I better stop bitching!

To think I did all kinds of bitching and finally got three supervisors to sit in a room together and discuss what they could do to resolve a problem I have been complaining about for 5 years.
Guess I will be the first one to hit the payment hard.
Below is a small part of an email we all received.


Employees suggested that we offer a retirement incentive program, and that we ask employees to consider reducing hours in areas where we may decide to reduce levels of service. We recognize that this is not always feasible for a department or for an employee.By the deadline last week, more than 70 employees had chosen to participate in the new retirement incentive program. Although we will regret the loss of these long-time employees and their institutional knowledge, these retirements will help us meet our budgetary goals, to the extent that some of these open positions will not be filled, or will become available to internal candidates.Some employees have spoken with their managers about their own desire for a reduction in hours. The College will help employees who do reduce hours to adjust to the increased health insurance costs associated with that change.The retirement incentive and reduction-in-hours programs, as well as the freeze on external hiring, are all designed to minimize the potential layoffs needed to reduce compensation expenses. However, despite our best efforts, we have come to the conclusion that, unfortunately, some staff layoffs are inevitable. We recognize that job loss, and, in some cases, a reduction in hours, will cause economic hardship. We are developing a benefits program for the employees who will be directly affected, to try to ease the difficulty many will face through this transition. We also recognize that as a major employer in this region, we have a responsibility to consider the impact our plans may have on surrounding communities.As we prepare our plans for budget reductions, we continue to work closely with the College Budget Committee, which includes our vice presidents, as well as the Faculty Committee on Priorities, and the Student Budget Advisory Committee. We are now engaged in analyzing the impacts of proposed reductions made by division and department heads. We are tallying the savings from retirements and deferred building plans. We also are evaluating the size of our salary pool and whether or not we will be able to increase compensation.