WWYD: Company buyout - Cut and run?

welly01

My company just announced this week that we've sold most of our largest assets to a large corporation.  We have been told most of the employees will be moved to the new company in their same position.  I've been at this company for 6 months and dread the thought of job searching again so soon.  Although they have assured us that no one will lose their job, I have little faith in that statement long-term.

Has anyone experience a buyout/merger?  I feel like I should start my job search now and leave if I find a position that I want.  On the other hand, the new company would be a great place to work, I'm just not sure they are planning to keep an office where I am located.  What would you do?  Stay and see what happens or begin your job search now and leave if something better comes along?

djm31012

i dont think it ever hurts to talk to recruiters and see what is out there. keep your options open and in the meantime you will be getting more clarity on what the new entity would look like. i have been thru the merger of 2 very large companies....I am still here, but there were major layoffs (probably 3 rounds in the first year of integration) and many lost their jobs.

jf198400

I would start looking now. Either work with a recruiter or include a cover letter to explain why you are looking to change jobs again so soon. I just went through this too. I was with my company for 8months when we were sold. The merger did not go well. They totally changed our culture and rumor was the company would be moving to a new location that would increase my commute by amount 45mins each way. Then all the best employees started leaving. I got the heck out of there fast. My goal was to leave by summer (when they planned to move) but the perfect job came up quickly and I started last week.

Best of luck to you, it's a tough situation.

aglenn

I think you have to play both sides of that one.  Start networking, talk to some recruiters, and be honest that you aren't sure what is going to happen and are trying to get some feelers out there.  I have been through a merger where I thought for sure they would eliminate my job at my location because it made no sense to have it there, but in the end they kept my team.  Then I turned around and left a couple of years later because I just couldn't deal with the culture and senior management team, etc.  So my point is that there is no predicting what may or may not happen in the short-term or the long-term, but it's best to go ahead and start looking at all your options because if you were suddenly competing with all your colleagues for other positions it will help to be a bit ahead of the game.