I heard that there was a big layoff at my former company today. Half of the folks on our East Coast site lost their jobs, including the entire layout department… which would include my former boss – the guy who let me go due to a “management decision.” It would appear that the new VP of the division made a management decision of his own to close down the East Coast facility (in part or in whole) and move everything to the West Coast. It also appears that layout is going to China, though this is only a rumor. I had heard a few weeks ago that my former boss went to China to set up a new layout group… and then they let him go today. Since it is a rumor and I have no way of confirming any of this, the trip could just as easily have been canceled.
I suppose I should be happy that my former boss got the boot – really, he should have been demoted or let go a while back – yet I feel nothing but sadness for him and his family. I feel even worse for the rest of the layout crew over there. They were all dedicated and wonderful people who deserved better. At least my former boss will not be inflicting pain on other people for a while… until he gets hired somewhere else.
He shouldn’t use me as a reference, or anyone else who has worked for him over the last five years.
I also hear that my replacement and her new hire were not let go, but that they received a 20% cut in pay. Ouch!
I think they will maintain a small layout team on this coast for a while until the China team gets set up. After that, we’ll see if they keep bipolar as a technology. If not, then a few folks on the West Coast could be let go… and I’ll be there waiting to snatch them up at my new job!