbox lit up with offers. (It helps greatly that I look a lot younger than I am). When he advised me to pare my resume back, the guy at Job Service said “Age discrimination is alive and well”. Damned if he wasn’t right.

Hopefully these former Canon employees will get some good advice like you about finding another job.

 

[[email protected]]

Layoffs are pretty common in biopharma, at least in the US (less so in Swiss pharma, for example). Some large US pharma ‘reorganize’ every couple of years. Biotech funding cycles often mean small companies separate groups of people or close entirely.

I’ve been through it three times. The first was at a large pharma where I was offered a transfer to New Jersey (pass) or to stay in a role with a very different focus, so I ‘hand raised’ (volunteered to be laid off), took my 8-months severance and went to another large pharma. I did leave without a job lined up and our third child was one year old, so it was a bit stressful but worked out well in the end.

The second time was at a biotech where it was clear they were heading for funding troubles. I was already interviewing when the axe fell. Their severance package was up to 3 months, as in if you found a job sooner (which I did), they stopped paying the severance.

The third time was during COVID, and was a windfall for me. I received an ‘urgent meeting’ request, and when I logged onto the Zoom call the first person there was the head of HR so I immediately knew what was happening. The kicker was that earlier that day I had verbally accepted an offer for a new role, and was thinking of when I would give notice when I was notified that I was being separated. No ‘official’ reason (at will employment and all) but it was because I pissed off the CEO by refusing to require my team to return to the office full time in the summer of 2020 (that demand was the reason I started looking in the first place). The HR guy kept asking if I was ok, I guess because I had an odd expression on my face...here they were telling me I was being laid off, and I was trying not to grin knowing I'd get severance and was about to step into a new role anyway. I was able to have the new start date pushed out so I ended up with two months paid vacation then four months getting severance alongside my new salary, and not only that but the company that laid me off realized they shouldn't have done so when they did, and ended up needing to ask me to come on as a consultant for several months, so I ended up being triple-paid for a while. The additional income went to the kids' college funds.

That certainly should have gone at least to an EF 600 III to save you the extra couple pounds, Neuro. College educations pffft.

I do think that the international nature of this forum makes some of the comments land differently to different people. Most times in the US, people reaching retirement age isn't what it used to be, or like it is now elsewhere, where there is a time goal reached after which certain benefits kick in, else they're lost. Most people today in the US contribute to retirement plans that employers may add into as well, but the "retirement age" has less to do with a pension cutoff, and more to do with whether the federal social security system will consider you to be an early withdrawer, and penalize the benefit. But it's different in different industries, jobs, companies.