All Good Things...
Jul. 7th, 2022 04:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqGot laid off today. Tonight, there will be drinking. Tomorrow, there will be paperwork.
Story time: About two months ago the old CEO got turfed and we got a new CEO. Third company he's helmed in five years. Red flag one and two.
He have a general meeting where he tells everyone "Big changes are coming, but nothing is going to change". Odd way of speaking. Red flag three.
Time goes on. Stuff gets done, including our annual general release, which got shipped a week ago. Last Monday rolls around we're told that another all-hands meeting is happening this Friday. Note that we are normally in the office Monday to Wednesday, and work from home on Thursday and Friday, so a "must attend in person, not virtual" meeting request for Friday seems pretty suspect. Red flag four.
But then my supervisor comes into the office (we normally have a meeting every Wednesday to discuss progress) to tell me... I'm getting a bonus. I normally announce these things on FB, but just didn't this time around. I joke with the boss that it was fifty fifty I was getting a bonus or getting laid off. Green flag?
Heading home, around 5:30, I walk through the parkade towards the bike room, and I notice that all of C-suite parking stalls have cars in them. That's normally not the case around here - it's usually pretty empty by the time I get there. Clearly there's a meeting going on. Red flag five.
Today starts fine. I work in the morning, aside from the hour that the internet was down. I run some errands during lunch. After lunch I see my boss' boss wants to have a meeting with me. Red flag six. And that's enough red flags that I'm pretty sure I'm getting laid off now, regardless of bonus.
The meeting begins and it's the boss' boss, and the head of HR. The final red flag! Sure enough I'm getting laid off. They tell me a lot of insincerities, and I mostly just keep a neutral face and stay silent. I channel Mark Rylance from Bridge of Spies.
At the office, the newest person in IT is sent to be my minder. I clean up what needs cleaning up (it's now in two totes in the garage - I'll deal with it later), wished him well (He confessed he was worried he was also on the chopping block, but wouldn't find out until quitting time), and drove home.
Fourth grown-up job: August 11, 1997 to July 7th, 2022.
Story time: About two months ago the old CEO got turfed and we got a new CEO. Third company he's helmed in five years. Red flag one and two.
He have a general meeting where he tells everyone "Big changes are coming, but nothing is going to change". Odd way of speaking. Red flag three.
Time goes on. Stuff gets done, including our annual general release, which got shipped a week ago. Last Monday rolls around we're told that another all-hands meeting is happening this Friday. Note that we are normally in the office Monday to Wednesday, and work from home on Thursday and Friday, so a "must attend in person, not virtual" meeting request for Friday seems pretty suspect. Red flag four.
But then my supervisor comes into the office (we normally have a meeting every Wednesday to discuss progress) to tell me... I'm getting a bonus. I normally announce these things on FB, but just didn't this time around. I joke with the boss that it was fifty fifty I was getting a bonus or getting laid off. Green flag?
Heading home, around 5:30, I walk through the parkade towards the bike room, and I notice that all of C-suite parking stalls have cars in them. That's normally not the case around here - it's usually pretty empty by the time I get there. Clearly there's a meeting going on. Red flag five.
"It's going to be a blood bath tomorrow, but they wouldn't have given me a bonus if I was going to be one of the victims." I think.Of note, my immediate boss leaves on his motorcycle around this time, so he's not part of the meeting.
Today starts fine. I work in the morning, aside from the hour that the internet was down. I run some errands during lunch. After lunch I see my boss' boss wants to have a meeting with me. Red flag six. And that's enough red flags that I'm pretty sure I'm getting laid off now, regardless of bonus.
The meeting begins and it's the boss' boss, and the head of HR. The final red flag! Sure enough I'm getting laid off. They tell me a lot of insincerities, and I mostly just keep a neutral face and stay silent. I channel Mark Rylance from Bridge of Spies.
"Do you have any questions?"I've had a low level crush on her for years now. I should have asked if she was single.
"I have two. Can I come in right now to clean out my desk? And since you're giving me eight weeks, that puts me past the point where I'd have gotten my 25 year bonus, will I be getting that too?"
"We don't recommend that you come in right away. You should give yourself time before coming to the office, so you're in the right frame of mind. As for the 25 year bonus, I'll look into that."
"I promise I'm not despondent or violent, so I'm going to come get my stuff right now."
At the office, the newest person in IT is sent to be my minder. I clean up what needs cleaning up (it's now in two totes in the garage - I'll deal with it later), wished him well (He confessed he was worried he was also on the chopping block, but wouldn't find out until quitting time), and drove home.
Fourth grown-up job: August 11, 1997 to July 7th, 2022.
