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AOL Layoffs: My Heart Goes Out to You
AOL laid off over 2,000 employees worldwide today, including 750 at its Dulles campus. Some of those people are my friends and former coworkers, and my heart goes out to all of them — even the bitches. My former boss, who I like and respect immensely (although I am not sure the feeling is mutual) felt the axe today. He’s been there ten years.
Predictably, ValleyWag is having a field day with this, and Bobzmudaguy’s got another round of t-shirt designs out. Some of those are pretty funny, too … especially this one of Dick and Mary Cheney. Mary Cheney works at AOL. Nobody really knows what she does officially, apart from enrage her gay coworkers by simply existing.
The rage, bitterness, and sadness in the comments on this and this are alternately funny and heartbreaking. Funny in a “laugh when you’re stuck on a burning sinking ship” way, and heartbreaking because that’s real pain.
I know this, because it happened to me and 499 others last year.
Rumors of massive layoffs the next day had been flying around for months. I spent the night before wide awake, exhausting myself in the consoling embrace of my girlfriend, lurching into that 9 am meeting on three hours’ sleep. I was completely numb in the meeting, and didn’t hear a word of anything until they mentioned the severance package. Once it sunk in, I started cackling maniacally.
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