Are you affected by the current economic meltdown??? - Page 3

barefoot serpent · 01-30-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slang

I'm working on next gen hip implants and business is good here, for now.

The mood is up here because this is supposed to be recession resistant at the very least.

Overtime and extra money for outside vendors and services is still available but requires much more paperwork.

Current national economic trajectory will bring even this very well run, cash rich corporation to cut jobs and shifts, IMO.

Until then life's pretty good. Once things slow down here I'll be taking another sanity break. That may be for a few years this time as the job market declines.

I dunno, ZMH is getting crushed and SYK is only slightly better. I think lots of folks a putting orthopaedic surgery on the discrtionary list.

slang · 01-31-2009, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barefoot serpent

I dunno, ZMH is getting crushed and SYK is only slightly better. I think lots of folks a putting orthopaedic surgery on the discrtionary list.

The current downturn is going to affect me sooner or later as it will with most of the people working in Ortho products in Warsaw.

There was big talk last summer and fall that there would be an increase of jobs here because the market was up on the boomers need for knees and hips. I've not heard a single word of that boom materializing since Nov 08.

Within this local area there's a bit of arrogance about the stability of the demand for bio products through all economic downturns of the past. On the rare occasion that I'd bring up the reality of an impending depression....or worse, people would chuckle nervously and tell me that I'm crazy.

As we see the trillions of dollars adding up in one bailout after another it's becoming more possible in the minds of many here that they will indeed feel the great pain of the times ahead of us.

Passing through the town one sees much the same situation as the rest of the country. Hotel business is down, car dealerships have gone broke and moved out, there are "for sale" signs on the lawns of countless homes and there is a general downturn in activity here.

Will the demand for hip and knee replacements remain strong considering each costs say, $20k+ (implant and surgery)? I don't know. My guess is that it will not.

It's just me talking here though. Only time will tell us.

sweetwater · 01-28-2009, 01:44 PM

We are not unduly suffering ourselves, but the economic conditions are affecting many in our extended family, and therefore we assume additional responsibilities and obligations on their behalf. Also, we are fortunate that his job is in a field that is unlikely to be cut anytime soon (think along the lines of Homeland Security). Life is not as easy as it was for us before, but we are still able to have enough and enough to share, even if not as much as we want to do. I'd say we're lucky.

Pie · 01-28-2009, 01:51 PM

We're doing okay, but the housing market is making it a bitch to sell our place up in Jersey. We've had a lot of showings, but no real nibbles. Paying two mortgages is not fun.

Griff · 01-28-2009, 02:01 PM

I have friends who finally got out from under their old home in Philly. Now their morgage payment up here seems like a piece of cake. Hang in there.

Aliantha · 01-28-2009, 03:43 PM

Most self funded retirees over here are at least 30% poorer now thanks to the meltdown. In real terms, that means they have to survive on 66% of the income they were living on 6 months ago. That's a big drop to adjust to in anyone's books.

As far as we go personally, so far it's been pretty good for us because although Dazza's superannuation has suffered, he'll be in the workforce long enough that it'll have time to recover and the fact that interest rates are dropping and expected to drop by another percent next week, our mortgage repayments are at an all time low. It's good for us for that reason. Has been bad for many others though.

Radar · 01-28-2009, 03:54 PM

No, cutbacks are in this industry too, just not to the extent it is in other industries.

Our company recently laid off a lot of people. We got rid of 2 of our crews, a lot of our editing department, and we're considering closing our CGI department so we can outsource the work. It would be cheaper than constantly updating the equipment and having a bunch of overpaid primadonnas sitting around on their asses milking the clock all the time. We're getting leaner and meaner.

We're in no danger of closing, and as IT director, my job is secure. In fact now that we have more room, I'm moving into a bigger office today. No window though.

HungLikeJesus · 01-28-2009, 04:54 PM

Do you work for The Faux Hip Company?

Shawnee123 · 01-28-2009, 04:54 PM

Hips-R-Us

classicman · 01-28-2009, 07:01 PM

Sounds like things are all Hip-itty do dah for you slang.

spudcon · 01-29-2009, 03:52 AM

Living in upstate NY, we don't feel the downturns so much, because we usually don't get a chance to experience the upturns. Businesses and people are moving out so fast, the job market is stable. I'm disabled, so the only thing that affects me is the inflation and tax increases.

Aliantha · 01-29-2009, 03:19 PM

Dazza reckons his company is going down the tubes. To use his words, it's too large and cumbersome to react positively to the changing environment.

The good news is he has a few private consulting jobs which he can take up if it goes belly up. We're thinking of going it alone anyway even if his company stays afloat. I think it'll be better for us in the long run, and next year he'll have the option of teaching at the local uni to suppliment anyway.

