Saturday, June 27, 2009

Hard Times

There was a rumor a few months back that there were going to be layoffs at the theatre where I work, but then nothing happened. You can imagine the shock when on Thursday, 20 out of 140 employees were let go. And not just minions either, a lot of them were people who have dedicated twenty years of their life to the place. The building is calling it a restructuring which basically means that they can totally eliminate those positions. We were told on Thursday that these cuts are all that's planned for now, but we have been informed that the situation may be re-evaluated in the future.

On Friday, my little three person department had a meeting with my boss's boss and were told that our department is overstaffed and that we have approximately two months to come up with a plan to justify the expense of all three of us. So much for this is all that's planned for now. And, hello? We're the production department and we only have three people. The purpose of a theatre is to put on shows. Why is it that our little three person department that runs the stages is overstaffed, but finance and education who have like thirty people in each isn't? This is where the restructuring is coming into play again: somehow, they want us to figure out how to combine our jobs with jobs in Education, Food & Beverage, A/V, etc. By saying that we can do other people's jobs, doesn't that sound like they are trying to eliminate the people currently in them? This is so fucked up.

I am grateful to still have a job, but who knows what will happen in the coming months. I spent the last couple of days pretty much sick to my stomach, but hopefully after some time that will ease up. I know I bitch about my job, but the thought of not having that paycheck scared the Hell out of me this week. I'm hoping to find solace by doing some yoga later and with my maille. In the event my blog posting and item listing is even more sporadic than usual, well, now you know why.

1 comment:

The Green Cat said...

Wow that's so hard--having to justify your work and also having to show management how you can be useful in other areas (knowing that could mean other people losing their jobs). My 3-person department has been so slow this year that I fear what may happen at the end of the fiscal year. I'd love to see some kind of restructuring since the boredom is really taking its toll on our morale but I'd hate to see any of us lose our jobs. (Luckily, I know I'm being sent for some fairly expensive training in August so I don' think my job is at stake.) I hope your situation works out for the best for you!