“Laying off older workers, legally” (Page 1, Dec. 8) was very interesting. It seems judges around the country are publicly proclaiming that the almighty dollar really is more important than a person and that companies are justified in laying off higher-paid workers to cut expenses and increase profits.
Thomas Geoghegan, a Chicago labor attorney, is quoted as saying, “It’s now the public policy of the United States to protect civil rights except to the extent that it interferes with the priority of driving wages down.”
I believe this all began when some years ago the Personnel Department became Human Resources. To me, Personnel meant people interacting with each other and with their employer. Human Resources, on the other hand, puts people on a shelf with the scratch pads and other supplies in the storeroom, to be taken down, used and tossed out when no longer economically viable.
Will there be loyal, hardworking, productive employees in the future when it is understood their worth to a company depends on how costly it is to keep them on the payroll?
No mention is made of cutting the multimillion-dollar salaries of some CEOs who, when they do leave a corporation, enjoy a golden parachute that sets them up for life.
