Fed Ex furlough

[Sluggo_63]

So........ you contend that is cheaper to pay 700 pilots guarantee, retirement, health benefits, LTD and STD than it is to furlough 700 guys for three or so years and then recall 150 a year to cover attrition? Huh if that were the case than why does any airline ever furlough?

Management doesn't care how much it will cost to retrain pilots in say three years. The care what is going to happen now and in maybe a year in advance.

But time will tell. You guys will probably be right and Fedex will carry 700 or so pilots for the next three years or so. That won't cost too much.

You're right... I should listen to you... It's not about retraining F/O's in 3 years. It's about the immediate decimation of their system, and all the cost involved with getting everyone in the right seat to furlough. FedEx screwed themselves when they let the aircraft seats get so out of whack, seniority wise. We have really junior pilots in the MD-11 in ANC and in the A300 in HKG, while more junior pilots hang out in the right and back seats of the 727. So... let's see... if FedEx lops off the bottom 700 pilots, they lose over 50% of the F/O's in ANC and all but 5 A300 F/O's in HKG. So what FedEx needs to do is have an excess bid that aligns the seats in what would be considered a more 'normal' seniority order. Junior guys in the back of the 727, more senior guys in the right seat of the 727 and 757, then more senior guys in the right seat of the widebodys, etc. They tried that last year. The resulting bid had thousands of training events and the training letter would have taken upwards of 2 years to work through. They subsequently cancelled that bid because it was too costly. Add that to the fact that as soon as they start excessing people out of ANC and HKG, they are having to buy houses as part of the move package, pay relocation expenses, etc. Some people estimated it would cost FedEx over $110 million just to align the seats in order to get to a place where they could furlough without destroying system form. The line buyups were costing about $1 million a month. So, using my basic math, they could buy up the lines for 110 months and just break even on the cost of the realignment bid. That doesn't even include the cost of retraining.

But you're right... what the heck do I know... we should just eat the additional pay cut without asking any questions...

 

[1800 RVR]

MCDU...u dope!...how about leaving internal memos off a public forum?

Not trying to be a wiseguy, but what is the big deal about this memo? Stuff like this always gets posted. I don't see any trade secrets or anything special.

 

[av8tor4239]

I flew into Jackson Hole the other day a saw N3FE parked next to us and Mr. Smith and his family boarding up... must not be that bad

 

[F/O]

Actually I think we can blame ALPA, and Prater "Taking it back", for that one.

Prater and his greedy pig friends took it back...for themselves. Everybody junior just took it in the a$$.

By the way, how much money is Fedex having to waste on training cycles for the herpes to move back to the left seat???

 

[rajflyboy]

Again, you don't get it at all.

I will be waisting[sic] my time to try to explain to you how childish this statement is. Companies do have incentive to not just demoralize their work force for no reason, but they also have to answer to the shareholders for future profits, not past profits. If they believe they are not going have the same revenue because of lack of demand for their service, the managers must reduce costs. In this case, unused pilot labor costs are probably quite costly. I agree with you that if they continuously furlough and recall, it may eventually cause pilots to stop applying to FedEx because of lack of job security. But, I would venture a guess that even if they furloughed 1000 people today and opened up their application online at the same time, they would receive thousands of applications. So, I think that they are not currently concerned about the supply of labor. They are concerned with the bottom line because that is why a business exists.

I'll say it again, companies do not exist to provide jobs. Companies exist to make a profit. The executives at your company are paid to make a profit. Creating jobs is a fortunate byproduct of the process.

So, if the managers at FedEx believe that they will not make enough money to utilize their pilot labor enough to keep them off of furlough, they have a fudiciary responsibility to the shareholders to furlough. Kind of ironic if you were a pilot there and a shareholder.

Nobody wants to see anybody cut jobs, but let's be grownups about the process. There is no evil conspiracy to ruin your life as a pilot by some evil manager cult. Poorly or well, the managers of companies are trying to keep their companies profitable on good and bad years. Looks like people think this is going to be a pretty rough one.

You are the idiot that doesn't get it. FEDEX is still making money and in fact they have enough money to sponsor the FEDEX BCS bowl championship game >> Yet they are laying off people. Forecasts can't be counted on. They are just a "Best Guess" at the future. A Future that none of us can predict for certain.

If you treat employee's fairly you will maintain a good working relationship with them. If you just dump them on the street then all hell will break loose. Just basic common sense.

