An Axe Falls at My Former Employer

It's been an interesting day: in the morning I woke up early as the telephone rang, to confirm details of my mother's hotel stay in France. Until the early afternoon I was working on a journalism article.

Then the telephone rang again: my sister, telling me that all of my ex-colleagues who were still at the company I used to work for have been laid off. (Except for a skeleton team of around 10 who will be keeping the lights on until next April.)

My former team, always gossipy, has been chatting heavily for the rest of the afternoon, and so has the family.

And I don't know exactly how to feel about it... Except that I am annoyed that my friends have had their job security ripped away, but relieved for those who wanted to quit the company anyway. Unsure whether to feel relieved on behalf of those who have been suffering work-related mental health problems and now have the option to take a well-paid garden leave before they can find a next job, ... And not very surprised because valuable colleagues had been axed before I'd left, which to me implied a scarcity of resources or prioritization of the wellbeing of the company.

And to be resolved to never put people in the same position that my colleagues have been put in.

It's also unpleasant to know that three of my close relations have been made jobless at the same time. (I'm also not really a fan of the Fast Capitalism that has led to this in the first place.)

Although at least T. will stay in the skeleton team.

Now I'm not sure how to help without intruding, although I'm also curious to see which support systems will grow up amongst the 'current' colleagues.