Change of Circumstances

Well, I'd worked for X for a long time -- about 15 years.  I needed a change and proposed a new assignment.  I pitched it to HR.  I pitched it to a potential supervisor.  Together, he & I pitched it to my current boss.  Everyone liked the idea. 

The transition went off without a hitch.  My customers -- engineers & other technical staff inside X -- were very satisfied.  I reported back to senior management with data about the success of the new programs.

...most of a year passes...

For several years, Angel & I had owned property in a sleepy village in the North Country.  We had always planned to retire there, but that would be some years in the future.  But we realized that my new job was ideal for telecommuting.  So after my new job was dialed in and I'd had a very successful review, I proposed to my boss that Angel & I accelerate our plans.  We'd build our "dream house" 'way up north, move up there and I'd continue my work for X.

We proceeded slowly and spent much of the subsequent year building our home.  I saved up vacation.  Although our home wasn't completely done, it was inhabitable by April of '08, so we moved up.  I used my saved vacation time and we spent much of April getting the place set up; although I did spend nearly a week of my "vacation" doing some urgent work that my boss just couldn't wait for.

By May, I was connected and working.  Things looked good.  We lived in a beautiful place and I was making a good wage.

Soon, however, we began to hear rumors of possible layoffs at X.  My friends sent me emails.  They called.  Big changes were in the wind.  

Now X had *never* in it's 25 year history had a layoff, and we'd always been told that unless the company was in serious trouble, we would not have layoffs.  X was very profitable, so how serious could this threat be?

OTOH, X now had a new CEO.  And several new VP's.  The rumors persisted.  The rumors got louder and scarier.

One month after I had started telecommuting, my boss called me and gave me the news.  After nearly 17 years at X, I was being laid off.  All my projects were cancelled.  They were going to keep me on payroll for a couple of months.

A couple of months went by.  In the meantime, I'd applied for many jobs.  No luck. The economy was going south.  House prices continued to erode.

In early August, my "separation date" with X occurred.  No fanfare.  By now, this was almost exactly my 17th anniversary with X.  Employment gone.  58 years old.  Tiny, isolated town.  Local employment opportunities: bed pan changer, bus person at the diner, etc.  You get the picture.

What had seemed like such a good idea.  What had seemed so well planned.  Poof!