AM I NEXT? IS THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL AT CAPITAL ONE OR DICOVER

Capital One & Discover Merger: What It Could Mean for Employees

With the proposed McLean, Virginia-based Capital One and Riverwoods, Illinois-based Discover merger making headlines, it's important for employees to stay informed.

A major driver behind mergers like this is cost savings, often achieved through streamlining operations, consolidating departments, and increasing efficiency. While this can strengthen the combined company’s competitive edge, it can also lead to workforce reductions in overlapping areas.

As with any large-scale merger, structural organization changes and the potential elimination of duplicative functions are key considerations. These shifts can impact roles, responsibilities, and overall job security. Staying proactive, informed, and adaptable will be critical in navigating the transition.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

NO LOVE AT ROCKWELL-COLLINS

Rockwell Collins, a military/aerospace supplier based in Cedars Rapid, Iowa and acquired by United Technologies for $23 billion has embarked on a cost-reduction restructuring plan that will see its Tucson aircraft seating company shuttered with more than 400 employees laid off. Any remaining operations will be transferred to other company locations. Reduced demand for high-quality luxury aircraft seating is being cited for the restructuring.

Additionally, approximately 130 people will be laid off at their Winston-Salem, North Carolina seat assembly facility and some of the operations in its aftermarket services division, including manufacturing, assembly and spares support will be outsourced to a facility in the Philippines.

Some of the people in the Winston-Salem layoff program will have contractual union “bumping privileges” and be allowed to replace less tenured employees in remaining positions. An additional 32 engineering, program management, and product support positions will be transferred from the company’s Tucson, Arizona location to the Winston-Salem facility. 

Parent company, United Technologies was quick to point out that this is not your typical “jobs reduction story,” but simply a realignment of capabilities, capacity, and demand.

Are you asking yourself, Am I Next?