A Bumpy Ride

We found out last week what the WARN act is. If you don't know what it is then you're one of the lucky ones. The WARN Act is the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Essentially, it's a fancy way of saying that a lot of people are very likely going to lose their jobs in a very short period of time. The Act requires employers to give 60 days notice prior to a job shutdown of 60 or more employees. Well, while they do have to pay us until the end of May, the job shutdown is actually scheduled to occur on April 8th.

As the powers that be look for more money to keep us open, the employees have to scramble to figure out what to do. I'm an IT employee is a town with pretty weak IT employment options. It so happens that my sweetie works at the same place. So while the idea of losing my job is tough, the idea of both of us losing our jobs borders on terrifying.

When we first got the news, we had a quick conversation about what we would do. There are so many scenarios to consider. What if one of us loses the job and not the other? One if only one of us can find a job in this city? If one of us has to move, do we both move? If we move do we get a place together? (We don't live together now.) If we live together, is that temporary or does that mean that we're working toward a wedding day? I know that living together doesn't mean that for a lot of people, but I don't like the idea of living with someone without marriage so there are even more decisions to make. Argh!

There are meetings scheduled all morning to discuss options (or lack thereof). I guess we find out about severance and vacation pay, blah blah blah. This is really the first sleepless night I've had so I'm doing better than a lot of people.

I know I'm fortunate. I am employable and I have options - even if I can't see them all right now. I'm scared of not being able to pay bills and take care of myself. I've spent a fair amount of time questioning my career choices. So for now, I'm just waiting to see what comes next. I have resumes out but it's all very unsettling.

I'm a planner and there's just no way to plan this. I just have to wait and see what happens next and have faith.