OK, the rumors are confirmed. I talked with someone in the know today and it’s all true, even the part about my former boss going to China to set up a new layout group –only to be replaced by that group. Ah, the irony! It would have been priceless to see him there, in China. He is a homebody who has never been out of the states before, has no love of travel, and has a very myopic view of the rest of the world (even the rest of the US) as compared to his much beloved Home State. He was probably cranky the whole time.
I also heard about the local layoffs today, and there were a few of them, though not many. All were good people who shouldn’t have been let go. One in particular was the guy who taught me layout 20 years ago and was my boss for a while. He is a Principal Designer; a “Guru.” How do you let those guys go? That’s just stupid! Designers are the foundation of any semiconductor company; a key designer especially so. You just don’t let those guys go unless you’re planning on dismantling the whole division. It’s corporate suicide! Well, their loss – I’m going to see if I can get him into my company.