Forecasts ..... anyone that has a brain and has a business degree understands the limits of these things.

Many companies right now are using this "Economy" as an EXCUSE to put people on the street. At the same time they are making a profit. You will not convince me anything different.

 

[Diesel]

Many companies right now are using this "Economy" as an EXCUSE to put people on the street. At the same time they are making a profit. You will not convince me anything different.

Raj you are dead on the mark. There has been a term being thrown around quite a bit lately. Never let a good crisis pass you by.

What this means (for those of you with a narrow scope of the world) is that companies are doing things to align themselves for the next upswing and accomplish mission plans that they could never even think of doing during the good times. The pissed off employees and low moral would kill them if they tried this a couple of years ago. Now its "well the damn economy is making us do this". Its complete and utter BS.

They have lowered the expectation bar with fear and loathing. Sure the economy sucks but the american people and the world have become desensitized by low profit earnings and bad news. Now is the time to write the bad debt off the books and engage plans that are kept in that secret folder that says, "open when you can make them believe the world has gone to crap and you can get more out of them"

The idea of furloughs is laughable but hey the company is getting exactly what they wanted. Lowered expectations.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Raj you are dead on the mark. There has been a term being thrown around quite a bit lately. Never let a good crisis pass you by.

What this means (for those of you with a narrow scope of the world) is that companies are doing things to align themselves for the next upswing and accomplish mission plans that they could never even think of doing during the good times. The pissed off employees and low moral would kill them if they tried this a couple of years ago. Now its "well the damn economy is making us do this". Its complete and utter BS.

They have lowered the expectation bar with fear and loathing. Sure the economy sucks but the american people and the world have become desensitized by low profit earnings and bad news. Now is the time to write the bad debt off the books and engage plans that are kept in that secret folder that says, "open when you can make them believe the world has gone to crap and you can get more out of them"

The idea of furloughs is laughable but hey the company is getting exactly what they wanted. Lowered expectations.

Raj and diesel... spot on... guys like Milky have read a few books and believe they have it all figured out...

Sure it sounds good on paper, but the human factor is never really considered...

9/11 was another crises example.... the down swing in travel had already begun... When 9/11 happened it was more than management could hoped for.... and they milked it for all it was worth....

Crises management is the new way of doing business....

 

[propjob27]

If you treat employee's fairly you will maintain a good working relationship with them. If you just dump them on the street then all hell will break loose. Just basic common sense.

Raj:

I agree with you in principle. However, FedEx is my 5th (and hopefully last) airline, and with all honesty I can say: It appears FedEX could not care less how it treats its most important (not trying to be vain) employee group.

I started at Great Lakes, which anyone whos flown there will tell you that management team took great pleasure in royally pissing off the pilots. FedEx management appears to have come from the same training program.

Our management could learn a LOT from Southwest's philosophy of trying ones best to keep the employees happy.

I'd feel much more inclined into putting some additional effort (and morality:sick calls, etc) into this job, if I didn't feel like my management team's sole purpose is to make life as unpleasant as possible. Red Letters, insults/threats from management, and blatantly ignoring our contract simply do not create an employee who gives a rats ass about his employer. Under those circumstances, to quote one of my role models, "But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired."

I wish Herb would sit down and give Smith a good talking to.

 

[ultrarunner]

I flew into Jackson Hole the other day a saw N3FE parked next to us and Mr. Smith and his family boarding up... must not be that bad

Not to worry...he'll be taxed on that trip.

 

[pipe]

Raj:

I agree with you in principle. However, FedEx is my 5th (and hopefully last) airline, and with all honesty I can say: It appears FedEX could not care less how it treats its most important (not trying to be vain) employee group.

I started at Great Lakes, which anyone whos flown there will tell you that management team took great pleasure in royally pissing off the pilots. FedEx management appears to have come from the same training program.

Our management could learn a LOT from Southwest's philosophy of trying ones best to keep the employees happy.

I'd feel much more inclined into putting some additional effort (and morality:sick calls, etc) into this job, if I didn't feel like my management team's sole purpose is to make life as unpleasant as possible. Red Letters, insults/threats from management, and blatantly ignoring our contract simply do not create an employee who gives a rats ass about his employer. Under those circumstances, to quote one of my role models, "But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired."

I wish Herb would sit down and give Smith a good talking to.

FDX is airline #4. They are working hard to be no better than anyone else (and doing a very good job).

PIPE