As I walked into the Flight Center at 6:15am on Friday morning, I crossed paths with two of my co-workers. One was walking towards me... on his cell phone. I figured he was on a personal call and looking for a quiet place to sit and talk. The other one was walking not too far behind me on her way in to start her shift. I said a quick "Good morning!" and continued on my way.
Neither one of these people ever made it in to work their shifts that day.
Instead, they were stopped at the door by one of our managers, told they were no longer employed, and sent back out of the building.
As I sat through my 10 hour shift, doing my best to stay focused on getting my planes from point A to point B safely, I watched as co-worker after co-worker, friend after friend, were tapped on the shoulder, told to gather their purses, back-packs, coats, etc., and escorted out of the building. One by one... they were picked off. I'll never forget the looks on some of their faces... some were angry, some were scared, and some were in tears. Most were just in total shock... Completely blindsided. I'll also never forget the way I felt knowing that each and every one of their lives were being turned upside-down.
One of the people let go from my department was a single mother, about my age. I wondered how she was going to take care of herself and a young son with no job. Another co-worker was a proud new father whose wife was a stay-at-home mother to their daughter. I wondered how on earth he was going to break the news to his wife when he got home.
I also sat there wondering if Steve and/or I would be the next to be tapped. We both work for the same company and therefore both of our jobs were on the line. Every time a manager walked by, I sat there hoping that they weren't going to stop at my desk. As they continued past, I hoped that they wouldn't stop at the desk of one of my friends. Some did, some didn't.
At about 5:30 that evening, I received a call from Steve, letting me know that although his entire department had been eliminated, he had been offered a position in a different department... which he of course took. I was also informed that my job was safe and that I no longer had to worry.
I cried.
It was an awful, horrible day. One that is going to be very difficult for us to overcome as a company... if we ever do.
It's three days later now, and I've gone from being really sad about the whole thing to being really angry. I am very thankful to still be employed... especially considering we just bought our home, and put down a deposit on a wedding venue. However, I am experiencing a sort of "survivor's guilt", knowing that there are well over 200 people here in Columbus who were not so lucky.
In the span of a few days, the company I work for has gone from feeling like a family based institution to a battle ground. It used to be a very easy-going place, and now it's like you constantly have to watch your back. I walk down the hallway, happy to see familiar faces... And sad that there are so many I will no longer see.
I simply cannot believe the number of amazingly intelligent and dedicated people who were terminated on Friday. My heart goes out to them all.
