After spate of closings and layoffs, many are desparate to find any work they can.
January 3, 2009
Oscar Guillen is diabetic, but he doesn't take any prescription medications. He doesn't even see a doctor.
Since he was laid off from his job six months ago, items such as health care have become luxuries his family can no longer afford.
"Everything is different now," said the 54-year-old. He had worked for 23 years at Quebecor World Inc., an international printing company with a plant in Merced. "It's a really scary feeling -- not having any security. It's really emotional, and it affects every aspect of your life."
These days, Guillen's plight is anything but rare. Amid a worldwide economic downturn, companies across the United States are looking to layoffs as a means to stay afloat. Employers in Merced County are no exception. Comprehensive, countywide statistics don't exist, but it's safe to say that dozens of local employers have laid off thousands of workers as Merced's economy has slid with the rest of the nation's into recession.
"We haven't seen anything like this in a very long time," said Joanne Presnell, assistant director of the county's Workforce Investment Department, which provides free help for local job seekers. WID itself announced plans to lay off a handful of employees this year.
"A lot of people have lost their jobs," Presnell added. "And unfortunately we're seeing fewer and fewer places for them to go."
Besides the closings of several big retail stores in Merced, among them Circuit City, Linens 'n Things and Mervyn's, countless smaller local businesses have shut their doors in recent months. And many more employers -- from title companies and construction businesses to manufacturers and marketing firms -- have downsized to stay open.
"It's so hard to tell someone they don't have a job anymore, but there's times when that's the only option," said Paul Singer, a vice president at Malibu Boats, which has shed roughly 45 employees in Merced this year, or about a sixth of its local work force. "We're like a family, so it's real tough. All you can do is hope you can hire them back when things turn around."
Other employers, including Quebecor, have dropped workers in Merced for cheaper labor outside the U.S.
Guillen said every day has been a struggle since the company laid him off in July. He lives in Merced with his son, daughter-in-law and seven grandchildren. His son also has been searching for a job for months, also with no success.
The entire family lives on Guillen's unemployment aid. Their house is in foreclosure, they've cut back to sharing one car and their food budget is a fraction of what it used to be.
"At this point we're in survival mode," Guillen said.
No government agencies comprehensively track layoffs in California, but the state's Employment Development Department keeps some relevant data. It tracks what it calls mass layoffs, or any layoff that involves 50 or more people dropped by one employer for at least 30 days, not including agriculture and government jobs.
In the first nine months of 2008, the latest period for which the EDD could provide data, it recorded three mass layoffs that affected a total of 357 workers in Merced County.
Several more mass layoffs have been announced since that period, among them the Mervyn's, Circuit City and Linens 'n Things closings.
"When we get everything totaled for '08, the (layoff) numbers will certainly be bigger than last year," said Patti Roberts, a spokeswoman for the EDD. In all of 2007, Merced County saw five mass layoffs affecting 503 workers.
Perhaps more telling is the number of people in Merced County filing unemployment insurance claims for the first time: 4,600 in November alone, up from 3,600 in November 2007.
The county's unemployment rate was 13.3 percent in November, compared with the year-ago rate of 10.1 percent.
Presnell, of the county's Workforce Investment Department, said demand for all of her agency's services has skyrocketed.
Besides job skills training, listings of openings, career planning and resume help, WID provides on-site "rapid response workshops" at companies that have announced layoffs. They include information about adjusting to getting a pink slip, applying for unemployment and resources for job seekers.
Between July and October, the department gave more rapid response workshops than it did in all of 2007, Presnell said.
"Being laid off can be a really big blow," she said. "It's a huge adjustment, and not just financially. It can be very emotional."
The last few months have been an especially difficult time to lose a job, Presnell added. As more and more laid-off workers have entered Merced's job market, the competition has become stiffer. What's more, she said, her agency is seeing far fewer positions posted on its job boards lately: "Even if a company has managed to avoid layoffs, that doesn't mean they're going to be hiring at all normally. A lot of them are holding off." Only a few industries, such as health care, are growing right now, she said.
Marylene Riley, who also was laid off from Quebecor, has been living that reality every day since July 16, when she was given one hour's notice that she was out of a job. The 53-year-old said she's applied for at least 20 positions since then and hasn't gotten one interview.
"It's very frustrating," she sighed. "It's so hard to get motivated when you know the odds are so bad, especially when you're competing against the younger generations. A lot of the time I just want to give up."
Guillen is in the same place. He's applied for dozens of jobs in every field he thinks might consider him, and for jobs out of state. "I get the same response every time," he said. "'We're not hiring because we're laying people off.'
"I'm trying to stay hopeful, but it's hard. It's hard to think about where we might be a few months from now."
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