Oy

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A couple of people have emailed me to see if I'm okay because I haven't posted since last Wednesday. I did have a busy-ish weekend, but it's really events at work last week that have left me unable to write.

Our purchasing director and the assistant purchasing director were laid off on Thursday. Everyone is shocked and heartbroken. We are a computer reseller who provides product and service. Our service sales have climbed dramatically over the years and have remained pretty steady in this sucky economy. But our product sales are way down, which obviously affects our need to purchase product.

These employees have been there 17 and 28 years respectively. I like to believe that I am not one of those "us vs them" people, thinking all management is bad and "they" don't know what they are doing. (I felt this way before I became a supervisor.) But this is clearly that the highest paid people were laid off. (We have 2 employees remaining in Purchasing.) I have reason to believe the accounting department is on the low end of the company pay scale, but I've been there 15 years, so yeah, no one is safe. I mean, everyone knows that, but to see it in action totally sucks.

There are other factors involved that I can't talk about here, of course - so part of me does understand how the decision was made. Nothing is ever black & white.

It's so much easier to take when it's dead wood that's being trimmed. The purchasing director, Lonnie, is one of our very best employees. He is highly respected and very well liked. He is also my mentor and friend. Sunday was the first day I haven't shed some tears over this. I know we'll stay in touch but it won't be the same.

This makes a total of 5 employees that have been laid off in the last 6 months. In the grand scheme of things, that's not bad. Here it's quality that concerns me, not quantity.

The thing that makes this sort of okay is that I know Lonnie has been asking for more responsibility and I'm not sure we'd ever be able to provide it. He has a zillion contacts and a solid reputation and resume so not only will he land on his feet, but I know he'll do great things. I can't wait to watch him soar in his next position.

Truthfully, I would have taken a (small!) pay cut in order for him to keep his job. I bet there are others that would have too. But in my heart, I think he would have left the company eventually, on to bigger and better things. (He's in his 40s, I think.)

The other thing is that the person, Jim, who will be taking over some of his responsibilities is extremely capable. We could not be left in better hands. He's also a good friend so I'm happy for him personally and professionally. Lonnie was his mentor too, so he feels funny about this whole thing, but it will turn out good, I know.

The funny thing is Jim was off work Friday, having a colonoscopy. I knew he'd be checking his work email from home at some point, so I emailed him, "Why, oh why, didn't I think to schedule a colonoscopy for today??" He called me later on and we laughed about who would have thought that prepping for a colonoscopy would be preferable to being at work?

So Thursday and Friday were brutal; everyone is so upset. I let our 2 accounting people leave at 3:00, just because. Even the decision-makers are unhappy about all this. My boss (Lonnie's boss too) told me it was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. They were friends, worked together all these years, went to each other's kids' sports events.

I know this stuff is only meaningful to me. Thanks for letting me get it out. Organizing my thoughts about stuff always helps.

I'm going to take bagels and donuts in to work this morning. Food doesn't fix anything but maybe it . . . I don't know what . . . I just want to offer a caring gesture to a bunch of sad people.

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