Re: FWD: Layoff logistics and etiquette

[Janice Gelb <janiceg -at- marvin -dot- eng -dot- sun -dot- com>]

In article qmail -at- web20804 -dot- mail -dot- yahoo -dot- com, iggy_1996dp -at- yahoo -dot- com (Iggy) writes:
>| If you are laid off, the most important thing to
>| remember is -- don't 
>| take it personally. I sat through many meetings with
>| department 
>| heads while they discussed who would/would not keep
>| their jobs. 
>| And bottom line? They were clueless 
>
>I have to disagree in part. It *is* personal in how it
>affects you. In a layoff, unless it actually is a
>thinning out of the deadwood, there is often very
>little logic to who stays and who goes. Why? Like you
>said, they're clueless, which is why it's personal in
>a way. Those who make the layoff decisions *should*
>know who to keep and who to get rid of. That's their
>job, just like it's our job to know what information
>needs to be supplied to whom. 
>

As we're in the midst of layoff fever now, this has been 
the topic of many conversations.
 
Management has indicated that they feel that the fairest 
way to handle this is in large part (although not 
completely) to base their decisions on which projects 
are cut. I disagree: I think the fairest method is to 
decide what projects are cut and what projects are left. 
Then leave it up to the line managers to fill the number 
of positions on the projects that are left. Otherwise, 
it seems to me to be Russian roulette: if you're on a 
project that happens to be cut, you're gone, regardless 
of your past performance.

Sometimes I suspect that by "fairest" management means 
"easiest on them," as it's obviously easier to tell 
someone they're laid off because their entire project 
was eliminated than it is to tell someone they've been 
laid off even though their project remains because the 
number of writing positions has been cut and they aren't 
as valuable to the company as some writers on other projects.

Supposedly, management is using the following criteria:

* Ongoing business requirements of affected organizations 
* Employee skills and experience to meet those business requirements 
* Documented performance 
* Other criteria as required by local laws 

Based on some statements I've heard, I cynically believe that 
many managers are going to stop at item 1.

---
Janice Gelb                  | The only connection Sun has with
janice -dot- gelb -at- eng -dot- sun -dot- com      | this message is the return address.

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Janice Gelb                  | The only connection Sun has with
janice -dot- gelb -at- eng -dot- sun -dot- com      | this message is the return address.
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