Handruin said:
Glad to hear you made it through. I know how hard it is sometimes, I've been through three so far. In your case I think it is good they didn't inform you until it has happened. At my job, they let people know a month in advance, and it truthfully does reduce productivity.
The stress is rather bothersome at times, so it's better to not have to worry for a month until it is over. This quarter we did OK, so there isn't a plan to reduce any more...for now. Now it's review time and there is hope in the air that for the first time in the two years I've been with the company, that people will have a chance to see a raise. Only a select number of people will see an increase in salary, but this at least gives me a chance.
I've been laid off before, but it was when times were a bit better & we were transitioned to an outsourcer. It overall was a good thing because we continued with jobs and got severance pay .. I pulled essentially double pay for a while.
But since 2000 .. I've been here just over 4 years. The past 3 have seen layoffs of one sort or another. It's pretty much a running gag that mid-year, around late June through sometime in August, the company will announce that capital, travel, and training for the remainder of the year are being cut (knowing this, we make sure to do our training & major capital expenditures before June) and that sometime Nov - Jan there will be a RIF.
Regardless of how I feel I add value to the company, you can never predict exactly how they will choose to reduce costs. Sometimes the most junior are let go. Sometimes the most senior (who are usually the most expensive). Sometimes it's a flat percentage of staff. Sometimes, and what happened this time, the merits of every position & person are weighed and decisions made based on that.
Personally, I feel if a company is going to let people go, they should announce it and do it the same day. Productivity is otherwise reduced by the speculation regarding who will get to stay and who won't. Also, other than to transition projects to remaining staff, those who are let go should be let go right away (our people have until 1/24 to turn over projects).
I'm glad I don't work for Lucent. Over there, the reductions are pretty much a weekly occurrance and people are just hanging on hoping they aren't on the latest list.
mubs said:
I find this amazing -- your CIO is a member of a near extinct species! In this age of greedy executive management, it's reassuring to know there are good ones still out there.
Yeah, he really is a people-oriented person. By and large, his actions are for the betterment of the people as he knows that'll bring about the best performance. I really feel sorry for him and the others who had to make the decisions.
My boss, who reports to the CIO, is somewhat similar. I mentioned more or less in passing that I'd like to pursue SANS or another security cert in '03 (this was back in Fall). Without me having to make a case as to why I thought the company would benefit from paying for the classes, he said it was a good idea & we'd get it in my '03 objectives. Of course, right now I'm not sure if he'll be able to support that, but he quickly saw that it'd be good for my career as well as for the company (Yet another bullet point on the client sales pitch -- having a certified security person on staff).
During a conference call with all of IT after the 'event', the CIO streseed about how the people who were let go weren't let go for performance reasons and that they had to evaluate where each person would fit in the company based on what they saw in the future. He urged anyone who had questions or comments to contact him directly (we all have his office, mobile, and home #s) and will hold a follow-up meeting once things have started to settle down.
To be candid, wthe thing I thought was missing from the RIF was a reduction in senior management. IMO there should have been a cut or two there.
- Fushigi
Who else here is/was under the threat of being laid off? It's really disgusting the way loyal employees are treated nowadays. All the more so when you'll read about some CEO making millions, and enjoying expensive perks, while 10,000 from the same company are being laid off.
