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There is quite a lot of it going out on out there at present, with large groups swallowing up smaller groups, and individual sites being sold to local dealership operators. The takeover can be quite a stressful time, but it need not mean the end of your career or redundancy. Nevertheless it pays to be prepared, many people get shocked and surprised to find themselves out on the street. Some believe they are indispensable, others have a perhaps unreasonable loyalty to their old masters, while others just get on and do their job and never have time to think about themselves and their careers. All of this can leave you in shock when changes are made. There are some myths around about any takeover. Here are the most common:
"All the old staff will be retained". Nowadays the law says this will probably be the case, but not everyone will get on with each other and so, like all new relationships there will be some adjustment and some casualties.
"All the old staff will be changed". This is highly unlikely, staff are the business and part of the reason for taking the company over to begin with.
"They will just keep the best performers". This is equally unlikely. The best performers are likely to be the highest paid, and many groups when they take over a business look to cut their salary costs quite quickly.
"The company is profitable - they'll just keep it like it is". This is the most unlikely scenario of all. Sure, in the first six months they may be very little movement but after that every new owner of the business will want to squeeze the maximum amount of it. However it is doing, they will always believe there is more.
"We will all stick together if they try and change things". This definitely won't happen and only idiots would try. You might be feeling insecure, that you have been sold out or abandoned. But trying to effectively go on strike so that you have your old life back will not happen. Takeovers are sometimes not pleasant, although sometimes they can be a really good surprise. But you have to go into this with an open mind and decide whether you like your new employers, or frankly whether you want to look elsewhere. If you do, take positive steps, dust off your CV start to look around the market and have a Plan B. But above all, good luck.