As someone who works (and yes, I use that “work” word in the loosest of possible senses) in the Staffing industry I generally find myself reading through the Business section of the pitiful Santa Barbara News-Press looking to see what sad cross-section of the nation’s workforce is the next to be chopped. The poor bastards who have taken it on the chin are generally the next ones to show up at my front door the following day, looking for some sort of employment (invariably always wanting to stay in the same dying industry that they just left) to get them through to the next unemployment check. At this point we’re all acutely aware of the chaos surrounding the financial services sector so it was 0% surprising when Citigroup announced it would be cutting 52,000 jobs over the next year (the second largest announced layoff in the history of layoffs, it should be noted) while they attempt to right-size their slumping operation. And who better than Citigroup to stamp their name onto the Mets’ shiny new ballpark, a synergistic match made in choke-artist heaven? Citi’s therefore unsurprising decision to keep their commitment to paying for the naming rights to The Stadium Formerly Known as Shea at a cost of $400 million should not come as a shock. But it still does. If that $400,000,000 were spread out over the 52,000 downsized employees it would work out to just about $7,700 per employee.
G Slim and I (and probably the majority of sports talk radio) were debating about this the other day and I can’t even pick a side to land on. Yes, I can understand the need for increased marketing efforts (especially during a recession—the impulse is always to cut back spending on advertising but that’s primarily when you actually need it) but if you’re some 35-year-old office schlub with a wife, kid and mortgage making $50k a year and you know you’re on the REDUNDANCY list how do you feel about Citi’s Great Marketing Strategy then? What if you’re that guy AND you’re a Mets fan? Like the pain of two straight September fades isn’t crushing enough, now you’ve got to update your resume and go bang on some doors? It’s not like Wall Street (or any other street for that matter) is exactly awash with extra opportunities right now; wouldn’t an extra 7k lessen the sting of losing a job? Who is making these decisions? According to this page it’s someone named Vikram Pandit but how do we know it isn’t Scrooge McDuck? What the hell is going on around here?
