We were brought here under false pretenses, packed up everything and left our home, then found out that my husband was only on a two week trial. No-one bothered to tell us that my high-tech software geek of a husband who I dearly love was on the chopping block in two weeks. He didn’t know then, went on and was hired full-time but that soured us on the people who brought us in when all of his buddies commiserated.
Nearly three years later he was part of 1/4 of the IT staff that got canned nearly a month ago. Keep trying to get companies in here, Utah. Keep trying to get talent from other states and countries. But you let these companies hire then fire hordes of people and do nothing to keep talented, especially IT, people around for the other companies you’re bringing in. That’s a big mistake. Bring me in and I’ll tell you why.
You promise low taxes and all kinds of building subsidies but when companies have mass layoffs what do you do? Deny unemployment for those who never took a week of vacation in three years because they were too busy on a project. My husband and I have never taken more than two long weekends per year over three years and he even took the overnight shift for the holiday week last year, only to be fired the second day back.
Why the second day? Because the first day the chairman of the company waited for his minions to come up with a list of people to let go while he cashed in over $3 million in stock before it tanked as the layoffs were announced.
There are many talented people in UT who’ve been laid off and need work. No-one in Utah wants to help us stay here and now we’re being penalized for never taking a vacation. Even a little bit of what we’ve put in over many years would help now but we’re denied so we will have to leave the state and the income we bring to the state every year will go as well.
Also, you’re after us right now because of an error on our taxes and demanding payment immediately, nearly our entire refund from 2009, right after the layoff, Up ’til now I thought living in Utah was a blessing, now I’m thinking of it as a curse.
Sometimes in troubled times, a government has to look at other than bringing in business, and consider retaining talent. We are mobile, love it here but will go elsewhere in a heartbeat. You don’t know what you’re losing as your businesses decline and lay off many talented people. Not cheerily, Dee
Cooking with Dee 