Black Wednesday

Well, it's official. It was announced that McDonald Financial Group was purchased by UBS this morning. I actually got the heads up this weekend but could not say anything till it was officially announced to the media and employees today. We had our operations meeting this morning at 8:45. Those that were not in the office were called by their managers to call dial into the meeting. Many questions were asked by employees with few answers to be given by the head of operations and HR at this time. They explained to us that right now it is a wait and see game. The deal is finalized but the odds and ends regarding who will have jobs and who will not is still being examined and analyzed. I talked with many people in my department and outside and after examining what we do and how it affects the brokerage and bank side, I believe our department will be let go. The plus side is that we will not be let go until end of January and there will be some sort of severance package and extension of benefits (although mine will be short because I have only been here 2 1/2 years).

However, I must say that I consider myself to be lucky. Not much is getting done around here because most are still in shock (even though the rumors have been circulating for a few weeks)but after listening to many talk I do feel like I am in a better position than most. I do not have a family or child on the way (like some of my co-worker friends do). Also, I am pretty young so hopefully that is a plus for the job market. In addition, I do have a part-time teaching gig at the college with some additional hours that I can pick up at the campus writing center. Not near the financial security that I have here but if need be, I will take it.

I know many of you know that I have been pretty grumpy considering my job recently. My attitude has been crappy due to department changes. However, I do love the people in my department. It is no secret that I have been applying and interviewing to other institutions for the past few months but I also felt a sense of security because if those options did not work out I could still stay here at McDonald. Now that has been stripped away. I, like I am guessing many, felt better when I had the choice to walk away from this place instead of it walking away from me under the UBS name. We shall see what the future holds...