Being made redundant
I am hearing a lot of people talking about being made redundant.
I was twice made redundant. The first time was after 9/11 and the American company I was working for slashed the department budget from $60mil to $10mil. This meant that most of the UK project was closed down.
The second time was when a company had not invested in its people, services, or client relationships. As a result, the company collapsed and we were all made redundant.
People react differently to being outplaced. The first-time people felt as though they were losing their family. They had worked in the company for 10 – 15 years and had got to know each other really well; understood the company business; believed in their work; what they were doing; and in themselves. There was a great feeling of “we are in this together”. Most people got a really good redundancy package.