Has anyone been through a bank layoff? What are the warning signs? I'm pretty worried we are about to experience one, and my job will be the first to go, as I have nothing to do lately (loans are slow). When banks lay-off employees, do they generally give notice, or a severance package, or something? I'm a single mom, 2 kids.

You don't always get notice, but you do get some sort of severance package, which varies, depending on your time with the company.
One week of severance per year of service generally.

And if you've only been there 8 months............?

Probably something nominal at best. If you're worried, don't wait till you know to start looking for a new job. You want to get out there before everyone else at your bank is out looking too.

Already on it. Just wondering what to expect if they beat me to it.

Maybe two weeks...

But as Truffle says, - Jump the crowd and start looking if you think layoffs are coming.

Generally it is last in first out and you have said that business is slow in your area.

Good Luck!

We had another local bank try to do a hostile take over of us a few years ago. A lot of employees feared losing their jobs. After the take over didn't succeed (yay!) management and the board provided us with agreements to sign in the even we lose our jobs. In my position, which is officer we get 2 weeks for every year we have been here. So basically, I would get 14 weeks now.

On another note, my sister works for a much larger bank, with its routes in the mid-west. She was just laid off, without notice...nothing expected. She has been there for almost 15 years and she got a years worth of severance pay. With that said, if someone makes a formal offer for a different job within the company and she turns it down...she forfeits the severance.

Hey, depending on where you are we may have opportunities at our bank for you and some of your counterparts. I do recruting for a larger national bank and we are always looking for people. Send me your resume to deandre.green@wamu.net.

I worked for Fifth Third, and when they laid off, I was one of the unfortunate. We were notified of being laid off at 3:30pm, then walked to our desks with a member of HR, cleaned out our desks, and left that day. We only got two weeks severance. No forewarning of the layoff, just BAM!

I hope your bank has a better policy that Fifth Third!

I've been laid off a few times because of mergers. Usually we got some months notice, help with finding new jobs, severance packages, etc.

Keep in mind that if your bank is slow, so are others in your area. You might be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Good luck!