Hard Times Catch Up with Well-Heeled Jobless

Generous severance packages start to sputter

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 11, 2009 7:07 AM CST

(Newser) – Time and money is finally beginning to run out for large numbers of people who lost their jobs, and have been living off hefty severance packages for up to two years. Many workers who received generous exit packages from the financial and auto industries kept on spending the way they were used to in the expectation of soon finding another job, and are now getting desperate, the Wall Street Journal reports.

More than a third of people who are out of work have been seeking work for more than six months, and many people who lost high-end jobs are only now beginning to realize that they may have to accept permanently reduced circumstances. "It will be D-Day" when the money runs out in a few months, one unemployed finance professional says. "But on the outside, no one has any idea that we're in trouble."

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

Execs who received severance packages over the last couple of years are running out of money to maintain their lifestyles. (Shutter Stock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

We were stupid. You become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. When your world changes and things dictate that you change, you're pretty stubborn to give things up.
- Chuck Hipsher, who lost his
ad agency job early last year

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

White Grandfather Cuffed for Walking With Black Granddaughter (NewsOne)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Help! I'm Having an Incestuous Relationship With My Twin (Slate)

Proof that Twitter Users are Sexier Than Facebook Users? (GeekSugar)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 2 of 2 comments

Jes

Nov 11, 2009 3:58 AM CST

"Whaaa! I didn't realize I should change my spending habits once unemployed and have now blown through my huge severance package! Why is no one paying attention to my tragedy?!"

schmidtkoff

Nov 11, 2009 3:37 AM CST

when i lost jobs in the past i became the scrooge of all time to conserve what i had. just the basics. food, shelter, phone and auto expense. everything else was cut back or eliminated altogether. it won't be pretty when these folks get down to the last 'bottom dollar'.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds Major Cash Inside

Study Finds Arsenic in Baby Formula, Cereal Bars

Wall Street Journal (Source Grid »)

Money • US

unemployment • auto industry • financial sector • severance pay • auto worker

More Newser Stories

Ex-Autoworkers Retool for Lower Paying Jobs

Industry vets remake themselves as truck drivers, nurses' aides

(NEWSER) - Hundreds of thousands of ex-autoworkers left adrift by the industry's implosion are having to learn new skills and get used to lower pay, the Washington Post reports. Community colleges in the auto industry's heartland are jam-packed with midlife workers aiming to qualify quickly to become truck drivers, computer technicians or nursing aides. "I've been humbled quite a bit," says one 39-year-old autoworker-turned-nursing aide who's living in his mother's basement. More»

Sweden to Saab: Tough Luck

The G.M.-owned Swedish automaker seeks a buyer to save itself

(NEWSER) - As governments around the world have propped up their automobile companies, typically paternalistic Sweden has answered Saab’s plea for help with an unexpected reply: “No.” No bailout, no takeover. The town of Trollhattan in southwest Sweden now faces economic catastrophe akin to Detroit’s decline as its 54,000 people will lose 4,000 jobs overnight if Saab collapses, the New York Times reports. More»

Jobs Returning to Wall St. (if Not Main St.)

Banks and brokerages make with the hiring

(NEWSER) - Who says the job market’s in trouble? Not Wall Street, which after nearly two years of layoffs is in the middle of a bona fide hiring boom. Though the number of financial employees in New York fell by 2,800 in February, that loss comes after two straight months of gains, and many firms say they’re planning to hire more in the near future. More»

NYC Unemployment Hits 10.3%

City given grant to help laid-off Wall Street workers retrain

(NEWSER) - The Big Apple's unemployment rate hit double digits last month for the first time since 1993, the New York Times reports. At 10.3%, the rate is now higher than the national rate of 9.7%. State officials say continuing layoffs on Wall Street are to blame for the rise, highlighting the need to retrain financial industry workers for other jobs. More»

Recession Crushes White-Collar Michigan

Layoffs, property price plunge leaves middle-aged workers in limbo

(NEWSER) - Tens of thousands of middle-aged white-collar workers have been left jobless and stranded in Michigan by the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Auto industry veterans laid off by the Big Three are finding themselves competing against against younger people for a smattering of job openings. With property prices down 45% from their 2006 peak, people are unable or unwilling to sell their homes and seek work elsewhere. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Hard Times Catch Up with Well-Heeled Jobless