Laid Off: No Loss of Opportunity

Posted by Thomas Alan Gray Oct 17, 2009

At 15:00 on Wednesday, October 21, the HR manager closed the door to the Information Technology bullpen.

"Gentlemen, I have some bad news for you. The owners have decided to close down the IT department. You will be given severance pay in lieu of notice. Please clear your desks of all personal belongings and leave by the end of the day. You don't need to come in tomorrow. Here are your cheques"

As for the manner of the doing, that was fine. As Lady Macbeth said, "If 'twere done, 'twere best done quickly." What I did find distasteful was that the owners foisted the announcement off onto the HR manager. It can be argued that it's his job, but it is my strong feeling that the people who made this decision should have been the ones who announced it. As my dad said, "The chickenshit bosses hand the hatchet to the foreman and say, 'You do it'."

Whatever. C'est la vie, et c'est un fait accompli.

I had already been discussing early retirement, writing full time or maybe getting a part-time job and writing the rest of the week. There, now, opportunity has not only knocked but has pushed open the door and walked right in.

The severance package gives me several weeks to get up and writing. As an ad for some job web site says, "Your future awaits."