USSF layoffs

Discussion in 'Referee' started by Law5, Oct 10, 2024.

  1. Law5

    Law5 Member+

    Mar 24, 2005
    Beaverton OR
    So who got laid off from the Referee Department?
     
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  2. Dayton Ref

    Dayton Ref Member+

    May 3, 2012
    Houston, TX
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Second hand, I heard Pedro.
     
  3. SA14mars

    SA14mars Member+

    Jan 3, 2005
    Dallas
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Why are they laying folks off?
     
  4. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer America reports 30 layoffs due to a major reorg despite a surge in USSF revenues...sigh
     
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  5. Law5

    Law5 Member+

    Mar 24, 2005
    Beaverton OR
    USSF is moving from Chicago to Atlanta. Some employees were not invited to relocate, others were.
     
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  6. MassachusettsRef

    MassachusettsRef Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 30, 2001
    Washington, DC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Presuming anyone who is actually interested has already hit the Google machine, but just in case, an actual article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5831618/2024/10/09/us-soccer-staff-cuts/

    I think the piece presents almost all the relevant angles. The only one I'd add is that just because an entity has increased revenue does not necessarily mean said entity--particularly a bureaucratic one--is organized effectively.
     
  7. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So a registered 501C3 non-profit charity that is now apparently flush with cash (and not paying the salary of their new USMNT Coach) decides not to reduce any player or referee registration fees, but build a new home office and ALSO lay off 9% of their entire workforce...lovely, simply lovely.
     
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  8. RedStar91

    RedStar91 Member+

    Sep 7, 2011
    Club:
    FK Crvena Zvezda Beograd
    Ouch. Wouldn't even let them clean out their desks. Ruthless.

    Even in financial services (i.e. investment banks), they let people clean out their desks during layoffs.
     
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  9. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    my last company...fifteen years of service, they gave me 30 minutes to say my goodbyes and had to clear out by lunch...it was on the day of the annual company picnic...too funny.
     
  10. RedStar91

    RedStar91 Member+

    Sep 7, 2011
    Club:
    FK Crvena Zvezda Beograd
    #10 RedStar91, Oct 11, 2024
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2024
    Which sucks, but somewhat humane and decent. What US Soccer did doesn't allow people to get their phone chargers from their desk.

    It's not like they are going to take state secrets with them in 30 minutes if you let them go to their desk.
     
  11. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Outsider vendor is usually hired to pack the contents of your desk and it is shipped back to you.
     
  12. Law5

    Law5 Member+

    Mar 24, 2005
    Beaverton OR
    I knew a guy who had worked at a giant company, Fortune 50. They were going through bad/slow times. He was a financial analyst, so he was asked to calculate the overhead without certain people. He had to see those people in the office for several days, knowing they were going to be laid off by the end of the week. Three rounds of layoffs came and went. Finally, his name was on the layoff list also.

    So the powers had all of those to be laid off come to the auditorium. They asked everyone to stand up and say how many years they had been with the company. Everybody is saying 20 years, 25 years, etc. except this guy, who'd only been with them a few years. The executioner then tells them that they should expect to be 'on the beach' for six to eight months, "everybody except this guy down here [pointing to the guy I knew.] He'll have a job in two weeks." Did he really think that was going to make the senior guys feel better?

    And, actually, it was one week. He'd already started at his next job before he started going back to the old company to pick up his weekly severance check.
     
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  13. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    my story is even better...I was let go with someone who used to be the Executive Secretary for the entire division. Even when she changed jobs, they never revoked her email credentials. She continued to be copied on all confidential correspondence being sent by Senior Management. A full month before we were actually terminated, she could see that not only that my position was being eliminated but hers was being eliminated as well. She was a gamer and never spilled the beans to me. Classic corporate stupidity...sigh
     
  14. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    another story...a good buddy of mine tried to enter her building and her security pass was denied. She was detained by the security team for 3 hours until the HR person could arrive from the airport and advise her that she was no longer employed at the firm. HR individual apologized as she had missed the first flight of the day and had to take the 2nd available flight instead. Gotta applaud that one too!!!
     
  15. Law5

    Law5 Member+

    Mar 24, 2005
    Beaverton OR
    Treat others the way you want to be treated, but some people seem to forget that when it comes to letting people go.

    The first person I ever fired thanked me. She'd owned a childcare facility before coming to work where I worked and she had wanted to go back to childcare anyway. That's made every one since easier. But there are some basic standards of decency that you have to meet.
     
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  16. Twotone Jones

    Twotone Jones Member

    United States
    Apr 12, 2023
    Assuming Rick Eddy is gone as well, or is that old news that I never saw?
     
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  17. weka

    weka Member+

    Dec 9, 2011
    I believe he joined ECNL land a few weeks ago as the Director of Referee Development.
     
  18. soccerref69420

    soccerref69420 Member+

    President of the Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz fan cub
    Mar 14, 2020
    Nat'l Team:
    Korea DPR
     
  19. MetroFever

    MetroFever Member+

    Jun 3, 2001
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    Croatia
    This brings back tramautic experiences.

    During the 2008 market recession, I and many others who were considered "highest paid" were laid off the same day just before Christmas as they hired an outside agency to call employees in and give them the news. I got a good severance package and we had been given hints 6 months before, so it was not a total surprise. If I needed, I had almost the whole day to clean out my stuff, even though I had access to thousands of accounts. I had been with them in many roles for numerous years, and they understood that.

    In another role, our department had 8 months advanced notice we were done. I had nobody following me around at my desk on my final day.

    I feel bad for these folks. It's bad enough for these people to go through this and then have somebody put your family photos and other souvenirs in a box as if you're a piece of garbage.
     
  20. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My first real job was back in 1986 (yes, they allowed me to leave work early in order to referee high school). I was amazed as this company had a ton of employees who had never worked for any other company, most had been there for well over 30 - 35 years. They congratulated me for getting the job and assured me that this company would take of you from day one to your retirement day and even beyond that with even paid retirement luncheons for all alumni. Those were simple times indeed... I think that I read that the average employee now works for a minimum of 7 employers in their lifetime.
     
  21. ManiacalClown

    ManiacalClown Member+

    Jun 27, 2003
    South Jersey
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yet I'm told we don't need unions anymore.
     
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  22. SCV-Ref

    SCV-Ref Member

    Spurs
    Australia
    Feb 22, 2018
    I'm going through that right now. 40 years...and BTW, we are laying you off.
    40 years! Loyalty is a one way street.
     
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  23. Law5

    Law5 Member+

    Mar 24, 2005
    Beaverton OR
    Sounds like an age discrimination suit waiting to happen.
     
  24. davidjd

    davidjd Member+

    Jun 30, 2000
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not necessarily. When I got laid off 5 years ago I got a list of everyone else and their age (no names) as part of my package. The company was making it very clear that they were not targeting, intentionally or not, any group of people.
     
  25. voiceoflg

    voiceoflg Member+

    Dec 8, 2005
    18 years for me. A two-person department that was folded into another department. They kept the guy who worked 15 years and making a little less than me, doing the same job.
     

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