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Background: I was looking for a different job as commuting 2h a day was just to much for me.

I got an offer from another company in my hometown, signed that, resigned my old job.

On the new job I'll earn way less but I don't have to travel to work anymore, fine for me.

Today, first day one the new job: "You're fired, we outsourced your position".

They already arranged for me to work on a new company (the outsourced one). Ironically they operate on the same area where my old job was.

In conclusion I now have a new job with worse payment and the same amount of commuting.

Commuting was the original reason I've quit, a normal 50h week becomes a 62h monster with it.

I have no clue how to handle this. I'm well aware that the new company is doing me a favour by just taking me, I'm aware that hating on the company who fired me is stupid (not their fault and wouldn't help anyways).

I'm also aware that they are allowed by law to do so (best I could get would be 1 week notice).

Commuting is destroing my health. Commuting to the same area of my old job, now with less pay is destroying my morale.

They intend to open an office in my town at a certain point (nobody can guarantee anything).

Going back to my old employee is impossible as everyone is very happy with my successor, I've trained him very well.

I'm not angry, I'm not sad, I'm just looking for some advice as I have no clue how to proceed. This attributes lead to a work day of 12h. In best case and if our public transport has no cancellations as always.

How can I handle this situation? What would be the best way to do? Quit and hoping to find another job?

Many people recommand me not to do so, but I think it looks way better in your CV "couldn't work there because we moved the office" than "quit after 2 months of underperforming"

EDIT: I refused the new opportunity as it would be a bad deal for me and the other employer. I won't be able to reach the goals, mine or theirs with that commute and their additional work shifts. I won't be able to pretend I like the company bcs. of the circumstances.

EDIT2: Had a talk with a lawyer. De facto in Switzerland you are allowed to fire someone without any reason with a notice of one week in the first three months. (Same you as employee can quit with one week notice in the first three months). We would need to prove that they knew beforehand that my job doesn't exists anymore which would be way to complicated to document.

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  • 6
    I would still check with your old employer. Having trained your successor really well is a positive.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Commented Jul 3, 2017 at 20:22
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    What harm would be done by asking?
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Commented Jul 3, 2017 at 20:31
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    By the way, it is objectively this company's fault that they outsourced a position they just hired you for. The least they could have done was tell you since you don't typically outsource entire departments/services overnight. What they actually should have done is not make a hire when they knew they'd be removing the position. But none of that helps you and of course you're right that hating them wouldn't be productive, even if it's certainly justified.
    – Lilienthal ♦
    Commented Jul 3, 2017 at 21:05
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    Is moving closer to your job an option? Otherwise, are there any jobs close to where you live? Those seem to be your only viable options.
    – Seth R
    Commented Jul 3, 2017 at 21:16
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    They can call it "firing and outsourcing" or whatever they like, but this sounds like a bait-and-switch scheme, which'd seem like fraud. To me, it sounds like they acted in poor faith, resulting in your decision to leave your prior job and make other arrangements for a position that they don't appear to have intended to actually give you. Which country are you from? Even if you go back to your old job (may be a good call), you've lost some money in the process - it seems plausible that a small claims court might find them liable for those damages.
    – Nat
    Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 6:31

3 Answers 3

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Seems to me the obvious thing to do is to start looking for a new job again. I have no idea what the job market is like in your area and your field. But if you were just looking for a job, you may get calls from other places where you had feelers out. If not, hey, at least you have a current resume and some recent practice interviewing.

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You just went through the job application process so you might be in a better-than-usual position to assess how difficult it would be to obtain another position in your desired location/hometown. (Maybe there were even places that you had already started conversations with.)

It sounds like you're committed to finding something in that locale, so going back to your old place doesn't make sense since you don't want to work there. (It's quite possible they would rehire you; the reason they wouldn't is less happiness with your successor and more that both you and they expect you to quit as soon as you find something with a shorter commute.) If it's very challenging for you to find suitable work, maybe you could reach an agreement that made sense for both of you.

I think it looks way better in your CV "couldn't work there because we moved the office" than "quit after 2 months of underperforming"

Is there really a difference here? Any place you speak with will want to know why the rapid transition; the answer in both cases is more or less in the question here: you were looking for a position closer to where you live, and you're only there a couple of months because the company you joined pulled the rug out from underneath you on day one.

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  • there is a difference, if I'm fired on the first day because the job doesn't exists anymore or after two months of underperforming anyone from HR would prefer the first one, especially if the company confirms that its not my fault.
    – Swizzler
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 14:59
  • Context matters. If the first day you showed up the responsibilities changed to digging graves and you were fired after two months for underperforming, I wouldn't expect future employers to be too concerned about that unless you were applying to be a gravedigger. The point isn't to do a bad job, it's that doing a mediocre job because you're job-hunting in your first weeks at the company isn't really a long-term problem in this case.
    – cohoz
    Commented Jul 16, 2017 at 12:09
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Since you are now traveling back to where your old job was, you should ask if there is anything that they need done. Even if it's contract work for the time being while you look for another job would be worth it since you have experience for that company. You could explain to them that your new job didn't pan out like you thought it would have since they outsourced the jobs. This is one avenue you could explore, but they may not go for it since you made a case to not commute.

If there aren't any jobs near where you live, have you explored the option of learning a new skill set and attempting another career path so you don't have to commute as far? For the time being you could go to your new job (or your old one) and during the commute learn something else by reading or watching videos on a mobile device.

I would advise against quitting your new job unless your old company/job took you back and you think the bridge wasn't too burnt. (Although since you have made your case of not wanting to commute, they would most likely know it's not permanent.) You can also look for other jobs during your commute to see if anything that is closer to you will be better.

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