Got laid off? Cheer up, now you can get good deals

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Getting that pink slip is never a good feeling. But a number of companies are having sales or deals for people who lose their jobs, so maybe there’s a silver lining in that cloud. SkyRoll luggage, for instance, had a 50% off promotion on luggage for people who are laid off and need to travel for a job interview.

‘We feel that our unique luggage will help their clothes arrive looking better than with conventional luggage,’ said Don Chernoff, the president of SkyRoll, in an e-mail.

SkyRoll has had the program since January, which is also when Hyundai launched its Hyundai Assurance Plan. That program allows customers who got laid off within a year of purchasing a car the opportunity to return it. Ford, General Motors and Virgin Mobile have followed suit. GM’s Total Confidence plan will make as many as nine car payments of as much as $500 each for car buyers in the event they are laid off within two years. Ford Advantage will pay up to $700 a month for a year.

On Thursday, Virgin Mobile said it would pay for up to three months of wireless service for any of its prepaid customers who got laid off. That’s $90 a month, which might not be much for high rollers, but for the recently unemployed, is a lifeline.

-- Alana Semuels