The Second Round, Part 1

I had survived the first round of layoffs at Aradiant three months prior. At the time, I thought I would have some job security for about a year.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I had received a phone call on Halloween from the Manager that my attendance would be required at a meeting at 10am on 11/01/01. Even though a lot of bad stuff had happened at work recently, including the day I got the call, I was mildly optimistic that the meeting would be a simple discussion of current issues, like the CEO having stepped down the day before.

I arrived at work on 11/01/01 and started setting up at a different Supervisor station. Since my Supervisor Camd and I had to be close to our team members, we had to share a station with another Supervisor team. This was the first time we'd have to do that since I became an LDA. I really didn't like the idea of having to share space like that because that meant that someone else could have access to the employee records of those on my team. I actually hoped that some other Supervisor team would get laid off so that we could have the station all to ourselves.

Camd came in at 6am. I asked him if he was going to the meeting at 10am. He didn't know what I was talking about. After we had talked to some of the other Supervisors and LDAs, we found out that some of the Supervisors had a meeting at 8am and there was a meeting for some Quality Assurance members at 9am. At this point, we were aware they were likely announcing layoffs, but we didn't know for certain if they were laying off the people at the meetings or those who weren't. (Yeah, we were being REALLY optimistic. It wouldn't have made sense to have meetings with those who were going to stay and THEN tell the others they no longer had jobs.)

I remember one LDA saying she hoped it would be bad news, because when the Manager called her about the meeting, it happened before she took her kid trick or treating and she worried about it the whole time. She felt it wrecked Halloween.

The first meeting with the Supervisors took place at 8am. At 8:20am, I saw the overnight Supervisor come to her station and start packing her stuff. She had tears in her eyes. (I thought this was really cruddy. They made her work her entire overnight shift and then come to the meeting at 8am to lay her off.) It was at this point I could no longer be in denial. If we were being called to a meeting, we were being laid off. I felt my heart sink very deeply into my chest. I was not ready for this. Even worse was that I was going to have to wait almost two hours to be told I no longer had a job.

I also found out that the Manager who had called out sick the day before had been laid off. People were coming up to her expressing their sorrow. She was working hard to be positive, but I could tell she was just as disappointed as they were. I also got the idea that she found out ahead of time what was going to happen and that was why she called out sick on Halloween.

The dispatch agents on my team were very concerned about me. They didn't want me to go. I didn't want to go, either. I realized that up to that point in my life, this had been the best job I'd ever had. I didn't want it to end like this. I spent the time before the meeting moping around. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. All I could do was figure out what I was going to do when I left.

The 9am meeting with QA and other staff members took place. I caught up with someone I had been rather friendly with, shook his hand and said goodbye. He didn't spend any time hanging around afterward.

It then came our time for the meeting. There were about five of us LDAs in the room with the lone remaining Call Center Manager and a member of the HR team. We were each given a packet. One person showed up a little late. She asked for a packet. Another LDA said she didn't want one of those packets.

The meeting started and we were officially informed that we would no longer be working for Aradiant. In the packet, we each got our final check, which consisted of the hours we'd worked in the current pay period, any unused vacation time, a week's worth of pay plus an additional week for each year that we had worked for the company. This meant I got three weeks' worth (even though I had been there a little less than two years). They determined who would get laid off based on seniority. The seniority consisted of how long we had each been working for the company. Those with the lowest amount of seniority were chosen to be laid off first. So, it was not about who had been an LDA the shortest amount of time. (Because there was an LDA who had been with the company five years and had just gotten a promotion three months prior. She was not among those being laid off.) They picked the ones with the least seniority because that meant they would be paying less in severance packages. (And it didn't matter which version of seniority they used. I still would have been among those getting laid off.)

Also in the packet was information about applying for Unemployment. There were details about programs that could help us find work. In addition, we would continue to receive our medical and dental benefits through the end of the year. This part was at least beneficial to me as I was finishing up the first level of dental work that I had started. I just wasn't going to be able to have the other stuff done that had been discussed, like getting fillings and having my wisdom teeth removed.

But this situation was worse than having my teeth yanked out. I hadn't been suddenly unemployed in more than eight years. I recalled how tough things were when I was on unemployment. At least I had more money to last me this time.

Finally, the LDA with the kid asked THE question: "Why aren't we being offered an opportunity to go back to work as dispatch agents?" The Manager replied, "Because there are no shifts available." (Remember that sentence I said was important during the First Round? I'll comment more in tomorrow's post.)

We were told we could take our time collecting our personal items and saying goodbye to everyone. This was good. I didn't feel like rushing out of there like the QA guy. I went over to the station, got an empty box and started putting my stuff in it. The first thing I noticed was that my legal-sized clipboard was missing. This actually belonged to me! I'd stolen it from the Hillcrest Cinemas when I was fired from there and I was going to make sure that came with me! I finally found it underneath a couple of other items. This meant Camd had hidden it there.

I also decided to take a few office supplies. I got a box of alcohol wipes that were frequently used to wipe down the headphone mouthpieces and keyboards. I knew these would come in handy at home. It didn't look like anybody cared what I took home with me. My main regret was that I didn't take more.

I went around and said goodbye to everyone. A couple of people, including a woman named Verz, gave me their e-mail addresses. I said goodbye to Camd and said I'd keep in touch. I went with a group of the Supervisors and LDAs to have a group photo taken.

I went to the bank and deposited the check. When I was looking at the pay stub, I realized that they miscalculated my remaining vacation hours. I had recently gone on a vacation that took up seven work days. I had already received the paycheck for that time. However, there were clearly 16 hours more of vacation on my final check than there should have been. They must have figured my final check when I was still on the first 40 hours of vacation and didn't include the other 16. This was one thing that worked out in my favor. I got an extra two days of pay.

After going home, the first thing I did was get on my computer and print out a letter to give the property management company. It was my notice that I would be moving out in 30 days. I knew I wouldn't be able to afford my own place. After that, I tried to call Unemployment. At the beginning of the call, a recording came on and stated that Unemployment benefits would be increasing after January 1st. (This was something that happened in the aftermath of 9/11.) It recommended that I wait until January to file a new Unemployment claim. I figured that what I could do is find a seasonal job, work at that through January and then file a claim. That would carry me through.

After Abed and Pesd got home from work, I went over and told them what happened. Abed said to Pesd, "See? All this is happening because of 9/11!" I then asked them if I could move back in until I could get back on my feet and find my own place. They happened to be in a bit of a financial bind at the time, so they agreed.

But there was a lot of stuff that took place in the immediate aftermath of the layoffs. I'll get into that tomorrow.

As a side note: I know this had nothing to do with me getting laid off, but because of all the crazy stuff that happened during and after Halloween, I have never again gone out of my way to make a special costume to wear to work.