Layoffs, layoffs, and layoffs! Last year, the word most of us were hearing was layoffs. This company laid off that many employees and that company laid off this many employees. The process went on and on, until the curse of layoffs finally reached my workplace, the AT&T Call Center in Springfield. Yes, I remember the day like yesterday.
It was July 22nd, 2014, and I was having an exceptionally good day at work. Since I have been a sales executive officer for more than 5 years, I even managed to score 4 sales in one day. However, the happiness didn't last for long and the manager called everyone out for a meeting. It was during this time that we were told that the company will be shutting down its Springfield call center.
This meant that AT&T planned to cut almost 188 jobs. I was extremely surprised and didn't know how to respond to the news. Additionally, since the call center was to be closed next month, I only had 12 days to find a new job. Otherwise, I would be left unemployed for a whole month. I was already late on my child’s tuition and being jobless meant my kid would have to drop out of school.
AT&T offered me to join its nearby call center in Rantoul. However, since the city is about 90 miles east of Springfield, I couldn't take the risk of leaving my family alone for so long. Not to mention, travel isn't exactly cheap anymore. I tried for days to secure a good job, but was unable to do so. The company provided me a severance package, but that didn't prove enough.
I went into a dark place, unable to get a job, keep my kid or wife happy. I didn't think a layoff could affect me so much, but it did. However, with my wife’s support, I managed to get back on my feet and joined another call center in Springfield. Additionally, I have also learnt how to prepare for layoffs by looking at early signs. So, I now know exactly what to do, if such a thing happens again.