Shame on me... That's the way I feel right now. While on maternity leave in October, the company I work for laid off several people (including my manager). I felt pretty safe since nothing happened to me. I had email exchanges with management and looked at the presentations, which seemed to indicate layoffs were over for quite a while. I was moved into this really great new group, one full of potential and opportunities.
Well, I received the dreaded call today... My position has been eliminated. Apparently I was going to be one of the people laid off in October but they couldn't lay me off because I was on leave. So it happens now... And it couldn't be a worse time for me and my family. We are already going through some difficult times and I don't anticipate them getting any better given this news.
It's not like I haven't been through this before with this company (2003). And I know that soon there will probably be a writer, in a totally different country, that will be writing about the technologies I "owned". How can my position be "eliminated" if the technologies still exist and someone still needs to write about them? I just don't understand that. I feel so incredibly cheated right now. I was really looking forward to working in this new group. I thought it was finally my chance to dive into project management, which is something I've wanted to do for some time. This group had "connections" to so many interesting projects and initiatives and this was my chance to shine and show my stuff. The group that I previously belonged to didn't get very many projects or initiatives. We seemed to be the red-headed stepchildren. So as you can imagine, the opportunity to be exposed to something totally different was like Dorothy crashlanding her house in Oz. Technicolor, baby! It was going to be such a great and awesome experience.
Well... not so much. I'll close now before I get too upset or sappy. To say I'm crushed is an understatement. Performance means nothing. Being an excellent writer? Means nothing. I've worked for this company twice and both times got screwed. There won't be a charming third time. I wash my hands of it. Stick a fork in me...
3 comments:
Ugh. Burns me right up. I'm so sorry sweetie.
Sure am sorry for you. I was laid off in July after 23 years of hard work at BSA. "Position eliminated."
http://booradley4000ad.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-adventures-inunemployment.html
Hi Desma. We've never met but I know of you through Kay McManus and Sarah Cook, both of whom I've worked with in the past. I was with the same company as you for 9 years, and was laid off three times! "Position eliminated" is very familiar. The first two times I found other internal jobs, but this third time last January was enough for me to say "Adios." It's tough out there for writers these days.
I wish you the best of luck!
Allison Barker
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