Getting laid off? Serious answers please for 10pts?

What are the basics a company thinks for laying off a person?

Obviously the costs are the main reason for the lay off, but when you have 4 hard working people and one of them has to get laid off, what will they base themselves on to lay that person off?

Who's paid the most?
Who's been here the longest?
The youngest?
The one in charge of three departments (with no help and measly salary)
The one with no family to care for?
The women
The men
The one doing the same job as the other

Our company is laying one of us, and i'm dreading it soo much, i'm starting to find ways to determine who will go!!!
Additional Details
To Dadson38:
I am the youngest in my department and probably the cheapest. I am the only one that fluently speaks English, Spanish and German. I have control of 2 departments (no assistants) and help out in the main department all for the price of one. (we've already had pay cuts). I've also done major projects for the CEO of the company successfully.
The other 3 all work in the main department and 2 of them have the same job. One is 50 and the other is 28. They're both men and have families. The youngest one, again is more vibrant and out going than the oldest one.
The other lady is 50 too and she never gets involved w/ anything, she's very stoic and just does secretarial work in the main dept.
I'm the only one w/o a family, which is the only thing i have going against me.
Please email me if you have anything further to tell me about that
fav.tinsley@gmail.com

SECRETS

Thank you for asking this question because different companies have different game plans when it comes to lay offs. I was in a V.P. role in a major corporation and what I am about to tell you will curl your toes. We had to lay off 5 members in a 15 man department. Here is where we laid emphasis.
1. Could an employee making lesser money fill the void of some of the higher paid members of this team?
2. I will deny in a court of law that I said this but we also looked at age of the individual especially if they were having higher medical bills that the company compensated for - 2 big No, No's that could put us in hot water with age and health discrimination, but this is what goes on behind closed doors.
3. We did take into consideration if the person had a family, but if a single person was working their tails off then all bets were off. We are a business not a charity foundation.
4. We had legal council who worded the dismissal/layoff in couched terms so that nobody could claim item #2.(Discrimination based on age &/or health.
5. Male or female made no difference as long as they were giving stellar performances.
6. We looked closely at attendance, tardiness, and problems meeting set deadlines.
7. You never read that I wrote this, but sometimes a pleasant coworker catches the hearts of the higher level administration vs. a pain in the butt.
8. I , may have already told you this but we like youth that produce vs mature that produce- which basically goes back to salary paid and longevity still ahead.
9. A bad performance review of any nature makes its way to the table when layoffs are in the forecast.
10. Last but by all means not least we get head hunters who drop into the department unannounced to get a feel for who is working and who is just putting in time or climbing on the backs of younger underlings to take the credit for a projectt that they did not devise. These low lifes are in every company and they take the credit of very hard working indiviuals who put sweat and blood into a problem solving or implementation project.
11. You may be blind sided by given a task to see how creative your juices are flowing and how fast you resolve the task. We call this the ultimate tie breaker when we are having problems arriving at that critical decision to lay off one of our staff.

So in summation let me say we will be looking for the youngest, most creative person to keep on staff while retaining them at the lower salary and the factors that weigh heavy are health problems, past job performance reviews, congeniality in working with others, and yes personal favorites of the upper echelon. Keep sick leave and tardiness to as close to zero as possible and as I mentioned don't make waves- try to solve wave problems. Many employers now keep a log of calls coming in so if your children are calling all the time or other staff see you talking on the cell phone that adds a link in your dismissal chain. I apologize that it sounds so brutal and cut throat but major corporations will not tolerate certain things. The economy forecast is abysmal so companies will trim the fat anywhere and everywhere they can. Don't think for one second that there are no spys within your group who talk to the CEO or VP about a colleague especially if it casts a negative image on the people who sign their paycheck. Try to stand out in some unusual way that gets you noticed and brings positive images to the board when making a decision to lay off. Keeping informed on the latest trends will astound and set you apart from the flock. I sincerely hope that you are not the one to get the ax because you sound very conscientious in trying to do a good job to please your employer. Good luck.

The London Eve

The decision should be based on who contributes the least to the company. This could be the least ideas, the least effort, the least passion, the least skills or the least vision. Hopefully it would not be based on some of the qualities you mentioned above as this could result in legal action!

Seriously, you have to take control of the situation. Do not stand around waiting for the axe to fall. Look around for another job that suits your skills and attributes. So 'if' the axe falls on you, you have a contingency plan in place i.e. a plan B.

Good luck and I am sure you will be fine.

The helper

well, if u already don't know the person that is sleeping with the boss will not be immediately laid off so if this is you , you have a very good chance of keeping your job. =]

Sincerely,
Helper guy

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