Colleague forced into retirement

One of the TV producers I really liked working with was forced into retirement while I was gone getting married and having a honeymoon.  Apparently he hit retirement age and wanted to keep working, but the company is trying to cut people whenever possible to save money, so he was forced into retirement. 

He'd been working for the company since the 70's, was well liked and respected, and I personally liked working with him because he had been around long enough that he was calm and assured in his decision making, and was also fully open to implementing ideas from other people. 

You know when someone really knows what they're doing, and they know they know, so they're not arrogant or insecure?  That's what working with this guy was like, and it was something I always looked forward to.  I'm really bummed about it.

That's such a shame.  It seems to be becoming more common these days too, to make people retire asap.  Some companies don't seem to value people's experience.

That really bites.

You think companies would realise that us older folk have a lot to offer.

The same thing happened to my grandfather. He worked for the same company for almost 40 years. They forced him into retirement about ten years ago when he turned 65. He had just spent hours teaching himself how to use a laptop (new concept to the company at the time). It wasn't nice at all.

The company ended up almost going bankrupt and  got bought out by another company 

Sorry to hear that C.  That really sucks. At least you appreciated the value of his insight and experience, and I am sure you have learned a lot from him.