MetLife News and Gossip.

What do you think -- is this company going to survive and thrive? Are they looking to expand their staff, or do you think layoffs are inevitable?

How does MetLife stack up against the competition?

From my experience, they don't layoff anyone & they didn't during the 2 yrs I was there, but their turnover is by far worse than any Insurance company I have ever worked for or have heard about from recruiters, friends, etc. In my area, they were dropping like flies and Mgmt didn't even have the decency to take accountability & admit it may be because they got tired of all the "crap". Work, work, work, then when your done working...you can work some more. They closed their eyes to everything, then wondered why they couldn't get employees...by this time, I'm sure the word was out. They're always looking, they just can't close the deal. Good employees want to feel "satisfaction in the job" and get paid @ least close to the National Average Pay for the position, not chump change. MetLife is not even close in both aspects.

Watch for increasing off-shoring of work.

They have fired in the past and will do it again next year. They don't need to fire too many now as their managers keep running them off by being so mean.

The company is slashing workers like they're going out of business, yet they continue to post profits. It's bizarre. They are trying to farm out everything they can to India. They could save a lot of money and empty the nice office building they have on 6th Ave in Manhattan and just set up shop in Bombay.

Jim123 in Ft Worth, Texas said: The company is slashing workers like they're going out of business, yet they continue to post profits. It's bizarre. They are trying to farm out everything they can to India. They could save a lot of money and empty the nice office building they have on 6th Ave in Manhattan and just set up shop in Bombay.

jim123

I have read a lot of posts on this website. A lof of them have been fairly bitter. I am currently in the hiring process. My biggest concern; is there room for advancement, aside from all the politics. I assume 75 % of the people who posted information regarding metlife have either been laid off, fired or disgruntle employees. Metlife has to be doing something right, or the company would be going under like AIG. I also think that most of these people are at the bottom of the bucket for a reason.

I want a no bs answer, is there room for advancement, and a potential career?

Yes, there is room for advancement. A career there is possible and rewarding (like it was for me), as long as you don't get laid off.

The reason why MetLife is not going under like AIG is because MetLife isn't retarded -- they didn't bet the farm on subprime mortgages. MetLife has always had a conservative investment philosophy and as long as they continue that, they will be around for a long time.

The problem is that when they went public in 2000, they gave up the stability of being a mutual insurance company for riding the roller coaster of Wall Street. What goes up must come down, and when things came crashing down last fall, they reacted by slashing their people.

This results in reduced morale, unhappy employees, lower productivity, and, if left untreated, unhappy policyholders.

MetLife isn't a horrible place to work, but unfortunately it's not the family it used to be.

Jim123,
I agree with you. I was there when MetLife went public, and my immediate thought was, "why go public when they were doing just fine as a mutual company?" I was in management and I can assure you, morale has been down for years now.People that work hard are rewarded with more work and a mediocre bonus/incentive plan. And now, more than ever, employees are scared to advance to management positions, in fear that they'll be laid off next.
And yes, there is room for advancement, if you're willing to put up with the corporate red tape, and be willing to do everything "the MetLife way". So, if you're a "yes" man, then you can definately move up the later. If you are a creative individual who thinks "outside the box" and uses your natural abilities, then MetLife may not be the place for you to blossom.