HELP! BT Relocation from NYC to NJ with NO Package Offered

Quote

Anonymous

Guest
I live in NYC without a car, as most do here.

Earlier this week and I was told that my job was being moved to Peapack, NJ. This office is not nearly as accessible as Madison, NJ and requires commuting by car (train and bus not practical/offered). My boss told me are only offering me a $400/month commutation assistance and that I should consider buying a car. A car in New York is not practical and with gas, insurance, and parking, I would be paying well over $2,500/month. Basically, this relocation would cost me over $25,000/month.

More importantly, there is literally no reason for me to relocate to New Jersey. I've been doing solid work (was just awarded an Individual Performance Award two weeks ago, had a meets expectations rating (which was an 'exceeds' but it got normalized), and I was already commuting out there 1-2 days/week as is without even seeing my boss.

A couple teammates of mine do the reverse commute (Peapack to NYC) and another who comes from Collegeville, PA (legacy-Wyeth) and stays in a NYC hotel once or twice a week. Most of the team of ~25 is based in New York, roughly 80%.

Finally, I was told when I took this job that I would have a position in New York or the package: there would be no other position for me. My boss said that he and one other colleague would be based in NJ, but I could stay in NYC and it would be good because most of the rest of the team is also there.

I spoke with HR, but my boss got to them first. They came back with "Peapack is only 46 miles from the office and the policy is 50" so we're not offering any relocation. I was also not offered even the now 40% lower severance package because I am so disgruntled now that I want out.

HELP. I don't want to leave the company, but I am being forced to act. I would like to know what, if any, legal right I have to either the severance and/or relocation and what I can do about it.

TIA
 


Hey, I'm genuinely sorry for you and don't mean to sound heartless, but you have no recourse. It's employment at will, baby, and that pretty much always works in the corporation's favor. You basically need to decide if you want to stay in New York and work for another company or stay with Pfizer and work in New Jersey.

The company -- note I didn't say anything about a person -- never guaranteed your job would continue to exist, let alone continue to exist in New York. It sure as hell is not in your employment agreement with Pfizer.

And incidentally, those awards mean exactly NOTHING. It's often a bone thrown to those who are about to be soundly screwed.
 


Dude, Boo-Hoo.... You live in New York City..... Pick another subway stop and find a job if you do not want to commute and disrupt your live-style. It's not that tough to figure out!
 


Anonymous said:
Hey, I'm genuinely sorry for you and don't mean to sound heartless, but you have no recourse. It's employment at will, baby, and that pretty much always works in the corporation's favor. You basically need to decide if you want to stay in New York and work for another company or stay with Pfizer and work in New Jersey.

The company -- note I didn't say anything about a person -- never guaranteed your job would continue to exist, let alone continue to exist in New York. It sure as hell is not in your employment agreement with Pfizer.
Click to expand...

Yes, but if severance packages were offered for those previously dislocated by the same distance and/or he/she was previously promised on, he/she has a case and Pfizer will likely settle: http://www.gangemilaw.com/lawyer-attorney-380C5AEC-A63A-47D6-A399F8DCA4188684.html

If I recall correctly, last year as part of the move of Animal Health to Madison, Pfizer offered packages to all NY-based colleagues who did not wish to relocate. This was the same for those in Specialty although Specialty was > 50 mile distance to Collegeville.
 






Folks, those are helpful legal links, but they're about severance, not relocation and do not apply to this person's case. The job isn't going away and this person is not being fired; it's just moving it to Jersey. Thousands of people make that commute every day, so it would be a pretty weak argument to say it's not doable.

So, the job is not eliminated, and PFE doesn't have offer to severance or relo. If I were the OP, I'd be taking a damn big hint here. If they really want to keep you, Pfizer will negotiate. Either the job has a limited life span regardless of who's in it, or they're just not that into you.

Sure, you can get a lawyer involved -- have fun with that. Have you ever met anybody from the PFE Employment Law Group? They would eat you alive for simple entertainment. Dealing with these sons of bitches is not amateur hour. Challenging is do-able, but you had better have one hell of a strong case. Disliking the commute is not strong.

On top of that, where would you be when you were done, even if you got your way? You would be the person who pissed off your leadership over not commuting. Can't you just hear the behind doors conversation? "...not exactly a team player...doesn't see the bigger picture...won't do what's best for Pfizer..." C'mon, you were smart enough to get the job, I'm sure you're smart enough to understand that.

Make the commute, or MOVE ON. Wake up and smell the Lipitor, buddy.
 




Not for nothing dude, but 400 bucks a month is generous. As someone who lives in NJ and works in NY I put out about 400 bucks a month in commuting costs - and I don't get that reimbursed.

