Re: Layoff logistics and etiquette

Subject: Re: Layoff logistics and etiquette
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 18:20:00 -0700

jarnopol wrote:

My point is, wouldn't you think that the powers that be knew they were in trouble 6 weeks before they laid off 25% of the staff? And if they did, why were they still hiring staff??


Not necessarily. Just because someone is in management doesn't mean that he or she is capable or has foresight. I shouldn't know; I've been there.

More importantly, the situation can change quickly, even for a prosperous company. For example, three years ago, I was working for a company that was a leader in its field in Canada. After six months of being begged to join the company full time, I finally agreed. About the same time, a downturn in the Asian economy caused an investor who owned 20% of the company to decide to sell his stock. The company could buy him out, but only by dropping the last ten people hired from the payroll. As a result, two weeks later, I was laid off.

No big deal - the company's offices were in a part of town I consider unsavory, and the salary wasn't the greatest. But I was left with mental whiplash at the quickness of the turnaround, allthe same.



--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"In the ashes of American Jerusalem
The prophets live their deaths out on the corner
The pretty people say, 'There should have been a warning'
But nobody heard it."
-Rod MacDonald, "American Jerusalem"



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Announcing new options for IPCC 01, October 24-27 in Santa Fe,
New Mexico: attend the entire event or select a single day. For details and online registration, visit http://ieeepcs.org/2001

Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Previous by Author: Re: Jargon Lovin' Fool
Next by Author: Re: Tech-Reading vs. Other Reading
Previous by Thread: Re: Layoff logistics and etiquette
Next by Thread: RE: Layoff logistics and etiquette


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads