#employeerelations

Well kinda ironic I signed my severance package and since then I am having log in issues and can't get past the VPN. Im in a no fault state and with everything going on. Nothing surprises me anymore.

What a joke.

An hour of how great Eliza is. Just come out and tell us that within a few years, we will all be without a job because your precious AI bot will be doing it all.

Hey RV, I think your girl Eliza left a little something on your chin. Might wanna wipe that off

If Fannie Mae is bringing in 2.07 MILLION per employee, per year, why are layoffs necessary? Please educate me because I'm obviously a mo--n.

https://the-cfo.io/2025/12/09/the-hidden-engines-driving-million-dollar-employees/

Anyone who worked with him when he was in lower positions, was he always this heartless and uncaring towards others? Did he grow into it or was he always terrible? Ive only been here a couple years and he's a monster in many ways.

Automotive supplier Avancez is cutting its second shift this month, resulting in the permanent layoffs of 143 workers at its Hazel Park facility. The move was detailed in a notice submitted Nov. 7 by Avancez in compliance with WARN.

https://www.candgnews.com/amp/news/layoffs-hit-automotive-supplier-avancez-9722

I’m one of the corporate engineers who was going to fill in for the strike and was part of the lay offs. Hope you guys still do the strike. They laid off lots of competent engineers that usually fill in for strikes. Make them feel the pain!

🫡

U.S. Xpress laid off employees across the company in response to lower demand for trucking, according to an internal email obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/dec/05/us-xpress-enacts-broad-layoffs-amid-reduced-truck/

So let me get this straight…

We don’t have any assigned desks but…

1. You can book a desk online
2. If full, join another IDT neighbourhood
3. You aren’t allowed to use other available areas in the building on a regular basis (LOL)
4. In high demand days you will be told which days to work from site
5. Attendance owners are tracking you

This is all absolutely ludicrous and ambiguous on purpose so they can say you weren’t “following the rules” and give you a lower rating at the end of the year.
And they get to determine what it means.

I’m very curious to see how many people worldwide will actually abide by this. I suspect it will not have the effect Wael is hoping it will. After all, you can only inflict this type of pain only if people let you.

After the backlash from trying to take away the purchased vacation, I hope there is a backlash here too. These rules aren’t for the betterment of the company as a whole, it’s Wael’s way to inflict attrition for people to leave on their own accord or to justify laying off.

These “rules” aren’t taking us to better long-term investments, it’s not taking us to better acquisitions.

The same disastrous decisions of burning cash through stock buybacks are being done by Wael all while telling us we can’t sit at the cafeteria if we want to.

“Only then use other available areas”
Only then when? Once? Every time? For a week? The wording is intentional.

It seems to me, Wael doesn’t need any workers at all, he seems to believe he can run the company all on his own. Maybe we should all listen and let him do it.

Good Morning Plano and TPC R&D!

We know some of you may be included on Distribution Lists outside of the R&D-DL and may have seen a note sent to North America specific functions regarding restructuring this week. To clarify, this message does NOT apply to Corp/Global employees. As a Corporate Function, R&D employees should continue to come into Plano and TPC offices this week.

Apologies for any confusion and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Have a good week.

From where I sit as a person who worked for a company that TU acquired a few years ago, almost all of the technical engineering staff with knowledge and experience of major technical systems that keep the business running have been laid off now. All of the TU staff (mostly contractors from other countries) that have stepped in to learn things still have no clue of how things actually operate even at a basic level. Most don't care to learn or don't possess the right technical and business skills and they rely on those who actually built these systems from the original companies that were acquired to do the real work. But now almost all of those original individuals from legacy companies are gone after many rounds of layoffs.

We're talking about extremely technical systems that interface with thousands of other companies that we have legal contracts with to receive information from and process it every day. Millions of records which generate millions of dollars for TU are being handled by a skeleton crew of incompetent TU staff and contractors now. Not to exaggerate but its now equivalent to a McDonalds fry cook doing complex brain surgery in a blindfold. Yet all of the middle-management play it down by saying, oh it's easy, it's not complicated, and we can handle it. Yet even years later, they still can't complete 99.9% of their tasks without the help of those who were laid off in recent rounds who wound up doing all of their work for them. No matter how many times they were "trained" on something, most still don't grasp what is going on and don't understand these parts of the business.

