About a month ago, rumors started circulating around my office that the company was going to layoff a bunch of employees. The rumors speculated from 10% to 50%. Some said it would be parts of every team, and others said it was mostly management who would be cut. Last week, the buzz focused on November 29th, right after third quarter results were announced.
The earnings release last Tuesday (November 27th) did indeed announce headcount cuts of approximately 400 employees by the end of Q4.
When I went into the office the next morning at 7:30, my manager came by and asked me to go with him to a conference room. I tried to tell him I was very busy and couldn’t do that (comic relief?), but followed him with a pounding heart. The first thing he said after we sat down was, “You have a job.” I dropped my head down and said “Thank you!” But my heart was heavy because I knew not everyone would get the same message. He then told me to pack up and go home for the day. They didn’t want those who were being retained to be around while they gave the news to the laid off employees. I wasn’t allowed to speak to anyone before leaving.
Later that afternoon, I got an email from a co-worker letting me know that at least six mask designers had been let go. I didn’t hear from anyone else that day. When I went in the next morning, I found that eight out of fifteen MDs had been laid off, and about half of the engineering team. Our entire Arizona office lost nearly 100 employees.
Have you heard of “survivor’s guilt”? That’s what I’m feeling. I’m so glad to have my job, but heartbroken for those who lost their jobs right before Christmas. One manager said it was the hardest day of his career to have to let so many of his employees go. Many have large families to support, and bills to pay, and health insurance needs. There was a severance package given which will get them through a month or two, but I’m sure most will be scrambling for work anywhere they can find it.
The dynamic in the office has changed significantly. Organizational changes were announced yesterday. We have now become a support organization to the project teams in Santa Clara. I still report to my same supervisor — for now — but we report up into a different manager and department.
Some are speculating that these cuts may not be all and that by the end of next year, we could be down even more. I suspect there will be some voluntary attrition, as some people won’t like the new structure. As for me, as I said before I’m thankful to have my job and I’m willing to do whatever they want me to do for as long as I can.
My prayers go out for my friends who didn’t get that choice.
You know that all of your extended family are glad, too, that you have a job which you enjoy. You know that cream rises to the top; this proves that you are doing good work.
Sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately, it is not at all uncommon in business today. I survived several rounds of “downsizing” at Perot and I know it is not fun for anyone.
The lesson for you and everyone else is that you need to make the best decisions for yourself and not for any company you are working for, because they will do what is best for them when the time comes.
I should have asked in my previous post, but did something happen in the industry to cause this? I just heard that Verizon is going to move away from CDMA to a form of GSM over the next few years. Does that have anything to do with it? If not, what did?
We are excited to hear this! We have had many in our church praying for you. We are glad you were “spared”.
I also have dodged many layoffs while at Hughes/Boeing. I think it is a combination of what I’ve done plus going to DeVry. It’s much easier to move a DeVry grad into a tech job than say, a UA or Santa Cruz grad, because we got a lot more lab time. 😉
I’m really glad you are still safe but Richard speaks the truth.
Wow! I am really happy things are good with you!
The layoffs did not seem to be based on performance or job skills, but rather on which project you happened to be working on at the time of the cuts. In my opinion, some of the ones let go were better than some of the ones retained.
We have all speculated a lot on the reasons. We know they want a leaner team. In the last two months, the roadmap was streamlined a lot, with some of our largest projects being cut, and the focus narrowed. But we all know the bottom line is budget. The Q3 results were disappointing (good revenue, but too high expenses) and the most obvious way to save money is to cut heads.
Money. Isn’t that what most everything comes down to in the end?
That’s really scary. I’m glad my work is still growing. I did have a few times this week that I questioned if I would be staying there. We’ve had a bad apple enter the group.
Hey! Don, watch those remarks about U of A and Santa Cruz!
Donna, Richard’s comments are right on — you can be faithful to your company, but when and if it makes an impact on profits they won’t be faithful to you.
Praise God you won’t have to worry about your job during the holidays. I’ll be praying for your future.