Recession Blues

[llcoolvad]

They laid a couple of people off in my department yesterday. Apparently more to come, although they had a meeting with a bunch of us and told us we were ok. It's supposed to be something like 15% of my global department. And apparently 15% of many departments, all over the firm.

Why, when supposedly we had our best-ever year last year, why do they need to do this shit? The last time they started to belt-tighten they were entertaining offers from outside buyers. They rejected the offers, so we went back to business as usual. I asked if we were in that kind of situation, but of course that was an off-script question so my boss had no answer.

I feel terrible for the two people they've already laid off that I know about. Waiting to hear who is next (the boss has only met with half my local department). I told an underboss that I would volunteer to be laid off. She laughed and said "wouldn't we all!" — but something tells me that a severance package and the opportunity to collect unemployment is not everyone's dream.

Comments

[kicking-k.livejournal.com]

Well, I hope it works out one way or the other! I do not hate being unemployed myself... which is a bad thing, because I really hate filling in job applications.

In January we were all told our departmental budget was being cut, and it was implied that at least one job would go in our department - the trainee's. Which isn't such a big deal since they're only ever here for a year - it would just mean they couldn't recruit a new one. But there are only four people in the department, and if I was doing even one-quarter of the trainee's job on top of my own... life would be untenable.

We didn't get any more news about this until last week, when we were told that the university had "had a rummage down the back of the sofa" for loose change, and filled the hole in the budget for now. "It's a very big sofa".

Hmmmmm...

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

My company has more sofas than they could ever possibly need. Seriously, we roll around naked in cold hard cash, as a firm. There is no possible GOOD reason that they're laying people off, and seriously no reason they'd lay people off at my level. Baby consultants, fresh out of college, earn at least $10k more than people who've been in my position for 10 years. Lay off two mid-level consultants, you save 5 designers.

Someone pointed out to me yesterday that if they lay off consultants they have to pay them severance. Whereas most consultants only last about two years -- meaning they can just wait and not hire new consultants and get the same effect without paying severance. Nice. And the severance they'd pay us would be a lot less, so they get the nice instant headcount reduction, and still save money. Ugh!

The very worst part for me was when my boss said "That's corporate America for you!" Like that's a reasonable argument!

[kicking-k.livejournal.com]

Oh dear.

I really do not get why consultants earn so much. Or how you can be a consultant when you are fresh out of college and therefore don't necessarily have any experience of actually doing anything. (Or why anyone would want to... maybe it's the money?)

When I was in my last year at college, I went to the careers centre to try to work out what I wanted to do next, only to find that careers outside the "ABCs" - accountancy, banking, consultancy - were considered to be a wacky and "alternative" choice. Now that was shocking.