I have a feeling that very soon those poor companies that partnered with TransUnion to use products and services are going to quickly discover that TU has made blind upper level decisions with no real clue of how things actually operate, what actually they do, how much money they are making them, or who knows how to run, build, and maintain these systems. We were told years ago that this OneTru thing is the answer to everything that all the legacy systems would be migrated over to it within 1 year. Well it's been several years now and we are still operating on the same legacy systems with no end in sight for OneTru. And TU has no one left now that can properly support the legacy systems, fix partner issues, and keep them running after layoffs. Luckily many legacy systems were finely automated, but who is going to be there now when something breaks and partners of TU are going to be ringing the help desk phones off the hook? Are they going to answer and say the truth? "yeah, sorry about that, um we just laid off everyone that knows how to fix your problem, sorry but we can't help you."

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is bad business 101. If you want to know what is keeping your business up and running between your golf matches, then talk to the actual people that have their hands in it daily and keep things running for you instead of laying them all off. Don't talk to middle management because all they're going to say is what you want to hear which is a farce, "No worries boss, we got it all under control. Sure, we can do that, we can do anything you want, go ahead and make your cuts, no problems here." Middle-management here is the worst I've ever seen. Have you seen the movie "The office", TU would make the perfect sequel.

Being laid off this round would have been better than staying. The difference between those who were laid off and the existing TU people is that we actually care(d) for our partners and our customers. We treat them like family and bend over backwards to help them when problems arise. We realized the value in those relationships. But all I've seen from the TU staff is incompetency, delegation and arrogance. They just keep playing their corporate games and it's going to bite them hard real soon when the ship starts sinking and everyone who knows how to keep it afloat has been laid off. Mayday.... Mayday... Mayday...

This was too good to stay buried in the replies. The OP is @rm+1kbn0zf88.

Concerned Tufts staff members have distributed a petition in conjunction with Tufts Labor Coalition demanding that no workers be laid off as part of Tufts’ Operating Model Transformation, an initiative restructuring the university’s administrative functions.

https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2025/12/staff-members-call-on-tufts-to-avoid-layoffs-in-administrative-restructuring

Let that number really sink in. I always rolled my eyes when people told me to "just be happy you have a job" while I was complaining about all the issues we face day to day, but seeing numbers like this makes me understand, at least a little, why they say that.

Does anybody really believe we'll have more layoffs this close to Christmas? Because I don't.

I left in January because the environment had become way too toxic, and now a new offer just landed in my inbox. The offer itself looks solid, but I am really unsure about stepping back into a place that pushed me out in the first place. I am hoping someone who stayed can give an honest read on whether things are actually better or if it is still the same mess I walked away from.

This "leadership" keeps cutting people and stacking the leftovers on whoever stays. They already started again, and I am determined not to take on another unwanted task. We all kept absorbing the hit and pretending it was normal, but that ends for me today. If pushing back puts a target on my back, so be it.

SBC Legacy Executives chased off all the talent and threats to upend their massive incompetence.

People are losing their jobs and we get nonsense holiday parties, harpists playing in the lobby and piano concerts. I have never seen such a tone deaf company.

Let’s be real the whole “V Team” notion is a joke.
The new CEO walks around sipping his coffee talking about at least when Verizon lays off people before Thanksgiving, they don’t do it by text message they do it by a phone call. Yay, thank you Dan. This guy is so full of himself.

Then he lets you stay on the books to work during the holidays while the people who stay talk about holiday parties, your mgrs ghost you and you get quietly removed from team calls. Gotta love it. I hope the people who made it, are watching how the laid off ones are being treated. It will probably be worse next time under this new CEO’s regime.

I read a post about new hires getting pushed back, and it sprouted a question from when I was interviewed by Fidelity. I was laid off x amount of years ago, and had an interview with a job at Fidelity that got cancelled shortly after I interviewed. I was just wondering what that could be.

A few months after I was laid off from Fidelity, I was given another interview with the firm. It was in the product area I got laid off from. When I interviewed, I was able to articulate my work at Fidelity prior to my layoff very well. I got a vast majority of the interview questions correct, and showed a very agreeable attitude and ability to jive with the team. I think they appreciated my curiosity for the work the team does, as well as me asking some questions about how our team provides that value. It felt like we really liked each other: the interviewers and manager were smiling and joking with me in the call, too. All while keeping everything professional. The feedback even said I did really well, but was constructive in 1 or 2 places I agreed with.

It looked like a potentially perfect fit. After the interview, I felt as if I KNEW I got the role. However, apparently, there ended up being a new manager who “repurposed the requisition” (I believe the new manager wanted someone more senior level). The recruiter provided reasonable constructive feedback to me, and said “yo let’s call again this week to look at other roles”. I never heard from that recruiter again.

The impact of a layoff seems to depend on the person. For most of us (including me), it’s he-l. It already su-ks when a company pulls a job you just interviewed for. I can’t calculate what exponent the su-kiness factor is multiplied by when the company that laid you off in the first place is the one pulling it after an interview. I asked Fidelity HR about it once. From what Fidelity HR told me, I’m in good standing with the company. Although I realized that maybe Fidelity had something about me or my performance that they aren’t showing to me since I’m out of the company, my layoff status still had nothing performance related. So… idk why I never got a response back.

Have I moved on from it? Well, I’m here talking about it on a public forum, asking what possibly made this happen, so you tell me if I got closure. At least I’m in a place much better for me now, and it’s all love from me with (most of) the people who work there. I have no regrets working at Fidelity and I think being laid off made me a better person, and led me to where I am today. Again, a layoff’s impact on someone is purely individual.

Bringing up the title of this post, without giving too much of my identity, what is the reason behind something like this? I was viewed as an easy pickup who knew the product area already, had natural chemistry with team members, and could have been an immediate positive impact on not only my own work, but helping other people right from day 1. And it gets pulled out of nowhere. Made no sense to me. On top of that, why’d the recruiter ghost me? HR said straight up there’s nothing bad on my record, so I was fumbling around trying to figure out if I offended anybody.

If anyone could give me a comprehensive list of possibilities as to why I was ghosted or why this happened, I would really appreciate it. Thank you, happy holidays!

what do you all think of a store manager who hands out certain invitations to attend an (out of the store) xmas party to certain people (in front of everyone in store) and excludes certain people? should belk fire her for that?

Hearing him make jokes at the time when so many have lost their livelihood and the rest of us are still uncertain if we'll have a job in a month or two completely disillusioned me. That shows how much he truly "cares" for employees.

No dedicated employee deserves to have their job threatened on a consistent basis for a year or longer. Leave them, they have no loyalty to you. There are better jobs. I went back to an old employer and I'm so happy again. I was miserable worrying over job security. Start looking at other companies and jump ship. Your mental and physical health will benefit. They don't care about you anymore and we all know they don't care about the customers. They are just focused on lining their pockets. Best of luck to you. You are worthy of an employer who values you.

How does a company the size of AT&T completely fu-k up the final compensation checks for the employees they just laid off? Overpayment, underpayment, it is complete chaos & they simply don't give a sh-t. It's the holiday season. Mortgage still has to get paid.

I received four separate pay stubs and none of them match my direct deposits.

Plus, my supervisor had no clue on process so I am getting requests to complete tasks that should have been done before they walked me out the door.

AT&T can't get anything right.

I was part of the layoff in October, and I noticed today my position along with a couple others laid off on my team have been posted on Target’s career page. They made some slight adjustments but it is almost exactly the job I was laid off from. Has anyone else seen this or have any advice? It’s a little hurtful to be backfilled less than 2 months after being laid off…

I see nothing has changed at the Great Blue Monster. Check in here occasionally to find out how many lives they are wrecking this year.

Was caught up in 2022 layoff at PEP after 15 years when my department was offshored.

The last 3.5 years are the best I've had since before I started at PEP.

Feel for those still stuck at that soul crushing company. Much better companies out there to work for.

Wishing you all health, wealth, and happiness.

Smh

I didn’t get that much sleep . I felt sick this morning

But now I feel relieved . No longer having to worry is this the day ?

I’m almost 100% sure more RA’s in February

I was really Angry at Alvind and his Pipmunks but I really don’t care about them now

They have no concern about us.

But back to us whose last day was today I hope you are all well and that there are better opportunities out there

You deserve better

I heard from my manager that we are getting tracked on time in office now? Is that true?

