Layoffs

Last Friday the boss announced they would be laying off people at work. He said it would be coming, but not too terribly soon.

Then Monday someone from another department said his boss told him people would be laid off that day, at 11 am.

Not being one to mince words I went straight to my boss and asked him. He was visibly upset, confirmed it, and told me who was being laid off.

Now as lead I'm oft times told information that I can't share with others in my immediate area. This was a bombshell. I care about the people they were laying off. I've worked with them for years. One of the girls they were going to lay off already intuited that she was going to be laid off and came to me in tears asking me if she was and I couldn't lie to her - but I also couldn't tell her the truth.  She read the truth in my eyes. I said I couldn't talk about it because of my position within the company.

She knew. It breaks my heart because she knew.

They gave them until the end of April. What sucks is there's nothing I can do to help the people they laid off, and the mission of our workplace is to create jobs for people with severe disabilities, and the part time people they laid off are our most visibly disabled people. It's so disheartening for all of the lead people involved, myself included.

The rest of the day I spent being the emotional support for staff that were either hurt or angry. The "survivor" syndrome that many felt I felt myself, but wasn't able to express. The anger that some felt because hard working part time people were laid off but not-so-hard working full time people weren't was justified. What does one say to that? I know WHY part time people were laid off first - it's the most legal way to handle lay offs. Companies always lay off the part time people first.

It doesn't stop the pain of knowing you've worked loyally for a company (and rarely call in sick) for 10 years and are being let go because you're part time due to your disability when a full time employee has worked  for the company (and calls in sick 4 days out of 5) for 2 years stays.

Needless to say I'm in a funk. Big time. I'm wanting to isolate myself both at work and at home and sleep all day and night. Of course I can't do that. I want to, though.