The Servant's Quarters

About 5 months ago, we were told that this day was coming. There has been a lot of stress since then. Many ups and downs. And for some of us, we've been promised an additional two months of uncertainty before we can truly look around and see who has survived the purge.

But for many of my colleagues at Ford Motor Company, this is the end.

Today is the day when almost 30% of my co-workers will "separate" from the company.

The mood around here is very peculiar. Some people are delighted to be leaving, anxious to move onto new careers and opportunities. Some people are excited about entering retirement. Others who are leaving are facing it with regret and a bit of anxiety. I spoke at length with one of my co-workers this morning who is retiring after 3o years. She didn't want to do it but didn't feel that she had a choice. She's worried about what's next. She'd like to travel a bit, but she's alone and doesn't want to go anywhere without companionship. Tomorrow, she starts giving her house an overdue cleaning. Eventually, she intends to find some other work.

(Yup, it's pretty weird around here. As I'm typing this, the cubical next to mine suddenly blasted out the infamous polka music that typically accompanies the famous "Chicken Dance" at weddings and parties. I have no idea what that's about. I think I'm in the Twilight Zone.)

For the rest of us, we're still wondering if we're going to have jobs. My understanding of the situation: my area of the company came close to meeting the 30% requirement, missing the goal by just a few people. That being the case, the decision may be made to pursue "involuntary separations." With so few employees to target, there's some peace that the odds are strongly against any one of us being fired. But, you just never know. It sounds like it's going to be the end of April before we ultimately, finally know if our jobs are secure. For me personally, I got some unconfirmed information from a reliable source who shall not be named that my area should be good and my head should not be on the chopping block. (Suddenly, this is like spying for the CIA.) No guarantees in this crazy world, but it sounds promising.

Tomorrow's going to be really interesting. No one's really sure who's going to show up for work and who's going to be doing what jobs. My workload has already been changing drastically towards the extremely busy side of the spectrum. I've picked up some tasks that really don't have much to do with my job in light of some people who are leaving. Come the morrow, 30% of us suddenly aren't going to be here. And no one's really sure who the 30% is. Should be interesting.

And very unsettling.