TheMercenary · 01-30-2009, 04:26 PM

I am pretty safe.

Kaliayev · 01-30-2009, 09:33 PM

Unemployed. This area is heavily reliant on retail and industrial manufacture, two industries heavily hit. Plus no-one wants to employ graduates. I know several places I can easily get a job, once management removes the hiring freezes, but until then...

However, realistically, this is just a chance for me to catch up on my reading. The world can come tumbling down, for all I care. If the complete collapse of the economic system clears my student debt, then I shall not cry too much over the end of easy credit.

slang · 01-31-2009, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhuge Liang

However, realistically, this is just a chance for me to catch up on my reading.

Seems like a good idea. There might be a good deal of people reading after everything crashes.

01-28-2009, 01:44 PM	#3
sweetwater lives inside a Mobius strip Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,120	We are not unduly suffering ourselves, but the economic conditions are affecting many in our extended family, and therefore we assume additional responsibilities and obligations on their behalf. Also, we are fortunate that his job is in a field that is unlikely to be cut anytime soon (think along the lines of Homeland Security). Life is not as easy as it was for us before, but we are still able to have enough and enough to share, even if not as much as we want to do. I'd say we're lucky. __________________ I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque! - Bugs Bunny

01-28-2009, 01:51 PM	#4
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	We're doing okay, but the housing market is making it a bitch to sell our place up in Jersey. We've had a lot of showings, but no real nibbles. Paying two mortgages is not fun. __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

01-28-2009, 02:01 PM	#5
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	I have friends who finally got out from under their old home in Philly. Now their morgage payment up here seems like a piece of cake. Hang in there. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

01-28-2009, 03:43 PM	#6
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	Most self funded retirees over here are at least 30% poorer now thanks to the meltdown. In real terms, that means they have to survive on 66% of the income they were living on 6 months ago. That's a big drop to adjust to in anyone's books. As far as we go personally, so far it's been pretty good for us because although Dazza's superannuation has suffered, he'll be in the workforce long enough that it'll have time to recover and the fact that interest rates are dropping and expected to drop by another percent next week, our mortgage repayments are at an all time low. It's good for us for that reason. Has been bad for many others though. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

01-28-2009, 03:54 PM	#7
Radar Constitutional Scholar Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Ocala, FL Posts: 4,006	No, cutbacks are in this industry too, just not to the extent it is in other industries. Our company recently laid off a lot of people. We got rid of 2 of our crews, a lot of our editing department, and we're considering closing our CGI department so we can outsource the work. It would be cheaper than constantly updating the equipment and having a bunch of overpaid primadonnas sitting around on their asses milking the clock all the time. We're getting leaner and meaner. We're in no danger of closing, and as IT director, my job is secure. In fact now that we have more room, I'm moving into a bigger office today. No window though. __________________ "I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death." - George Carlin

01-28-2009, 04:54 PM	#8
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	Do you work for The Faux Hip Company? __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

01-28-2009, 04:54 PM	#9
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Hips-R-Us __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

01-28-2009, 07:01 PM	#10
classicman barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23,401	Sounds like things are all Hip-itty do dah for you slang. __________________ "like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt

01-29-2009, 03:52 AM	#11
spudcon Beware of potatoes Join Date: May 2007 Location: Upstate NY, USA Posts: 2,078	Living in upstate NY, we don't feel the downturns so much, because we usually don't get a chance to experience the upturns. Businesses and people are moving out so fast, the job market is stable. I'm disabled, so the only thing that affects me is the inflation and tax increases. __________________ "I believe that being despised by the despicable is as good as being admired by the admirable."

01-29-2009, 03:19 PM	#12
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	Dazza reckons his company is going down the tubes. To use his words, it's too large and cumbersome to react positively to the changing environment. The good news is he has a few private consulting jobs which he can take up if it goes belly up. We're thinking of going it alone anyway even if his company stays afloat. I think it'll be better for us in the long run, and next year he'll have the option of teaching at the local uni to suppliment anyway. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

01-30-2009, 04:26 PM	#13
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	I am pretty safe. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

01-30-2009, 09:33 PM	#14
Kaliayev Magnificent Bastard Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 216	Unemployed. This area is heavily reliant on retail and industrial manufacture, two industries heavily hit. Plus no-one wants to employ graduates. I know several places I can easily get a job, once management removes the hiring freezes, but until then... However, realistically, this is just a chance for me to catch up on my reading. The world can come tumbling down, for all I care. If the complete collapse of the economic system clears my student debt, then I shall not cry too much over the end of easy credit.

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