Has anyone heard anything new on if Provider Services (under Kelly B.) is still in the “safe” zone as far as layoffs (or even upcoming changes in general) are concerned? We were told on the last round we were safe, but there was not confidence on how long that would be.

Has anyone ever heard of an employee with less than 7 years at HPE ask to be on the WFR list?

Every time the cuts hit, it feels like they're pulling names out of a hat because skills and performance and dedication never seem to matter in the final call. It turns the whole thing into a layoff lottery, and after watching that play out over and over, it's hard to feel motivated to give everything you've got when it clearly doesn't affect who stays or who gets pushed out.

Genuinely curious to know how its going after cutting down entire members of many important teams.

The more I hear who got riffed the more it seems some locations took a much bigger hit…like Tulsa. Feel sorry for those that work there as they must be wondering what’s next

So one of my close friends is a manager and he showed me what he sees: how many days per week in the office and total hours per day in the office (badge in/out or network connection, he is not sure know how the hours are actually being tracked). Well the report is very real saw it with my own eyes.

Copy Pasta from a different site:

Former HR here - subtle signs your company is preparing for layoffs

I’ve been through 3 rounds of layoffs (twice in HR, once when I was also laid off), and there’s a pattern that emerges before the axe falls. Not trying to create paranoia, but if you’re seeing multiple signs on this list, it might be time to update your resume.

This got long, so I’ve broken it down by timeline and severity. Hopefully this helps someone see what’s coming and prepare accordingly.

EARLY WARNING SIGNS (3-6 months out)

Financial and strategic shifts:

Hiring freeze gets announced, especially if it’s sudden or poorly explained. When companies say “we’re being strategic about growth” out of nowhere, that’s HR-speak for “we’re about to cut costs aggressively.” Pay attention to whether it’s a soft freeze (critical roles only) or hard freeze (literally nobody).

Executives start talking about “efficiency,” “operational excellence,” “doing more with less,” or “rightsizing” in all-hands meetings. Once leadership starts using these phrases repeatedly, start paying attention. They’re preparing employees psychologically for cuts.

The company misses earnings or revenue targets multiple quarters in a row, or leadership keeps revising guidance downward. Public companies especially - check their investor relations page and quarterly calls.

Consultants show up. Specifically McKcKinsey, Bain, Deloitte, or similar firms. They’re not there to make things better for employees - they’re there to identify “redundancies” and provide cover for cuts leadership already wants to make. If you see consultants doing org chart analysis or “efficiency studies,” that’s a massive red flag.

Leadership changes at the top. New CEO, CFO, or COO often means new priorities. New executives frequently want to “make their mark” within the first 100 days, and layoffs are a quick way to cut costs and restructure.

Budget and resource signals:

Training and development budgets disappear. Conference approvals get denied, software licenses don’t get renewed, that certification you wanted gets tabled indefinitely. When companies stop investing in employee development, they’re not planning long-term with current staff.

Discretionary spending freezes. Team outings canceled, holiday parties scaled back or eliminated, small perks disappear. These are the easiest costs to cut first.

Delayed or frozen merit increases and bonuses. If annual raises get “postponed” or bonuses are cut despite decent performance, the company is hoarding cash for something.

Open headcount gets quietly closed. You might not notice a hiring freeze officially, but those three open roles on your team just stop being discussed.

Cultural and messaging changes:

The “we’re a family” messaging intensifies. Ironically, when companies start really pushing the culture stuff hard, it’s often because morale is tanking and they know what’s coming. Authentic culture doesn’t need constant reinforcement.

Town halls become more frequent but less substantive. Leadership is trying to control the narrative and keep people calm, but they’re not actually saying anything meaningful.

Internal communications shift tone. Messages become more formal, more carefully worded, more legal-sounding. This usually means lawyers are reviewing everything.

Real estate and facilities:

Office consolidation starts being discussed. Subleasing space, breaking leases early, or suddenly pushing hybrid/remote work after being office-focused. Real estate is expensive and often the first place companies look to cut.

Facilities staff reductions. If maintenance, security, or reception teams shrink, that’s a leading indicator.

