A sad day here at Sun, as the previously-announced layoffs (involuntary severance, reductions in force, downsizings, pick your euphemism) started to take effect. On some previous occasions I have been a manager, and have therefore had some insight into how the process unfolds. This time I was just another individual contributor, and had no advance warning of any kind. The managers and HR department are (unfortunately) getting quite good at this kind of thing – it’s not a skill that I would wish them to cultivate.
I have no particular wish (nor, per Sun’s Policy on Public Discourse, would it be appropriate) to discuss the business issues surrounding the layoffs. Nor is it time to discuss the consequences of all of the project changes and cancellations that accompany a RIF, although some of my colleagues whose blogs are syndicated on PlanetSun have done so. Instead, this evening I find myself thinking about the friends and colleagues whom I will miss going forward. The familiar (if distorted) face at the other end of a video conference. The presence on the mailing list always ready with a sardonic quip or a helpful suggestion. The now-empty office that used to be a rendezvous when I travelled out to Menlo Park or Santa Clara. (But not empty for long – space consolidation will swallow up empty offices rapidly.)
Tonight I’d like to thank all of the people that I’ve worked with over the many years that I’ve been at Sun, particularly those who are no longer with the company and whose departure was involuntary. I wish you were still here. You know who you are.