Not Any Easier

Yesterday my company laid off six people, hardly worth mentioning in a society where takeovers, shutdowns, liquidations, downsizings, “rightsizings”, layoffs, plant closings, reductions-in-force, and plain old firings are routine. These individuals worked in a product line that was barely profitable, and it is easy to see why HQ decided to cut the cord. All of them are smart and capable, and in an improving economy should have little trouble finding a job, with a good chance at finding a better one.

Nevertheless, I am sad. I’ll miss working with or just shooting the breeze with them. I have never gotten used to layoffs, which are now commonplace. In 1982 I became a manager with a staff of four. The economy nosedived, and I had to tell a person whom I had hired six months earlier that he was being let go. Andy had just earned his MBA, and this event undoubtedly derailed his plans. In those days being laid off was a black mark, even one of shame, because it meant something was wrong with you. He rebuffed my attempts to keep in touch with him.

Now, of course, an overwhelming majority of the workforce has experienced a layoff at some point in their career. Everyone handles it better now: employers offer outplacement counseling and communicate regularly with their “alumni” while employees often rethink their life’s direction, undergo training in new skills, really do spend more time with their families, and otherwise make lemonade out of the lemon that they’ve been given. It is no longer considered a negative on one’s resume to have been laid off, and it may be a plus, because how one deals with inevitable problems and setbacks provides a prospective employer with a valuable insight into one’s character.

The system we live under can be harsh, unforgiving, and seemingly unfair, especially when the sword falls on us. This is the dark side of free enterprise’s creative destruction, as people and resources shift to more profitable and innovative sectors of the economy. But it is amazing to me, today, how universal is the acceptance of this aspect of capitalism. When I spoke to my soon-to-be ex-colleagues, the emotions ranged all over the lot, yet none disputed the company’s right to fire its employees.

But once in a while I think of Andy (and Sharon, and Amita, and Ray, and Martha, and Rich, and Steve, and Tess, and Fred, and….) and wonder if he’s doing okay. © 2005 Stephen Yuen