An Open Letter to The Laid Off Sumitomo Employees

For those of you who recently were let go from Sumitomo Rubber, we all feel for you. Over 1,500 people were Thanos snapped into unemployment when the company suddenly shut it all down. It's a massive hit to the Western New York economy, but more importantly to the individuals and families affected.

Layoffs are never convenient. I've been laid off suddenly and out of nowhere myself. It's scary and stressful, but I've learned some things from being laid off that I wanted to share with you all. Not because I understand your situation—I don't—but because I believe this advice is practical for anyone who gets laid off.

It's all going to be OK. All of you are skilled and in demand. When I was laid off, I was given this advice, and it helped me a lot.

Here are 3 bits of advice:

1. As stupid as it may sound, don't panic. Mostly because it won't help, but also because you are going to get a new job. All of you are skilled and in demand right here in WNY. It will just take time. Your new job right now is looking for a new one—more on that in a second—but take time to figure out the job market and your options. Network and be as patient as possible.

2. Get that unemployment. You've been paying into the system your entire life. Go to the New York State Department of Labor's website and apply for unemployment if you haven't already. Is it ideal? No, as it won't be what you were making. However, it's much better than nothing. Do NOT be too proud to take unemployment. Again, YOU already paid for this with your taxes. Get it.

3. Enjoy this Time. You're not going to want to hear this, but you have to trust me, especially if you've never been laid off before. There are very few times in your adult life that you don't have to get up and be somewhere, clock in, stay late, and bust your ass. So, enjoy the fact you don't have to. Yeah, you have to apply for jobs, and that's your new full-time gig for now, but there are only so many resumes and applications you can put out there in a day. Enjoy not having to show up at a job site right now because there are so few times in your adult life you're able to do that.

More advice...

The tricky thing to do is be patient, especially when it comes to money. Tell your credit cards you were laid off, and they'll put holds on payments. Same for car payments, mortgages, and utilities. They all often have programs where you can put off payments for at least a short amount of time. You have to call and tell them everything, though.

Remember, you did nothing wrong. All of the Sumitomo employees know that (or at least should), but for anyone laid off, you need to know you weren't fired, and there's a BIG difference between the two. It's stuff out of your control. All you can do is what we just discussed.

You'll all be OK. Happy to chat with you anytime: Pat@WBUF.com

Enjoy Josh Allen holding puppies. It's a nice distraction.