Yep, the middle of the week is here. and it is not expected to be a heavy work day yet I already know of at least one conference call (skipping because of the time), a meeting of an hour or two, plus a "good bye" lunch for those of us that have been part of this "transition".
Note: I think the word "transition" is more than a little silly. A lot silly really. This isn't transition, this is attrition and being laid off. Lipstick meet pig, you tain't any purdee-er, and while time can be re-written, the facts before the house (barring Time Lord intervention) are this:
I'm laid off. Yep, the Company is doing a number of things to help me (and it is greatly appreciated) and the reason they I was amongst the folks let go is rational (unofficially to support an existing package instead of our custom built in-house ERP package... my VL skills will no longer be needed) but no matter how flashy the lipstick, it's still a pig I'm staring down.
The strange thing is that folks in the office - and probably more so in the field - don't seem to Get It. Then again, neither do I. Why am I still busting my tail when there are really only 3 work days left? The obvious answer is that I'm still showing up to work so therefore I'm still a resource, but when it comes down to it, I am the sole point of knowledge for many of the areas I cover. That is definitely the case with the VL work, but the handheld interface stuff (interfacing between our system and existing handheld software, not interface on a handheld) is a huge part of our business and the 2.5 people that covered it? Gone are my project manager was let go late last year, and one of the others in this current layoff occasionally looked at some of it.
When the IT Transformation process began late last year, we were told that roughly 10% of the Company's IT was going to be reduced. There are 13 people in the office. Since the beginning of the Transformation, our office has lost 5 bodies. My specific area? 3 of 4. Expert VL coders? 1 of 1. That last one is me if you are curious.
Going back in time, to the first set of layoffs (4+ years ago) we have lost an additional 5 people (2 to retirement, one quit, 2 let go). We have also lost our core testers, or the testers have been sent to other areas that we aren't allowed to access. So any changes/fixes we do are stuck in limbo.
Our software, which supports 50-60% of the business, has lost 10 bodies, none of whom have been replaced. Do the math boys and girls. It hain't pretty in the office. I think the reality of the situation has set in to a lot of folks - not just that our software is not going to be the future, but that there is an active attempt to make sure that it will die. Painfully. Without morphine. Alone in a darkened hospital room with a bunch of tubes and machines that go *ping* surrounding it.
Right now? I feel like one of the lucky ones. In three days time, when I wake up knowing no more paychecks, I will likely feel differently. But there is light at the end of this tunnel. It may be a train (although with my luck its a Smart car and will just knock me around for a few cuts and bruises) but until it hits me, let me imagine otherwise.
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