I don’t have a lot of respect for companies that fire people around the holidays.
I’ve heard all of the excuses – they’ve gotta make ends meet to please the investors, it’s just business, blah blah blah – but ultimately I just think that it’s complete and utter horseshit. I even had one person tell me once, “Well now those people just have even more time to spend with their families during the holidays!” I think it was supposed to be a joke … maybe?
I don’t care if the holidays happen to be at the end of the year, or if reductions in headcount are the most efficient way to lower expenses before year end – it’s just a shitty thing to do during a time when we’re all supposed to be merry and bright and be doing things to help others. Sending people to the unemployment line three weeks before Christmas is no way to treat people – fire them in November or January, but not at Christmastime.
Then again, maybe it’s just me, but ultimately I believe that running a business should be about more than just the bottom line, too. A business is nothing without its employees, and when you make a commitment to pay people for their services, it’s just not right to pull the rug out from under them during what’s supposed to be the happiest time of the year.
😥