Ouch. Ouch. Whuffles to you, dear Miko. I have a feeling this will come to rest upon me soon as well. Only I doubt our leadership is as competent and caring as you are.

And with that sentiment weighing heavily, I closed the browser windows that were about to lead to an unnecessary clothing purchase. Thank you. Don't need to buy things right now, no matter how "cheap" they are.

:(

Damn, I keep hearing from friends who are caught in stuff like this. One has the choice of getting laid-off or moving to Iowa which is where his job is moving to. This is after he got his pay cut by about 25% last year.

Blech. Hang in there, Miko. Hope it all works out.

Good luck. I hope something works out that allows you to stay on.

That's rough, Miko. Hope there's a workable solution for you.

Well, we are meeting again in two weeks to work on it some more. Fortunately (and oddly) we are on the most weirdo fiscal year there is, the one that runs April 1-March 31. So we're wrangling with next year's budget, and are short 500K even after stripping just about everything from the programs and maximizing the revenue. But we have a couple of months to make some magic happen. I know my seasonal staff hours are going to be drastically cut, but that's not terribly tragic, though it's not great. Most of those folks are working part-time and more for interest and involvement than for the money. But there are some younger people who work year-round, or nearly so, for whom this job is their livelihood or at least the central part of it. And mine is too. Even if we don't have to cut my job, it'll probably change a lot, in ways as yet unknown.

My brother-in-law works at a company that has laid off all but essential, experienced staff and is taking a loss keeping them on because replacing that staff, reopening the supply chains and refilling the sales trails would be so much more expensive if they shut down completely. Although some points of sales have closed, the remainders have picked up the customers.

I've been dreading the day our ED calls me in to cut my job. I'm one of the few positions that brings in next to no money, and my fear is that because of that I'll be one of the first to go. My only hope is that since my position is rather crucial to the organization's mission it will escape total demolition. I've decided that if it comes to cutting down hours, I'll see if I can go to 30 hours/week working only 3 days/week. That way I can keep health insurance and get a second job. Ouch.

One thing I've done in the past has been instead of getting my hours cut down for good I took a 6 week unpaid leave during the summer, which for us was the down time. So the organization still saved the same amount of money, but the timing was better for me.

Oh, jeez. Sorry to hear this, Miko.

Uck. Sorry Miko; I hope things improve somehow... I know how miserable it is to work in that kind of doom and gloom climate.

I'm sorry to hear that Miko. Scary times.

Damn. That is not an enviable position to be in -- both worrying about your own job and having to worry about letting others go.

Hope it works out for you. If your contributions to your employer are of the same caliber as your contributions here and on MetaFilter, I can't see them letting you go.

But good luck!

That sucks Miko. I think in some ways the hardest part about layoffs & cutbacks is the feeling that someone else is in control of what happens to us. Here's hoping for the best for Miko and any other bunnies in that boat.

If it makes you feel any better, White House salaries were frozen today.

Aww that sounds bad and scary. And it doesn't help that it's a bleak time of year. I'm sorry you're going through this. I really hope it works out okay. Sending good warm thoughts your way.

Ouch. I had no idea you all were that far under.

Chin up, Miko.

Yrrr, Miko!

Sorry to hear that Miko. I'm sure your brain is twisting itself in knots trying to think of a solution. I wish you peace.

That sounds grim.

Take care. I'm trying to beam some courage and optimism out your way.