I went back to work today, but it soon became apparent that I'd bitten off more than I could chew: I'm not up to travelling 2 hours, sitting at a desk for 8, and then travelling back another 2, so after conferring with the company doctor, Jobsworth graciously allowed me to leave a couple of hours early. I think I'll go in only half days for the rest of the week, then try going back to full-time again next week.
But it was good to see my colleagues again, hear the gossip, and witness for myself the devastation that's been wrought by the latest round of redundancies. The day before I managed to trap my sciatic nerve simply by crossing my legs whilst sitting down to enjoy a coffee and a quiet read, 27 people had received the news that their services would no longer be required as of May 31st. Not surprisingly, quite a few of them have called in sick since then, and their empty desks serve as a stark reminder that really none of us are safe.
But it was good to see my colleagues again, hear the gossip, and witness for myself the devastation that's been wrought by the latest round of redundancies. The day before I managed to trap my sciatic nerve simply by crossing my legs whilst sitting down to enjoy a coffee and a quiet read, 27 people had received the news that their services would no longer be required as of May 31st. Not surprisingly, quite a few of them have called in sick since then, and their empty desks serve as a stark reminder that really none of us are safe.
- Current Mood:
sombre - Current Music:'The Man Who' - Travis
Comments
bloody hell that's harsh!
Hope botthe cold and the back get better soon
Yes. Basically, a whole department. But since we're now outsourcing to Bangalore and China, these people (highly trained and very experienced Tier 2 and 3 support engineers, and part of the training team) have been deemed too expensive and are no longer wanted. And this is just the tip of the iceberg -- we're looking to ditch 348 in total over the next 18 month period. :(
Indeed. The office is quite a dreary place at the moment, with lots of people uncertain about their departments' future. While the redundancy packages being offered really aren't bad, most of those affected would still much rather have
theira job.That's why I tried going back to full-time immediately...but now I realise that by cutting back to half days, I'll still put in what many would consider a full day's work (shame Jobsworth doesn't see it that way, but I suppose he has been good about letting me go home early without too much of a wrangle, so I shouldn't really have a dig at him).
I know! And the fact that he didn't veto my decision to cut back on the hours...You could've knocked me over with a feather, I was so surprised!
I'm blaming it on the concussion. His brain must have been scrambled worse than we previously suspected. ;-)
But 27 lay-offs is terrible. I suppose they're not making up the shortfall, but expecting everyone else to cover the work?
::many hugs:: anyway
Of course! This isn't about letting people go because there's no work or because they're not doing their jobs properly, or because they've found a better and more efficient way to get things done with less people doing it; it's to do with shareholders and dividends and making the stocks rise again, if only for the short term. To maximise your profits, you have to cut down on your expenditure, and in the West, the biggest expenditure by far is the payroll.
Then, if you have to hire other companies to provide you with a workforce in say India, where salaries are low, and temp agencies in the West, even if in the long run these options are more expensive than hiring your own employees direct, by the magic that is creative accounting, these costs will come under the header of 'Variable Costs', which aren't taken into consideration when it comes to determining whether or not a company does well on the stock market.