They sent for us by e-mail, last Thursday at 10:55pm. Labeled in red, they called it a "Work Status Meeting". They set up six teams of our peers, scattered around the main building, to hand us letters describing how our positions had been cut and how we might have rights to bump other people out of a job elsewhere or that we would receive severance if we chose or had to leave. They brought in extra security for the day to monitor the elevators and the doors. And, when I went at 1:00pm on Friday to get my letter, they told me they had lost it.
I had planned to make my rounds and talk to people in the main building before I left. As I had no certainty of what was going to happen to me, I did the same anyway. My coworker, D., took me to get a drink at a nearby bar. Afterward, I proceeded back to my division where people were busy packing up there stuff. The principal in charge was planning on treating everyone to margaritas. I felt I really couldn't decline. My afternoon wasn't very productive.
My superiors tell me that no news is good news. Apparently some late resignations had saved my position. I called our human resources about this a couple days ago, they told me they are still checking on it.
Summers usually get off to a hectic start. A number of my good friends are cancers and as soon as the solstice is over, the birthday dinners begin. As for myself, C. treated me to a weekend away in Costanoa, an upscale coastal campground complete with spa and other yuppie amenities. The interminable onslaught of nights out had already taken their toll on me and I hacked my way through the entire weekend. But for that, it was a pretty ideal weekend starting with an early morning IMAX showing of "The Dark Knight" and lunch at Hog Island Oyster Company, continuing with a hike in the Butano State Park while worrying about imaginary mountain lions, and finishing with a stroll along the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and watching the Chinese Acrobats.
Even with all the festivities, I've spent most of July worrying about my job status. Ironically, I've never been busier, my long awaited project has just started and I'm at work for about twelve hours a day, though my weekends have been unsullied so far. The Friday before last we received notice of how many people in each job classifications are being cut. Where I work people must be laid off in order of seniority, from least to most, based on their time in their current classification. As it so happens, there are 18 people just like me and I'm number 10 from the top (or nine from the bottom). And as it so happens, they cut 8 people. It gets a little complicated after that, but there's still a chance that someone else could take my spot and I could be out of a job.
This past week I've been riding a roller coaster of emotion. On Monday it seemed there was a possibility that I'd be out of a job based on one interpretation of what was going to happen. On Tuesday, that seem to get reversed and on Wednesday, I heard that I was definitely "safe". On Thursday however I saw an e-mail that informed me that Human Resources would not be telling anyone definitively who was leaving until this coming Friday, the 15th. The plan apparently is to call those "affected" to notify them and then to have security escort them out. Classy, really classy. Anyway, there's only four more days to go. Three if they decide to tell us in the morning.