MovieChat Forums > The Company Men (2011) Discussion > Savings

Savings

posted 14 years ago by mtoscan
5 replies | jump to latest

Just to understand... nobody in US saves money before retirement? How could a highly paid professional who is fired at 60 not have enough money to just let go and retire before his time? From what I understand the guy who commits suicide had a very high rank in the company, he should have had at least a million USD in shares, houses, cars and whatever. Also Ben Affleck, didn't he save ANYTHING for him? He just spent everything to the last cent in a way 3 months are enough to lose everything?
I can understand him, he was relatively young, but the other two, they should have saved huge sums of money, enough to travel the world for the rest of their lives drinking cocktails and eating seafood.
I earn about 20k a year and struggle to pay rent and food, but also have some spare money for gadgets and even manage to save some money for a retirement plan. These guys are getting ten times that salary, if not more. Why they still keep looking for a job at 60???

[–] rob_sawyer 13 years ago

Phil (the character who committed suicide) still had a daughter in college (Brown, definitely not cheap).

But yes, he had been with them for a long timne, was pretty high up (overall sales manager?) and would likely have received the proportional severance package (one week of salary for every year). He also would likley have had stock, a 401K, etc. But I think one of the points that the movie was trying to make was how many of these apprently very successful execs live incredibly close to the edge with no real cushion if they stumble.

Plus, the outplacment lady basically told him that at nearly 60 he was, basically, unemployable and he was getting absolutely zero support from his wife. God forbid he comes home in the afternoon lest the neighbors find out he has lost his job.

[–] eastcoastguyz 13 years ago

That outplacement stuff was a joke. Telling someone they can't be hired simply because of age is not productive. I worked at a company where one fellow retired as a VP from another company and came to apply at our company as an office manager. A very low level job compared to his work history. He did it simply because he wanted to continue to work. I remember the meeting after everyone else was interviewed the position, the interviewer said "He's the best one for this job, the problem is he was a VP at his last one. Don't know why he wants it." So the hiring manager talked to him and ended up hiring the guy. He worked out great too.

I didn't see the point of them working at a desk in an outplacement office looking for a job. They could do that from home. All they needed was a computer and access to the internet. Beyond the possible help with a resume, it looked pretty pointless.

[–] planetmutty 13 years ago

Phil should have been better placed than he was. He had been earning a high salary for years, probably had stock options and received annual bonuses. He probably got a substantial severance pay and probably had a pension fund or something similar. But he seemed to live from payday to payday with little thought for tomorrow. Which was why he couldn't afford to go and lie on the *beep* beach when Salinger suggested it.

It wasn't Salinger's responsibility to make him rich, merely to pay him a salary for work contributed. Since he started on the factory floor, he most likely felt a sense of being disconnected when he lost his job. GTX was probably his only job and to find job # 2 at his age is a tough thing to go through.

It didn't help, of course, that his stupid wife was no help and more concerned about appearances. Phil was weak though and really should have told her to get stuffed and gone home anyway. Still, even if he did that, it's unlikely she would have offered much moral support anyway.

Eastcoatguyz - I was retrenched a few years back (along with about 15 of my co-workers) and we were given access to an outplacement service. It had all the things you mention and not much more. So apart from helping me with my resume, they couldn't do much, and certainly couldn't guarantee me employment. However, I still went in every second day as much for the social aspect in being able to interact with the others who had been sacked at the same time, and the discipline of heading off somewhere to do what had to be done. A rather tenuous benefit, I admit.

When I said I wanted to be a comedian, they all laughed at me. Well, they're not laughing now!

[–] callagal 13 years ago

Hey mtoscan, how about saying something if you are telling spoilers?

[–] kidzbpq 12 years ago

Thanks for the spoilers.