Deja Vu All Over Again
Mon, Oct. 20th, 2003 08:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scarlettinaMy running joke about working at The Company has been that I moved to Seattle to edit game-related fiction, and though it took 9 years to get here, I was finally doing it.
Well, not any more.
Today The Company laid off 23 people including me. They were very clear that it had nothing to do with performance but was, rather, a "reorganization," corporatese for "downsizing." Research and Development lost something like 6 people (myself included), Consumer Experience lost something like 5, Design lost a couple--it was a cut across the board. We'd heard a lot over the last few weeks about how certain products hadn't performed quite as expected, but I don't think anyone saw this coming. Everyone walked out of the meetings with a glazed look in their eyes.
There was a lot of astonishment at my being let go, presumably because I'm the only novel editor on staff and because I've contributed in a number of ways at The Company other than purely novel-editing. My surprise wasn't quite so acute. I was certainly astonished to learn that we were all being laid off. The fact that I was included, however, wasn't a surprise when one considers The Company and its products overall. Novels simply weren't seen as a core product line; they were always there to support the games.
So I wrapped up my business, bid my authors, agents and publishers farewell , stuffed my car with the product I received as a benefit, and drove off into the torrential autumn rain.
So how'm I doin'? I'm feeling remarkably sanguine, all things considered. I've been through this before. I've been miserable the last two months or so because of the two or three Projects I've mentioned in previous entries, and I've been hankering to work on some of my own stuff. There are people I'll miss and there are certainly projects I really wanted to see through to their conclusions. But these things happen.
Tonight I'm just Being. I don't anticipate a weepfest, or even heavy drinking, though there will be at least one good shot of scotch before bedtime. Tomorrow I'll get up, do a little cleaning, and then sit down and take stock of where I'm at in terms of money, connections, and ambitions. After that I'll figure out what comes next.
Right now I'm in a place we don't often get to be: standing on a threshold between worlds. For tonight, I'm going to enjoy the view back and the view ahead. Tomorrow I'll worry about stepping out.
Well, not any more.
Today The Company laid off 23 people including me. They were very clear that it had nothing to do with performance but was, rather, a "reorganization," corporatese for "downsizing." Research and Development lost something like 6 people (myself included), Consumer Experience lost something like 5, Design lost a couple--it was a cut across the board. We'd heard a lot over the last few weeks about how certain products hadn't performed quite as expected, but I don't think anyone saw this coming. Everyone walked out of the meetings with a glazed look in their eyes.
There was a lot of astonishment at my being let go, presumably because I'm the only novel editor on staff and because I've contributed in a number of ways at The Company other than purely novel-editing. My surprise wasn't quite so acute. I was certainly astonished to learn that we were all being laid off. The fact that I was included, however, wasn't a surprise when one considers The Company and its products overall. Novels simply weren't seen as a core product line; they were always there to support the games.
So I wrapped up my business, bid my authors, agents and publishers farewell , stuffed my car with the product I received as a benefit, and drove off into the torrential autumn rain.
So how'm I doin'? I'm feeling remarkably sanguine, all things considered. I've been through this before. I've been miserable the last two months or so because of the two or three Projects I've mentioned in previous entries, and I've been hankering to work on some of my own stuff. There are people I'll miss and there are certainly projects I really wanted to see through to their conclusions. But these things happen.
Tonight I'm just Being. I don't anticipate a weepfest, or even heavy drinking, though there will be at least one good shot of scotch before bedtime. Tomorrow I'll get up, do a little cleaning, and then sit down and take stock of where I'm at in terms of money, connections, and ambitions. After that I'll figure out what comes next.
Right now I'm in a place we don't often get to be: standing on a threshold between worlds. For tonight, I'm going to enjoy the view back and the view ahead. Tomorrow I'll worry about stepping out.