Anybody need office supplies,

[Hank70SS]

I'll let you know when it's going to hit Ebay for cheap. Swingline staplers, scissors, tape dispensers, pens, pencils, markers, 3-hole punches, etc. Also network switches, monitor/keyboard/mouse switches, keyboards, mice (mouses), hard drives, etc.

They're making us home based workers and moving all of our lab equipment to another facility. They've been laying off people for years so there are office supplies and hardware laying around everywhere. We've been cleaning out the last few days and looking at all this stuff. Chris, a coworker, and I look at something then each other and say "Ebay". It's crazy, most of this stuff will end up in a dumpster or they'll get 10 cents a pound from some company to clean it all out.

I'm just talking about the 5th floor and a little piece of the 4th floor. The rest of the 4th floor and all of the 3rd floor were shutdown years ago. There are also 3 more buildings connected to the main building via breezeways. Two of those buildings are shutdown.

Sad, this place is a piece of history. The main building was designed by Albert Kahn and built in 1938, 600’ long, 100’ wide, 5 stories and all brick. 14’ ceilings, 93 steps to the 5th floor, I know I’ve counted them, the center stairwell is 10’ wide. Floors are 14” thick reinforced concrete. Also has its own power plant, they use to generate their own electricity and steam heat in the power plant, connected to the main building by an underground tunnel. Train tracks use to come right up to the building to deliver coal to the power plant, it was a rural area when the plant was built. The smoke stack from the power plant was a landmark and used by pilots landing at the small airport in Plymouth, MI.
The center tower section of the building houses the elevator shafts. One small passenger elevator and two freight elevators, the kind you can pull a 4 door pickup into. They had to pull the motor from one last week, it weighs about 4,000 lbs. At the top of the tower is a water tank used to catch rain water. No electricity, gas or water in that area when the built the plant.
Anyway, just a little history of the place. Sad to remember its glory days and see it fading away today.

[FlintTony]

Hank...YOUR'E FIRED!!!!!!

[Hank70SS]

Originally Posted by FlintTony

Hank...YOUR'E FIRED!!!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Can I come live with you Tony?

I can't quit. Can't give up 5 weeks vacation, 11 paid holidays, work from home, oh, and the salary ain't too bad either. Still, I won't miss it and won't cry about it when they say your done. Guess if I new something for sure one way or the other I wouldn't feel this way. Not knowing if or when it's over is worse than just having it done and over with.

[piette]

Originally Posted by stalkingbear

I'll bite.... what happened in that factory? What did you make?

I was wondering the exact same thing, what do they do there?

Jeff

[Hank70SS]

Guess I left out a key piece of info, sorry. They started making electro-mechanical accounting machines. Then some of the first Burroughs computers. Then high speed check processors. They still make desktop, medium speed and high speed check processors. The check market is declining since everyone is using online bill payment so sales of the high speed equip is almost dead. A few medium speed ones now and then. Mostly desktops but they're now manufactured in China. Have to sell hundreds of desktops to make the same profit as one high speed.

We also developed the first full image based check processing applications there in the 90's as well as an image based payment processing application. That's the stuff I worked on since I transferred there around 20 years ago. We had over 100 software engineers developing those applications at one time. Now there are 5 left.

[Hank70SS]

Well now I know why the big rush to get our lab equipment moved and have us work from home. They sold the check sorter business and the building. All the people involved with engineering, manufacturing and maintenance of the check sorters were offered positions by the new owners.

The group I work for does software development so we have to get out by the time they finalize the sale. Supposedly Friday is the last day I'll be able to go into that building, although our lab equip isn't scheduled to be moved until Feb 10. I've worked from home mostly for over a year but the office was always there. It's gonna be strange after working there for 20 years.

[Hank70SS]

Originally Posted by stalkingbear

So, you are going to the new company? Or, because you are in software - you start looking for a new job? Sounds pretty nerve-wracking to me.

That's a whole other story. The group I worked for doesn't exist any longer. The software we developed and supported was moved to India last year. Officially as 1/1/10 they own it 100%. Supposedly I'm to be transferred to another group but have not heard anything officially about when, where or what I'll be doing. So the last 6 months have been, as you said, pretty nerve-wracking.

[Hank70SS]

Originally Posted by stalkingbear

I'm sorry you are going thru this, Hank.

Thanks. It's been going on since last spring when they said our products were going to India. I'm at the point now where I just don't give a shit anymore. Not going to kill myself worrying about this.

[Ms Grumpy]

It sounds like you don't know whether you are coming or going. But they must have kept you around because you are of value to them, so you must be doing something right. I wish you the best Hank. And keep us informed about the office supplies cause I could probably use some too.

[Highway Star]

This is a sad story. It sounds like the doors are closing...but you need to be on the lookout for the one that is going to open, Hank. One always does.