It was 2008. In May, I left my job at my hometown television station as my wife and I left for “greener pastures” in the next state. A more tolerable schedule and pay scale.

While there were disappointments regarding the work environment, and it was a bad year for local TV overall, I felt secure, even when the salary freezes were announced. I was a hard worker, dependable, turned out my assignments quickly and satisfied clients; plus, the company had just invested in a four-day trip to a major city for training.

Six months to the day after being hired, my company had its annual “Thanksgiving lunch.” After I’d just finished my dessert, I got a call from the general manager, asking to stop by his office. Oblivious, I tried to figure out what he wanted. I still didn’t get it when the HR director was there when I showed up. I thought it might be a disciplinary thing, but couldn’t understand what I could have done wrong.

And that’s when it started. “Hardest part of my job … I hold myself responsible …”

What was I going to tell my wife, who I’d moved down to start a new life? How would we pay our bills? Would I ever realize my dreams of film school and filmmaking?

This story might have a happy ending, though. I’m in film school now, making my thesis feature, and it was inspired by my layoff and nine months of unemployment. You can learn more about it at the webpage I listed. I hope you will stop by.

This post was submitted by Cineaste Auteur.

I was recently laid off…

Prior to getting laid off there were talks about possible layoffs. However the day before I was laid off everyone at the organization was basically assured that good news was coming and not to panic or worry.

The very next day my day off the person that does human resources calls me and asks me if I can come in she needed to talk to me. Which immediately gave me reasons for concern. All these things were running through my head, what is it? Why can’t it wait till the next day I come in? Is it a time sheet issue, no that doesn’t make sense it’s the middle of the week, middle of the pay period. So I knew something was up and it wasn’t good.

So I head in to work go to the HR’s person’s office and the news is delivered. I melted down right there in the office cried and I am not one to cry in front of people. I was shocked, I was told the day before things were looking up. The only question I was able to get out was will I qualify for unemployment, I was only part-time. The HR person told me yes. She tried to reassure me it had nothing to do with my performance. But that still doesn’t help much, it’s like if I am such a good worker why are you letting me go?

I worked with some really good people essp. those in my department I made good friends with them as well. I ran into one of my co-workers one I was friends with too, as I was walking out of the office and told her she was very supportive. Then my supervisor saw me and was like hey what are you doing here (like it’s your day off), when I told her she was like WHAT!? So they didn’t even forewarn her.

The next day I heard from another work friend it happened to her too and someone else.

I just don’t understand why they would say no one needs to panic, if they were planning to lay several people off the next day.
And since I was only part-time it was my only job despite effort to find either a 2nd job or a full-time job. I basically have no savings and am kinda scared right now. =/

This post was submitted by Jane.

I was executive management. I knew lay offs were being discussed as a possibility, so I asked the CEO and President of the Board if my job was in jeopardy. I was told “No, you’re too important” and “don’t worry about it.” I asked about my staff and was told my department was too small to lose anyone. A month later, I had a budget meeting and was told that there was no place in our budget to make additional cuts (I cut every expense I could without cutting people).

The employees were told that they had to vote for an enhanced retirement package, and that if that package passed, there would be no layoffs. The last day of the vote, once everyone had voted and the package passed, layoffs happened.

That day, I took a lunch break (I normally worked through lunch which gave me 12 hour work days), but my husband had a doctor’s appointment, so I went home to watch our baby. I had just nursed the baby when the doorbell rang. I put the baby down and checked the peephole. It was the HR Director, and the HR manager and the Director was holding an envelope. (wow, my heart is pounding as I type this). I opened the door. My baby was literally crawling at my feet. The HR Director handed me the envelope and told me I was being let go.

“What did I do wrong?” I asked. I swear, I could hear my blood pounding in my ears.

“Nothing, it’s all in the letter.” was all he would say. I kept asking if it was something I did, and he just kept referring to the letter.

I opened it and scanned the letter, but it was all hazy. I was told that I was not to come back to work. I asked if I could pick up my things, and was told yes.

When my husband got home shortly after, (he was at a pre-surgery check as he was having a pacemaker put in next week), I went to work and packed up my office. I had a lot of stuff. Management books, binders of information that belonged to me, some personal items. It was humiliating. No one in my department said a word to me.

I later found out that everyone else had been called into the CEO’s office in one group and laid off all together–even the other executive managers who were let go. I think being laid off in your own home is worse–especially when your baby is crawling at your feet and your husband is about to have an expensive surgery.

The worst part is having to suck up still so I keep a good reference while I look for work. It also sucks that although I was executive management, I didn’t make a lot of money (less than six figures even with benefits)–and I live in an expensive part of the country (2 bdrm home is $400k).

This post was submitted by Leslie Morrison.

I was recently laid off from a position that I had held for seven years with a large non-profit. Two years ago, I accepted a promotion to a position within the national office of said organization. My co-workers, most whom worked over 1600 miles away, became not just co-workers but like friends to me.

Two days ago, I was informed that I was being laid off. I received this news not from an HR representative or my supervisor, but from a co-worker. It seems that my impending lay off was water cooler conversation. When I spoke with someone in the HR department, she just stated that this was against the organization’s policy and they were sorry. I am heartbroken not only because of the lay off, but because I feel so betrayed. My confidence and dignity have been destroyed.

This post was submitted by Shelby .

I was one of five corporate level fitness faculty members for a company with a significant presence in nine different states. Our responsibilities included, but were not limited to, teaching the basic fundamentals of personal training, facilitating personal training certification workshops, leading a workshop on the company’s fitness policies and procedures, all of which were two or three day events, in addition to overseeing certain aspects of the fitness departments of all of the clubs within the region.

I was the epitome of a successful teacher, especially since the company would hire anybody with a pulse that the club managers thought had what it took to be successful, I had people in my classes that knew absolutely nothing about the human body. That was one of the perks of the job because, while I refer to myself as a teacher, I must relay my favorite quote from Socrates: “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think,” I got to form the foundation of a new train of thought; and I had no trouble making the learning process fun. In fact, here I am 13-months later and still in contact with several of the people I had in my classes. So, on second day back from two weeks of vacation and I’m doing a site visit with my immediate supervisor when he gets a page and informs me that he has a conference call at 12 and I should come in 15 minutes later.

I enter the office, close the door and make myself comfortable. Next thing I know, the two HR reps on the line inform me that due to the [workings of the Obama agenda], they were eliminating the position of fitness faculty to reduce company expenditures. My last day on salary was two weeks to the so I guess that was them giving me two-weeks notice.

As for my responsibilities, they were added to those of the person that taught the “business” aspect of the business to sales people and GMs. The first question from my mouth was, “What does he know about fitness?” Their response… “He has seven personal training certifications.” I responded with “What does that tell me about his knowledge of the human body?” They were positive that those certifications made him an expert, but, as most are aware, all a PT certification tells you is they know how to study the way (insert your choice of any PT cert here) wants you to know how the body works to fulfill THEIR objectives in the way that THEY dictate when it should be your client telling you their objectives so that you can fulfill them based upon your knowledge of how this magnificent machine works. I was pissed, especially I’ve forgotten more since grad school than he’ll ever know, and I let them know it, but what’s done is done. By the way, to supplement my point, he resigned from his new responsibilities just a few weeks into the mission. So because I’m still unemployed, I’ve returned to school for a PhD and they are still losing market share!

This post was submitted by Sheik Yerbouti.