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This happened while I was in high school. My dad worked in IT at a company that actually still exists. He even survived the layoffs, though with a series of d
by focusedone 3y ago
This happened while I was in high school. My dad worked in IT at a company that actually still exists. He even survived the layoffs, though with a series of dramatic pay cuts.
It was such a shock going from a pretty sweet gig to the terror of sudden destitution. He was so lucky to survive but was suddenly sleeping in his cube and living in constant fear of being the next let go. I think he was the only one of his coworker/friends to survive the layoffs at his company.
Dad would describe sitting in his cube when a team of security people would get off the elevator. Everyone was terrified, not knowing who they were coming for. If it was you, they would physically remove you from your cube and haul you down to HR and that was it. One of your coworkers would pack your things into a box that you'd be handed on the way out. That happened to dozens (hundreds?) early in the process, and continued regularly for a couple of years.
I think he felt trapped at the time - there obviously weren't many tech jobs hiring, so losing a job could mean long-term unemployment or even changing careers after 20 years in the field.
Our family situation sucked, but we were extremely fortunate compared to many of those around us. Every time another mass-layoff event happens, like we've seen so many of lately, I think of those times and grieve for the people going through that now.
Not really any wisdom or insight to share on this. I just really hate the series of events and decisions which lead to hardworking people seeing their lives upended like this.
- focusedone 3y agoAlso the founder / CEO of the company bought a private island around this time. It was featured in a magazine and, looking at the photos, it felt so bizarre and frustrating that, while so many suffered, some at the company seemed to do quite well.
- supportengineer 3y agoI’ve been working in the valley over 25 years. This happens to me every five years or so.
- metabro 3y agoIf you’ve been working in the valley for 25 years then you should have substantial savings to not fear a payoff every 5 years.
- supportengineer 3y agoA payoff or a layoff?
- metabro 3y agoLayoff
- metabro 3y agoWhat I don’t get is not having investments/cash to hold you over for a year or even 2. Whitecollar jobs pay well and I’d expect most people to have earned quite a bit in the dot com frenzy.
- LunaSea 3y agoDepends on the period of life I presume. You might make a lot of money, but if you're a young adult, you might still need to buy a car, a house, get kids, etc. All of which cost a lot of money, to a point where you might not be able to save much.
- metabro 3y agoThe parent comment I’m replying to has a man with a high school aged kid. By that point I’d expect substantial savings.
- focusedone 3y agoMight be the case for some. We lived in a flyover state, so pay was far from West coast. Dad's career started out with him living in a rough trailer park and hitching rides to work. Before the bust he was doing well, but he had a tough climb getting there and hadn't had much time to save up (along with starting a family and such). Again, we were very fortunate to come though it as well as we did. Many close friends had it much worse. There's bound to be a variety of financial and career situations out there. To me, it's difficult to imagine anyone getting canned and thinking 'meh, no biggie'.
- metabro 3y ago> To me, it's difficult to imagine anyone getting canned and thinking 'meh, no biggie'. I think there’s a subjective component where it does feel like a big deal no matter what savings you have. But objectively if you can cover expenses for a year then it really is ‘meh, no biggie’ .