"Any editor or publisher who makes his employees wait until Thursday to get the layoff news
doesn't even deserve to be leading
a third-grade lunch line."
doesn't even deserve to be leading
a third-grade lunch line."
-- Anonymous@4 a.m. today, after Publisher Gary Suisman of Indiana's Journal & Courier told employees in a memo: "We plan to complete the communication to impacted employees on Thursday July 9th. After the reductions are communicated to impacted employees we will inform all employees that they are done."
Oy, boy! Looks like the lawyers have been busy: "Communication. Impacted. Reductions. Communicated. Impacted. Inform. Done."
The delay to notify employees of their continued job status is cruel.
ReplyDeleteHow long does it take to say..
"We f#@*-up the company so you are fired."
Way to go Journal and Courier. You have made the big time news. HAHAHA. Go Cougars.
ReplyDeleteGo Cougars!
ReplyDeleteI had a decade-plus, professional relationship with my boss at one of Gannett's largest papers. He asked a lot of me as others bailed out. I wore many hats. Performed tasks that were more a favor to him, so that he could survive, than were actual duties of my position. We had dinners together and shared personal stories about our lives. Yes, we had our occasional clashes, but if you know someone long enough, that's inevitable. Adults get over those sorts of things...or should.
ReplyDeleteLong story short, last December he called me into his office. I assumed it had something to do with the layoffs going on. As a senior editor, I didn't think I was a target. I figured it had something to do with one of my staffers, which was often the case when he called me in to talk.
Wrong!
In the blink of an eye, I was gone. He laid me off without batting an eye. A slightly contrived, somber tone in his voice, but no other words to explain what was a mystery to many people at the paper where I worked all those years. Why me? I guess I will never know. He's made no effort to contact me, to see how I was doing, to lend a hand or give a reference.
For those about to get laid off this week, you will probably feel betrayed like I did. Maybe you saw it coming to some degree because of your age or because you once didn't say hello to the boss back in 2003 and know how petty he can be about that sort of thing. But still, it's a shocker. And for me, it doesn't get any better. I still have nightmares, probably because I've been unable to move on. No one is hiring!
I can't imagine there will be much productivity at Gannett properties this week as the company seems bent on prolonging the pain. I also believe that this time, post-layoffs, spirits will be broken even further for those who stay. This is a creative business that depends on innovation and enterprise. While some might fake it well, there will be no returning to normal for anyone. That will impact Gannett long term. There are no cheerleader speeches that can reverse what has happened in the last year. Too much blood...
I hope word comes soon for everyone's sake. I can't emphasize enough how bad things are in the job market, so I hope each and every Gannett manager considers carefully who they let go. In my case, my boss threw me into a black hole, and at an age where landing on my feet has been impossible.
Tomorrow, at age 52, with a college degree in English and 30 years in journalism at several organizations, I am interviewing for a stocking job at a grocery store. That's how bad things are.
The J&C rocks baby. Best gannett paper ever.
ReplyDeleteAh, the good old J&C.
ReplyDeleteI did my time in the dungeon in the 90s, working for quite possibly the worst features editor ever to terrorize a newsroom.
Two and a half years of hell. I was looking at waitress jobs just as a way to get out before I got out.
Best of luck to you guys. You're going to need it.
I left USAT about 5 years ago to take a much better paying job at another media outlet (not in newspapers). My current company, which is also in dire straits b/c of the retrenched advertising market, went through furloughs and layoffs late in 2008 around Christmastime. Reading these stories, I am so glad I work for my current company and not Gannett. After those December layoffs (more than 10 percent of the work force done swiftly in 4 hours), my company’s CEO (my company has 500+ employees) had a company meeting to talk about the reasons why the layoffs had to occur, even showing cash flow and revenue information to prove that the company survival was threatened. And the first thing he said was, “The people that aren’t with the company didn’t do anything wrong. Hard decisions for the company’s survival had to be made and I expect that everyone still here will pass along job leads, contacts and give references for them.” Many of the those unemployed have found jobs with all of them getting some type of reference from their manager or even directly from the CEO. Reading these comments, it’s sad to see that Gannett HR, local managing editors and supervisors act like robots and are unwilling or dare I say, unable, to offer a bit of human compassion. Would it be that expensive to offer a bit of career counseling for the middle age employees entering an awful work environment? Have a manager call a former employee to offer a reference or a possible job lead? This is just a few thoughts.
ReplyDeleteWould it be that expensive to offer a bit of career counseling for the middle age employees entering an awful work environment? Have a manager call a former employee to offer a reference or a possible job lead? This is just a few thoughts.
ReplyDelete7/07/2009 1:09 PM
I've also wondered why Gannett didn't set up some kind of career placement or counseling for those who lost their jobs. Many companies do that sort of thing and it seems only decent.
I work currently for Mr. Suissman. He's a really nice man. I may get layed off this week, but I know it is not his fault.
ReplyDelete