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Subject:RE: You will be assimilated...now what? From:"Lakritz, Andrew M." <Andrew -dot- Lakritz -at- Ruesch -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 30 Aug 2002 10:49:25 -0400
In the last few years this has happened to me twice. In my case, there was
never anything I could do (on the inside) to survive. In the case of one
company I worked for, even the CEO and Founder had lost complete control to
his board and the investment teams making the hard decisions. In the case of
the other company, the CEO, CFO, and 75 percent of the company also were
gone within a few months of the big shakeout.
The most important thing I did was work on, in advance (this is the right
time, or yesterday was in your case), an exit strategy. Or two. Having a job
offer in hand made the shake out (where half the company's employees lost
their positions) a bit easier to take.
Your case will be different, of course, but I would stress that you are NOT
powerless in the largest sense, even if you may be unable to do something to
keep your current position. It's impossible for me to tell you from outside
what you can do inside to enhance your job security.
Good luck,
Andrew Lakritz
-----Original Message-----
From: Anonymous [mailto:anonfwd -at- raycomm -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 10:38 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: FWD: You will be assimilated...now what?
Forwarded anonymously on request. Please reply to the
list if you want the original poster to see your message. EJR
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My company is about to merge with another, in a relationship that is not
clear to those of us in the trenches. We've had multiple layoffs, the most
recent one seemingly an effort to trim certain portions of our company to
make it a better fit with our new counterpart. The event is not being
publicized yet, and management is being very tight-lipped about exactly
what's about to happen. So we don't know if we're being bought, or simply
merging. Or maybe even absorbing the other company, using their money and
our name, with some managemental musical chairs going on behind the scenes.
Whatever happens, I would assume that upon the two companies joining, there
will be some shaking out, and elimination of redundant positions. If any of
you have been in this situation, I'd be interested to hear your experience,
and perhaps your hindsight. Are there things you can do to try to enhance
your job security? Are there things you wish you had handled differently?
The most obvious issue for me is to find out exactly who my boss is (or
bosses), but I'm sure there are a number of less obvious issues that will
arise. I'd appreciate any input from anybody who has watched uneasily as the
Borg cube loomed closer to their company. Thanks!
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