Blog Dis
The Last Supper
2024-11-26
I am given to weeping on rare occasions, not as a general rule, though there are emotional moments when I least expect it, that grab me by the throat, and I choke back tears. Granted, I admit to sentimentality, as women are so often accused of being by men, but within a work environment, I try to hold my feelings in check, to simply enjoy each and every moment.
So, the relevant question for me is where do you go for your last supper, if you're dining with colleagues to celebrate the end of employment for each one of you?
Our economists in Canada are forecasting that our small business industry will lose out when Mr. Trump steps into his seat of power come January, 2025. The impact of his policies will mean that our Canadian dollar will lose purchasing power, to get pounded into the ground, and may very well drop as low as 60 cents, which is to say, for every American dollar we buy, we'll pay $1.40 Cdn. This potential rate of exchange would be considered tres cher, as our Francophone population would exclaim. It will also mean that more Americans will travel into Canada knowing their dollar will buy them a lot more, but fewer Canadians will to travel to the USA, despite the many Canadians who head to Florida every season come the full throttle of winter.
Canadian manufacturers are no different than American manufacturers. Each wants to increase their bottom line, and if they have to move shop to another country, one that is across the pond, they'll happily do so knowing their profit margin will benefit. We see this occurring when companies off-shore elements of their business to a foreign market, sometimes in another continent, whose labour is less expensive than North America.
When I worked for an American data communications company, for easily over one decade, I saw how they had off-shored their parts manufacturing into China, and when parts were on backorder, their clients in the USA sought suppliers elsewhere, rather than wait for their American manufacturer to provide the product. Canada isn't immune to the loss of business, and when one of our biggest trading partners, come 2025, begins to review tariff structures between our mutual trade, the lesser trading partner is sure to suffer. It will translate into higher prices for Canadians where produce is concerned, for starters. Between our two countries, our largest exports are Energy: oil, natural gas, clean electricity, and uranium. We trade heavily in vehicles and machinery too, like nuclear reactors and boilers.
My goal isn't to incite worry or hatred in my country or toward our American neighbors, but this is a reality that is coming to us, sooner rather than later. And it could very well mean that some will lose their jobs, along with their colleagues; hence the title of this blog, The Last Supper. So, when I think of The Last Supper, I think of Italy and Leonardo da Vinci and Judas Iscariot betraying his beloved Jesus. There is subtext to Da Vinci's painting that speaks of idolatry by disciples and hero worship, and breaking bread and drinking wine. The mythology of this famous work was, sadly, forever tarnished by the book The Da Vinci Code, whose author hypothesized that Jesus' wife stood next to him at the last supper. Catholics are no doubt still laying curses at the feet of its author. But the intent of the Last Supper is simple: to rejoice in brethren love and to appreciate what we have, as opposed to what we forever want, or cannot have.
Every employee in a business is an asset, or is viewed as an asset, providing they continue to produce. As employees, we bring value to the business to whom we've devoted ourselves. I've worked in a professional environment for decades. I speak from experience when I talk about being an employee, and how I've come to comprehend the ways in which employees can be lost or acquired. There are three ways that come immediately to mind: Attrition, Acclimation and Assassination. When we lose employees thru attrition, this is the act of slowly reducing an individual's effectiveness thru sustained attack or pressure. The second is acclimation, when a voting process is the norm, such as in the case of a Board of Directors switching up their CEO every five years by casting votes. The third is the more diabolical method, assassination, which refers to the Machiavellian style of a new employee learning everything they can from a seasoned employee, after which the new employee plots to eliminate the seasoned employee from the company. Seems cruel? Why yes! There's nothing human or compassionate about this method, and it occurs far more frequently in the Corporate work environment than most want to admit. The unnamed fourth version is re-location, the intent of this post, when a company moves its headquarters or primary address of operations to a new country, and in the process will release all its current employees, to hire a new workforce according to their new host country's hiring policies.
When it comes to colleagues, I only want to be able to appreciate the people who've been part of my life for many years. Yet, when it comes to personal livelihood, finances, living within one's means, avoiding debt, to enjoy a simple life of pleasures, knowing there'll be pains that come along with living, I'd much rather avoid the potentiality of my dollar becoming weaker. If this was within my power to do so, I would. All of us will be impacted, but some more than others, such as those in long-term manufacturing roles.