MEDIUM-TERM SIGNS (1-3 months out)

The ones people miss:

Your manager starts acting weird in 1-on-1s. They seem distant, can’t give you clear answers about future projects, or suddenly don’t want to talk about your career development, or they cancel 1-on1s. They often know 4-6 weeks before you do and are terrible at hiding it. Watch for:

Avoiding eye contact

Being vague about Q2/Q3 planning

Not fighting for resources they normally would

Seeming stressed or checked out

Cross-functional projects get canceled or put on hold indefinitely. If that big initiative involving multiple teams suddenly loses steam, it’s often because leadership knows the teams won’t exist soon.

Reorganizations that don’t make sense. When they shuffle reporting structures or combine teams in weird ways, they’re often preparing for consolidation. The reorg is the setup; the layoff is the follow-through.

Senior people start leaving and aren’t replaced. When your VP quietly exits and the role just disappears or gets absorbed, that’s a restructure preview. Execs often see the writing on the wall before layoffs and jump ship.

The “high performer” narrative shifts. Suddenly everyone’s being evaluated more critically, PIPs increase, and the bar for “meeting expectations” gets higher. They’re building paper trails.

HR and administrative signals:

HR schedules random meetings with employees to “check in.” This can be them gauging morale, but it can also be them identifying who might be problems during layoffs (ie, who might sue or cause issues).

Increased focus on documentation. HR suddenly cares a lot about having everything in writing, attendance records are scrutinized, minor policy violations are documented. They’re building files.

Anonymous surveys about “organizational effectiveness” or “role clarity.” They’re identifying redundancies and overlapping responsibilities.

Operational changes:

Vendors get cut or renegotiated aggressively. If the company is trying to save money everywhere, labor costs are next.

Projects shift from innovation to maintenance. All the exciting new work stops, and teams are just keeping lights on. This suggests they don’t believe in long-term investment right now.

Contractors and temps disappear first. This is always the canary in the coal mine. If contractors are let go en masse, full-time employees are usually 4-8 weeks behind.

Financial desperation moves:

The company takes on debt or seeks additional funding under unfavorable terms. This suggests cash flow problems.

Asset sales. Selling off business units, real estate, IP, or other assets to raise cash.

Delayed payments to vendors. If your company is stretching payables or late on bills, they’re struggling with cash.

IMMEDIATE RED FLAGS (2-4 weeks out)

The “oh sh-t” tier:

You or your team suddenly gets asked to document all your processes in detail, create runbooks, or do knowledge transfers “for continuity.” They’re preparing for people to be gone and don’t want institutional knowledge walking out the door.

Managers have mysterious meetings that aren’t on the calendar, or meetings that say “leadership sync” with no agenda. Often they’re being told how to “rank” their teams (stack ranking) or getting trained on how to deliver termination news.

HR blocks calendar time that’s marked private across the entire organization on the same day. That’s layoff day. Usually a Wednesday or Thursday.

Managers seem panicked or are suddenly unavailable. They’re either in planning meetings or mentally preparing for what they have to do.

IT or Security starts asking random questions about access, or you notice permissions audits. They’re preparing to revoke access quickly.

Conference rooms get blocked all day with “private” meetings. Those are the termination meetings.

The parking lot has way more cars than usual early in the morning on a random day. Leadership arrives early to prepare and coordinate.

The final 48 hours:

Executives all happen to be “in the office” on the same day when they’re usually remote or traveling. They want to show their faces and deliver messages in person.

Your manager asks for a “quick sync” with no context, or you get a calendar invite for early morning with just “meeting.” That’s often the termination conversation.

You notice coworkers disappearing into conference rooms and not coming back, or leaving with boxes. If it’s happening, it’s happening to multiple people today.

Email access starts acting weird, VPN connections drop, or badge access to certain areas stops working. IT is already starting to shut you down.

WHAT TO DO - ACTION PLAN

Preparation phase (as soon as you see early signs)

Update LinkedIn immediately. Make sure your profile is complete and compelling. Turn on “open to work” privately so recruiters can see it but your company can’t.

Refresh your resume and tailor it for your target roles. Have multiple versions ready for different job types. Get it reviewed by someone who knows your industry.

Document your accomplishments with metrics. Revenue generated, costs saved, projects delivered, teams built. Save this somewhere personal, not company equipment.

Save important files legally. Performance reviews, reference letters, samples of your work (that aren’t confidential), documentation of your achievements. Email them to your personal account or save to personal cloud storage. Do NOT take confidential company information, client data, or proprietary code.

