Not affected by the layoffs, be QUIET

Unless you’ve gone through this process recently or are going through it now, I think those of us who have been affected would appreciate if you’d keep your obnoxious comments to yourself.

Many of us have had a long tenure with BNYM, many of us were above average performers, had good salaries, and were hard workers. Many of us worked overtime, evenings and weekends to meet deadlines, fix problems, complete systems maintenance during off hours and involved in 7pm-7am resiliency exercises.

Many of us are concerned about our salaries and health insurance ending before we reach retirement age and have other affordable options. Many of us are worried about finding employment when we’re over 60 years old but not quite ready to retire.

The separation plan drawn up by BNYM lawyers is complex. There are a lot of do’s and dont’s. We’re losing carryover vacation, have restrictions on finding other employment or use of pension funds (lose SUB pay), etc. Most of us are spending a lot of time trying to figure it all out.

So unless you’re affected in some way, keep QUIET.

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@3njc, shhh, grandpa will be in a better mood when he wakes up from his nap.

@1mhb

Absolutely not. It’s always been SUB. Neither Mellon nor BONY ever offered severance. It was always SUB. I know that you’re a bit rattled now and it’s common to mix up severance with Sub. Don’t worry… just find an organized friend who can help you to wade through the paperwork.

@1mhb, again, WHY do you need to tap your pension or 401(k) if you're bringing home more SUB pay than you were before getting fired?

@1mhb

Just two small corrections.

Mellon and then BNYM never ever offered severance to anyone but Senior Management with employee severance contracts.

There aren’t too many of us left, but Mellon, and later BNYM only offered SUB, AT LEAST going back to 1993 and likely before.

@1mhb

It was never severance. From 1993 at least. It has always been SUB but it was longer and there were kickers for length of tenure and age.

@1eti

It was always SUB since 1993 at least.

If it was ever deemed severance pay it must have been in the 1900's.

My point is this is a very emotional time. If you’re someone like me with 25+ years at BNYM, your SUB pay covers roughly one year (50 weeks + 2 weeks notice). In the past, this was deemed severance pay and this was yours in a lump sum to keep unless you returned to BNYM (or a BNYM affiliate): So you get another job right away and feel justified because you won out in the short term. Now, SUB pay is stopped as soon as you get employment anywhere. What incentive do you have to return to work when you’re receiving a full years pay not to work. On top of that, if you work somewhere other than BNYM, BNYM wins out by not having to provide any further payments. Remember, in most instances, BNYM displaced you because you were too expensive for them, not because you weren’t meeting or exceeding their expectations.

The reply is also short sided. It’s much more difficult finding employment when you’re over 60 years old, The cost of medical, dental, vision in itself is more costly if paid outside of Corporate benefits. Obtaining the same amount of salary from another employer may be difficult due to your age as you may lack business knowledge which had more value to your former employer and your years with the new employer is known to be somewhat limited due to your age, So for example if you’re 60 years old, and carrying insurance for yourself and a spouse, you have 5 years (plus any additional for a younger spouse) of paying extraordinary more than you would have for insurance than if you had remained employed with BNYM. As for pension, this can’t be touched, not even moved into another fund without your SUB pay being cancelled. Seems to me to be yet another trap for mistakes by us being made and BNYM getting away with not providing the full SUB pay amount based on our many years of service.

@rdo

Thanks for a very thoughtful post.

“Sorry, but there are no restrictions on finding other employment other than that your SUB would end. And why would you need pension funds if you're getting the same pay PLUS extra money that you were putting into SS, your HSA, your 401(k), your vacation purchase“.

It’s difficult to understand the reaction from the poster to “Be Quiet”. All of these were good suggestions and helpful clarifications. He was clearly spiraling out of control and co-mingling unrelated pension funds, HSA, SS 401k, etc.. this could well be his first adult adversity.

I know highly stressful people like this… nervous, with no input channel to facts and logic. Before you can even settle them down it can take an hour to calm them enough to have an input channel. I think that we all should gently address specific questions as he is overwhelmed at this point. I’d expect to see more better questions over the following days.

@zbk

That’s a great attitude and you’re going to to do very well coming out of here.

Good luck!

Be QUIET

Sorry, but there are no restrictions on finding other employment other than your SUB would end. And why would you need pension funds if you're getting the same pay PLUS extra money that you were putting into SS, your HSA, your 401(k), your vacation purchase.

I went through this last January. I am over 60. Absolutely out of nowhere, with an Exceeds on year end review, I got the call after 12 years.

My advice- you are getting your pay until the end of the month. Take this time to be angry, sad, whatever you need to do. Sign up for the services BNYM gives for resume help and other job search activities. Ask folks to give you a recommendation on LinkedIn. Update LinkedIn, spend the $40 or whatever for the Premier services.

Most of all, take a few days to reflect on yourself and get your soul and mind calm. I made certain I used every $ of my SUB. I saved my unemployment $. I had an opportunity to help with some family issues. I have been working for nearly 6 months now and feel like I have a huge burden of BNYM off my shoulders.

This will be just the beginning for you.

Thread regarding Bank of New York Mellon Corp. layoffs

Not affected by the layoffs, be QUIET

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