If this describes you in the future, all I can encourage you to do is to enjoy your last supper to the fullest.
So, the relevant question for me is where do you go for your last supper, if you're dining with colleagues to celebrate the end of employment for each one of you?
Our economists in Canada are forecasting that our small business industry will lose out when Mr. Trump steps into his seat of power come January, 2025. The impact of his policies will mean that our Canadian dollar will lose purchasing power, to get pounded into the ground, and may very well drop as low as 60 cents, which is to say, for every American dollar we buy, we'll pay $1.40 Cdn. This potential rate of exchange would be considered tres cher, as our Francophone population would exclaim. It will also mean that more Americans will travel into Canada knowing their dollar will buy them a lot more, but fewer Canadians will to travel to the USA, despite the many Canadians who head to Florida every season come the full throttle of winter.
Canadian manufacturers are no different than American manufacturers. Each wants to increase their bottom line, and if they have to move shop to another country, one that is across the pond, they'll happily do so knowing their profit margin will benefit. We see this occurring when companies off-shore elements of their business to a foreign market, sometimes in another continent, whose labour is less expensive than North America.
When I worked for an American data communications company, for easily over one decade, I saw how they had off-shored their parts manufacturing into China, and when parts were on backorder, their clients in the USA sought suppliers elsewhere, rather than wait for their American manufacturer to provide the product. Canada isn't immune to the loss of business, and when one of our biggest trading partners, come 2025, begins to review tariff structures between our mutual trade, the lesser trading partner is sure to suffer. It will translate into higher prices for Canadians where produce is concerned, for starters. Between our two countries, our largest exports are Energy: oil, natural gas, clean electricity, and uranium. We trade heavily in vehicles and machinery too, like nuclear reactors and boilers.
My goal isn't to incite worry or hatred in my country or toward our American neighbors, but this is a reality that is coming to us, sooner rather than later. And it could very well mean that some will lose their jobs, along with their colleagues; hence the title of this blog, The Last Supper. So, when I think of The Last Supper, I think of Italy and Leonardo da Vinci and Judas Iscariot betraying his beloved Jesus. There is subtext to Da Vinci's painting that speaks of idolatry by disciples and hero worship, and breaking bread and drinking wine. The mythology of this famous work was, sadly, forever tarnished by the book The Da Vinci Code, whose author hypothesized that Jesus' wife stood next to him at the last supper. Catholics are no doubt still laying curses at the feet of its author. But the intent of the Last Supper is simple: to rejoice in brethren love and to appreciate what we have, as opposed to what we forever want, or cannot have.
Every employee in a business is an asset, or is viewed as an asset, providing they continue to produce. As employees, we bring value to the business to whom we've devoted ourselves. I've worked in a professional environment for decades. I speak from experience when I talk about being an employee, and how I've come to comprehend the ways in which employees can be lost or acquired. There are three ways that come immediately to mind: Attrition, Acclimation and Assassination. When we lose employees thru attrition, this is the act of slowly reducing an individual's effectiveness thru sustained attack or pressure. The second is acclimation, when a voting process is the norm, such as in the case of a Board of Directors switching up their CEO every five years by casting votes. The third is the more diabolical method, assassination, which refers to the Machiavellian style of a new employee learning everything they can from a seasoned employee, after which the new employee plots to eliminate the seasoned employee from the company. Seems cruel? Why yes! There's nothing human or compassionate about this method, and it occurs far more frequently in the Corporate work environment than most want to admit. The unnamed fourth version is re-location, the intent of this post, when a company moves its headquarters or primary address of operations to a new country, and in the process will release all its current employees, to hire a new workforce according to their new host country's hiring policies.
When it comes to colleagues, I only want to be able to appreciate the people who've been part of my life for many years. Yet, when it comes to personal livelihood, finances, living within one's means, avoiding debt, to enjoy a simple life of pleasures, knowing there'll be pains that come along with living, I'd much rather avoid the potentiality of my dollar becoming weaker. If this was within my power to do so, I would. All of us will be impacted, but some more than others, such as those in long-term manufacturing roles.
If this describes you in the future, all I can encourage you to do is to enjoy your last supper to the fullest.