I appreciate that your job changed, and that blows...but you're in a work at will situation.

Think things through and I'm sure you'll find a solution - perhaps a colleague from NJ area could pick you up from the train in the AM or something? I know that when I have occasion to work in Collegeville, I do get picked up by a colleague there, rather than driving it...

Best of luck

Anonymous said:
I live in NYC without a car, as most do here.

Earlier this week and I was told that my job was being moved to Peapack, NJ. This office is not nearly as accessible as Madison, NJ and requires commuting by car (train and bus not practical/offered). My boss told me are only offering me a $400/month commutation assistance and that I should consider buying a car. A car in New York is not practical and with gas, insurance, and parking, I would be paying well over $2,500/month. Basically, this relocation would cost me over $25,000/month.

More importantly, there is literally no reason for me to relocate to New Jersey. I've been doing solid work (was just awarded an Individual Performance Award two weeks ago, had a meets expectations rating (which was an 'exceeds' but it got normalized), and I was already commuting out there 1-2 days/week as is without even seeing my boss.

A couple teammates of mine do the reverse commute (Peapack to NYC) and another who comes from Collegeville, PA (legacy-Wyeth) and stays in a NYC hotel once or twice a week. Most of the team of ~25 is based in New York, roughly 80%.

Finally, I was told when I took this job that I would have a position in New York or the package: there would be no other position for me. My boss said that he and one other colleague would be based in NJ, but I could stay in NYC and it would be good because most of the rest of the team is also there.

I spoke with HR, but my boss got to them first. They came back with "Peapack is only 46 miles from the office and the policy is 50" so we're not offering any relocation. I was also not offered even the now 40% lower severance package because I am so disgruntled now that I want out.

HELP. I don't want to leave the company, but I am being forced to act. I would like to know what, if any, legal right I have to either the severance and/or relocation and what I can do about it.

TIA
Click to expand...
 


Thanks for the advice here, guys.

Apparently there isn't much I can do expect suck it up.

It's a double-standard though since they're currently paying at least $400/week (4x that amount) for CV folks to travel to NYC.

Definitely not the company it used to be and one in which I will now be actively looking to leave.
 




Anonymous said:
Another Pfizer whiner. I can't wait until the rest of you are gone. Collegeville will be the center of technology. Get use to it !!!
Click to expand...

Yes, Collegeville will be the center of technology...until it's all outsourced.

Principal Rooney needs to wake up. Sure, Pfizer IT was incredibly bloated, but when you cut some of the good MBA meat with the fat to the technology bone, you essentially have made yourself a commodity capable of being outsourced.

Pfizer IT = fat, bloated, but with some incredibly talented leaders
Wyeth IT = purely technical, very local, with many managers

Wyzer IT = chaotic, culturally disconnected, with no upward potential

Yeah, the OP maybe whining, but he/she has a case.
 


Anonymous said:
Another Pfizer whiner. I can't wait until the rest of you are gone. Collegeville will be the center of technology. Get use to it !!!
Click to expand...

Collegeville the center of technology. What a joke. Only datacenters run by outsourced providers will survive. What company wants to run a datacenter today? It's a budget burner. Don't be surprised if Collegeville is closed in 18-24 months because there are a number of very large (200,000+ square feet) datacenters popping up all over the world and with that much commodity the centers can lease out space at a price that is much cheaper than owning.

I just helped a very large pharma organization move from their own datacenter to a leased, outsourced datacenter. The cost savings $10M per year. Not to hurt anyone's feelings, but this company didn't want to pay datacenter operators and tape junkies, let alone the tax cost on the land. They would rather just pay a single price that is budgetable and not have the variable costs.

This is a service world we live in folks, you buy services but you don't own them.
 


Anonymous said:
Collegeville the center of technology. What a joke. Only datacenters run by outsourced providers will survive. What company wants to run a datacenter today? It's a budget burner. Don't be surprised if Collegeville is closed in 18-24 months because there are a number of very large (200,000+ square feet) datacenters popping up all over the world and with that much commodity the centers can lease out space at a price that is much cheaper than owning.

I just helped a very large pharma organization move from their own datacenter to a leased, outsourced datacenter. The cost savings $10M per year. Not to hurt anyone's feelings, but this company didn't want to pay datacenter operators and tape junkies, let alone the tax cost on the land. They would rather just pay a single price that is budgetable and not have the variable costs.

This is a service world we live in folks, you buy services but you don't own them.
Click to expand...

It is clear that so kong as Jeffie is CIO, cuts to BT in PA will be rare. He plays favorites to an almost litigatable level
 



Write your reply...
Top Bottom
Back
Quote