Wednesday, April 30, 2003
bloodletting
bloodletting
I'd like to write something reflective and insightful about waiting to find out whether I am going to be layed-off this afternoon. I can't seem to come up with anything though. Maybe because I'm distracted by the fact that my hands are shaking. Nathan just got called into our manager's office.
For the past couple weeks we watched as it started coming down the pipes. The company made a loss for the 8th straight quarter. Or maybe it's the 9th. Marketing is being cut by 40%. I heard someone crying in the bathroom. HR and IT have already had their lay-offs. We thought the Web group might survive relatively unscathed because we're already pretty small, and we do a lot. But then last week we learned that our VP was going to be leaving too. And with him now out of the loop, the rest has just been speculation. And rumors. And, oddly, lots of joking. But you could cut the tension with a knife. For the last several days we've all just been trading resumes and monster.com postings.
Welcome to the club, I guess. Having been in a limbo between freelancing, temping and being unemployed for the last two years, I've at least been spared the mass lay-offs. Now I too may get to tell a story about starting a new job and two months later being laid off. Except I don't even get the severance because, like most of the Web team here, I'm employeed as a contractor. Cheaper to employee, but also cheaper to cut.
Rumor was that it was going to be our group this week. Tuesday, was the word on the street. Then Tuesday came and went.
This morning a couple of us were hanging out in Anthony's office, shooting the shit, trying to keep our cool, when Jason poked his head and said: "It's starting."
Now all we can do is wait.
¶ 4/30/2003 10:51:00 AM
I'd like to write something reflective and insightful about waiting to find out whether I am going to be layed-off this afternoon. I can't seem to come up with anything though. Maybe because I'm distracted by the fact that my hands are shaking. Nathan just got called into our manager's office.
For the past couple weeks we watched as it started coming down the pipes. The company made a loss for the 8th straight quarter. Or maybe it's the 9th. Marketing is being cut by 40%. I heard someone crying in the bathroom. HR and IT have already had their lay-offs. We thought the Web group might survive relatively unscathed because we're already pretty small, and we do a lot. But then last week we learned that our VP was going to be leaving too. And with him now out of the loop, the rest has just been speculation. And rumors. And, oddly, lots of joking. But you could cut the tension with a knife. For the last several days we've all just been trading resumes and monster.com postings.
Welcome to the club, I guess. Having been in a limbo between freelancing, temping and being unemployed for the last two years, I've at least been spared the mass lay-offs. Now I too may get to tell a story about starting a new job and two months later being laid off. Except I don't even get the severance because, like most of the Web team here, I'm employeed as a contractor. Cheaper to employee, but also cheaper to cut.
Rumor was that it was going to be our group this week. Tuesday, was the word on the street. Then Tuesday came and went.
This morning a couple of us were hanging out in Anthony's office, shooting the shit, trying to keep our cool, when Jason poked his head and said: "It's starting."
Now all we can do is wait.
¶ 4/30/2003 10:51:00 AM
