This was written back in 2009. Reproducing it here for record.
It was the day after my 12th anniversary at my first job that the guillotine came down on me on grounds of redundancy. After 12 years of working and progressing from an engineer to a Vice President in the same company, there is no way for me not to see it coming. So, after 12 years and 15 days, I left the company for the last time unceremoniously and as quietly as I walked in on my first day I reported to work.
In retrospect, it had been obvious that such a day is nigh I was promoted with a VP designation. The organization was top heavy. We had 7 VPs for a company doing about US$55 million revenue a year. Of the 7, there were 3 dwelled at the corporate office, where I was one of them. The rest were from the business operations. Practically, we only need 1 VP at the Corporate level who the CEO can ‘slap’ for all things Corporate and 1 from operations, aptly designated as COO, who will eventually be CEO. So, I suppose the entire top heavy setup a year ago was a deliberate design to sieve who to be kept and who had to go. And when there’s a new CEO, then I suppose the cycle would be repeated albeit with different contestants. It does sound like The Apprentice, only this is real where people’s livelihood is at stake. Well, that’s my perspective.
The moment came when I was summoned to the CEO office by his secretary. I recalled myself muttering “Well, this is it.” Despite been mentally prepared for this, my heart was pumping while at the same time curious to see how the meeting was going to turn out. Well, at stage like this the adage ‘never burn the bridge’ applies. I walked in with smile carrying my laptop computer. (Never walk into a meeting with a superior without anything to take notes with, but I had a reason I chose the laptop instead of a pen and paper.)
As expected, CEO opened the dialog by putting in the context stating the obvious justification for the decision. He first offered me to take a leave of absence without pay until the end of the year but immediately rationalized that I would be better off taking the option to leave all together as my severance package after working for 12 years would be an obvious choice.
I felt compelled to expand on the subject of the no-pay leave scheme at this juncture; The scheme had been deliberated among us when he first mooted it months before. He was somewhat perplexed that all of us at the top management level told him that this scheme would not work and employees would have opted for a severance package. He attempted to sell the scheme by impressing to us that the pilots at his country’s (He is a foreign but not too foreign CEO at our company) national airline had taken extended no pay leave as part of the cost cutting measure. He further lamented of our unfavorable response to the scheme saying that he couldn’t understand how the scheme wouldn’t work as the employees would then have the opportunity to become Char Koay Teow sellers (one of my colleagues was not pleased with that statement as he somewhat found it insulting – suggesting him to be a hawker. I took it as a metaphor) or try do some business while being able to fall back on to the company later on if the venture didn’t go well. I read about a local large bank who offered the same scheme to its employees, which I later found out that the bank had accorded up to 4 months bonus to its employees before implementing the scheme. In contrast to us, we didn’t have bonuses declared and it was my first time after working 12 years at the company that I had no bonuses to take home for the year. (So, I suppose the severance package might as well be such bonus.)
Anyhow, getting back to the main story; CEO explained that those affected, including me will be the first on the list to be called back to work when the economy recovers. We explored on the kind of portfolio I would be interested to take up if I do return to the company later on. He even suggested that the he may assist me by ‘contracting’ some relevant works to me later on. He then glanced at the laptop and asked if I have a computer to work on if such a contract takes place (the reason why it was brought to the meeting) and I answered ‘no’ and jumped in with the audacity to ask for the laptop as a parting gift. We settled it for a small token. Pushing my luck, I asked if the company could be so kind to consider a further gratuity payment to me. I had to ask, otherwise, I would regret not asking at all even. He replied no.
The meeting concluded nicely. I summed up the meeting to my colleague that he was being nice, I was being nicer and so the meeting was very nice but in the end, both of us are very well aware that whatever that’s said can only be tested by time. I left the room full with optimism as I am now entering a realm of possibilities as an era of mine has come to an end. In the coming months, I must choose carefully to really pursue my aspirations and not to cling on to just any floating plank. I must thank the CEO for doing this for me as I am a guy with no initiative to move away from my comfort zone. Now that I am have being pushed off the cliff, I shall learn to fly. To those who has been affected by layoffs…Come fly with me!
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