Screenshot or save your LinkedIn recommendations and endorsements. Sometimes people leave and delete their profiles.

Reconnect with your network NOW while you’re employed. It’s easier to get coffee as a “catch up” than as a desperate job seeker. Reach out to old colleagues, mentors, recruiters you’ve worked with.

Financial preparation:

Build emergency fund if possible. Even an extra month of expenses helps.

Understand your benefits. Know your PTO balance, how severance works at your company (if there’s a standard package), what COBRA costs, when your stock vests, and what happens to your 401k.

Reduce expenses where you can. Not to panic level, but maybe hold off on big purchases.

Check if you have any loans against 401k or obligations tied to employment. Some companies require repayment upon termination.

Legal and administrative:

Keep records of everything. If you suspect you’re being targeted unfairly (discrimination, retaliation), document it meticulously with dates and witnesses.

Check your employment contract for non-compete, non-solicitation, and IP assignment clauses. Know what you signed.

Mental preparation:

This is not about your worth. Layoffs are business decisions, usually driven by executive mistakes or market conditions. Even top performers get cut.

Have a plan for how you’ll spend day one after a layoff. Whether it’s updating your resume, going for a run, or calling a friend, having a plan helps you not spiral.

Tell your partner or trusted person what might be coming. Don’t suffer alone or let it blindside your household.

If/when it happens:

Don’t sign anything immediately. You usually have time to review severance agreements. Consider having an employment lawyer review it, especially if it includes non-compete or release clauses.

Negotiate if possible. Severance, extended healthcare, references, job search support, equity vesting. The worst they can say is no, and many companies have wiggle room.

File for unemployment immediately. Even if you get severance, you might be eligible. Don’t leave money on the table.

Ask for a neutral reference or letter of recommendation before you leave. Much easier to get this on day one than six months later.

Understand what’s happening to your benefits. COBRA deadlines, life insurance conversion options, FSA/HSA balances.

Get contact info for colleagues you want to stay in touch with. Once you lose email access, it’s hard to reconnect.

Job search strategy:

Take a day or two to process emotionally. You don’t have to start applying immediately.

Quality over quantity. Targeted applications with customized materials beat spray-and-pray.

Use your network first. Most jobs are filled through referrals. Let people know you’re looking.

Consider contract or freelance work to bridge gaps. It keeps money coming in and shows you stayed active.

Be honest in interviews about the layoff. “Company went through restructuring” or “position was eliminated due to budget cuts” is fine. Most interviewers get it, especially if layoffs were public.

WHAT NOT TO DO

Don’t panic or make it obvious you’re job hunting. Don’t print your resume on the company printer, don’t take recruiting calls at your desk, don’t update LinkedIn with “OPEN TO WORK” publicly while still employed.

Don’t badmouth the company publicly. Even if you’re furious, keep it professional. The industry is smaller than you think.

Don’t stop doing your job. Keep performing until the end. You want good references and you never know what might change.

Don’t burn bridges with your manager. Even if they’re delivering bad news, they’re probably just doing what they were told. Stay professional.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Seriously, don’t steal company property, access data you shouldn’t, or do anything that could give them cause for termination instead of layoff. You want that severance and unemployment eligibility.

AFTERMATH - IF YOU SURVIVE THE CUT

Survivor’s guilt is real. It’s okay to feel relieved and also sad for colleagues who were let go.

Your workload is about to increase dramatically. Set boundaries early and document what’s not getting done. Don’t try to do three people’s jobs.

Start looking anyway. Companies that do one round of layoffs often do more. Plus, the culture and workload might not be sustainable.

Support your laid-off colleagues. Write recommendations, make introductions, be a reference. What goes around comes around.

over 2000 jobs gone in India. Many of the teams were keeping the lights on after the wider cuts and now those teams are slashed. I know some will have malice regarding those employees, but they are humans and deserve sympathy like the 13k already gone from other areas. Lets hope nothing bad happens in the near future as recovery will be next to impossible and the market knows it.

https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/11/26/news-beyond-ex-vp-lo-intel-is-reportedly-poaching-tsmc-arizona-engineers-with-20-30-higher-salaries/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

This must feel terrible for the ones recently let go due to ERP or layoffs.