bloodletting

[totient]

In the two weeks leading up to last Thursday, Vanu Inc fired seven people, all "for cause" though none of the causes with which I am familiar are ones I would normally consider firing offenses. My boss Jim was the first one; I was the last (at least so far).

In my own case, I should have seen it coming: my political capital was mostly with Jim and I was a strong ally of his. I took my most recent position there in order to get to work for Jim and to see if I could put together an effective organization, and it was pretty clear by a week after Jim was fired that I'd have to start from scratch in order to accomplish the second goal. So, I had been planning to speak to another manager there about an internal transfer. Had I not been approved for that -- and I know there are people there who want to move and have not -- then I don't think it would have been long before I quit, recession or no recession. Still, I wasn't expecting it to be so quick, or on these terms.

Vanu, Inc was a great place to work for almost the entire time I was there. I will miss many of my coworkers, and I learned some fun things along the way. I won't soon take another director-level position so many reporting steps away from the CEO in such a small company; the politics in that configuration are just too treacherous.

Tactically, miss_chance and I should be OK; this is actually reasonably good timing for a break. I've had a week to put together a resume and I'm a lot more relaxed now than I was three weeks ago, which I needed. I have an intriguing meeting set up for tomorrow, and I'm hoping for many more -- if you've got any interesting leads, please let me know.

Comments

[scliff.livejournal.com]

Sorry. It sucks to be let go, and getting bogusly "fired" has to be worse. I'm glad it's not a hardship for you.

I hope all of you actually file for benefits anyway. They shouldn't be let off the hook for this, the way you describe it.

Good luck!

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Amen to this. There's been a lot of scrutiny lately of companies firing people instead of laying them off, in order to avoid paying unemployment costs.

That said, glad you're able to enjoy the break and I hope something exciting and new finds you soon.

Gee, maybe it's time for all y'all to get together and see if there's a startup in the making :)

[jered]

WTF "for cause" without a performance plan or anything? That's totally bogus. Nail 'em to the wall. What "cause" did they give?

I mean, everyone's an at-will employee around here anyway, so trying to avoid having to pay unemployment is just petty.

[palmwiz.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm totally filing for unemployment, and I doubt they'll have the temerity to contest, let alone win.

[tcb.livejournal.com]

Fuck! Sorry to hear the news. It sounds like all of the wrong kind of politics. Good luck getting back on your feet.

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

Don't be sorry - he's better off.

(I didn't say that.)

[c1.livejournal.com]

I hope this ends up being for the better, and that you find something soon.

Are you eligible for UI benefits?

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

You're in my thoughts, hon. I wish I could help more than that. It sounds like you've got things sorted as much as possible for the moment, for which I salute you.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

What type of position would you be looking for?
Dell (http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2008/2008_02_04_rr_000?c=us&l=en&s=corp) in Nashua (http://www.equallogic.com/) is hiring. It's where G works, If you decide to apply, let him know he can put in a word plus he would get a bounty if you're hired. :)

[bryant]

Sympathies! And, yeah, I hear what you're saying about director-level positions, distance from the CEO, and company size. Familiar story, in fact.

I'll keep an eye out for anything that might fit.

[inahandbasket]

oof, even if the timing was ok that's a crappy way to go. Condolences.
Will keep an ear to the ground.

Sorry to hear that

[tjic.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that.

For the record, you're one of the best engineers I ever worked with, so (a) I know you'll get any job that you apply for and which is looking for a great engineer; (b) I'd be more than happy to be a reference.

I wish our own budget wasn't so tight - I'd definitely get on the "I want to hire Phi - I hope he consents to work here" line !

Re: Sorry to hear that

[palmwiz.livejournal.com]

I'd be more than happy to be a reference

I'm about to take you up on that, thanks!

[catya.livejournal.com]

I am good at resume review, if you want a set of eyes on it...

[mrf-arch.livejournal.com]

Yikes. This whole bogus firing thing will, hopefully, come around to bite someone on the ass.

Meantime, here's to new opportunity arriving soon.

[make-your-move.livejournal.com]

I'll cross my fingers for you.

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Ugh, sorry for the joblessness. On the other hand, given your skills you should hopefully be able to network your way into something new in a reasonable timeframe!

BTW, reminder: please bring my art show auction piece to the party this weekend? Thanks!

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

Although I'm glad you're not in a situation where you weren't happy, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you'll get a new (better) job soon...

[ceo]

Wow, what a crappy way to behave.

I'm keeping all appropriate appendages crossed for you. If you'd like a reference or a LinkedIn recommendation, let me know.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a pretty unprofessional ending - sorry to hear it!
I'll keep my eye out for leads. I'm doing lots of networking, though it's mostly with startups involve robotics or medical devices, as I actually like hardware products and am looking for ME/systems work. There are definitely some companies in that space hiring...

[blackanvil.livejournal.com]

Ouch. Yeah, "for cause" just doesn't smell right. Good luck!

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Sounds like it was an overall better thing to go with Jim, then... and learn the lesson...

Good luck with everything!

[gosling.livejournal.com]

Ick. Relatively good timing for you or not, their utterly unprofessional behavior is really quite horrid. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

[heliopsis.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear that. It sounds like they have structural problems, and that you will be well rid of them.

If you'd like a reference, I'm happy to give you one.

[palmwiz.livejournal.com]

If you'd like a reference, I'm happy to give you one.

Thanks! I'm about to take you up on that.

[drbitch.livejournal.com]

When I heard that you were no longer working there, I asked, "Did he leave or get laid off?" When I heard "fired," all I could do was boggle, with a side of WTF. Enjoy your break, and I hope things work out to your satisfaction.