Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Walker Budget Is Already Working! Part CV

Three weeks ago, I pointed out that American Family was warning their employees that layoffs were possible.  It didn't take long for them to go from a possibility to a reality:
Madison-based American Family Insurance on Wednesday laid off 87 people, almost all in Madison and all from the company's information services division, as part of an ongoing effort to cut costs.

The workers — some with 20 years' experience — were asked to leave immediately after they learned their jobs were eliminated, company spokesman Steve Witmer confirmed.

"We tried to strike a balance of being very respectful to the people and talking to them face to face," Witmer said, "but it's also understood that these are people that work in very sensitive positions. So while we believe that our employees are good, honest people, we also need to make sure that we're safeguarding our systems."
How nice of them!
"Thank you for your 20 years of loyalty. Oh, and don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
So why are they laying off all these people? Well, you could guess, if you've read the other 104 posts about how great Walker's budget is:
As an insurance company, American Family's ratio of expenses to premium revenue is a "really key internal measure" in determining efficient operations, Witmer said.

And with premium revenue falling in recent years — as the economy contracted and fewer people bought policies for autos, homes, health, farms or businesses — expenses need to come down, too.
Thanks to Scott Walker centralizing the wealth in the hands of the oligarchs and the plutocrats, there is less money to go around. So things like insurance goes by the wayside when people are struggling just to keep a roof over their head and food on the table.

But that is not to say that American Family is completely off the hook either:
American Family continues to hire for vacant and new positions that are "essential to operating our business, and providing exceptional service to customers," Witmer said, noting recent "all-time highs" in customer satisfaction and business retention.
My question for American Family is why didn't they offer the about-to-be-laid-off workers these new positions? My guess is because after 20 years, they were making too much money.

Greed upon greed is not a good thing.

7 comments:

  1. I was with you until this:

    "My question for American Family is why didn't they offer the about-to-be-laid-off workers these new positions?"

    Think about that. It's nonsensical. We don't know exactly what those folks jobs were, but let's say that one was an AS400 programmer his whole career. Do you just turn around and put him in sales? Or even as a C++ programmer? Totally different skills. I fly commercial a lot. I wouldn't fancy much the notion of a 20-year gate agent as my pilot just because they felt an outsize sense of loyalty. Also, don't assume that AFI didn't try to accommodate those folks. We don't know that. Don't presuppose.

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    1. Anom, you beat me to this one. Apparently employees are more valuable than staying in business. Unless Obamacare is reversed insurance companies that choose to stay in healthcare insurance will be making a lot more cuts like this one. But it will still be Walkers fault mind you.

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    2. Actually, I didn't beat you to anything. My comment is not at all related to yours.

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    3. Say, Racist, health insurance is hardly AFI's core business. They're largely home and auto. Care to rethink your comment and make it somehow relevant?

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    4. Here's a comment for you, take the time to at least identify yourself. Oh, and your right, they don't specialize in health insurance, so yes, it must be greed.

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  2. Identify myself? A guy with the handle "Imustberacist" is demanding I identify myself?

    You first.

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  3. If you do a Google search for 'American Family executive compensation' you will see exactly why they needed to do these layoffs - because their 'leadership' salaries and bonuses have skyrocketed out of control. They have hired many new people at the top and cut the worker bees at the bottom. Plain and simple - they needed to lay these people off so they could get more themselves. Greed and corruption now runs rampant through the top ranks of American Family Insurance. Just wait until next year when hundreds of additional workers will be laid off as they continue to outsource jobs overseas to lower paid workers.

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