Are you a Mac or a PC?
Tags: economy, getting fired, job loss, laid off, lay offs, unemployed
If you work for one or the other, right now you’d rather be a Mac.
Today Microsoft made official its intention of laying off 5,000 employees, including 1,400 who lost their jobs today. The stock market responded instantly with Microsoft stock falling 8.5%. (Some may have thought that should have happened some time ago when Vista was introduced.)
At the same time, Apple stock rose 7% today, reflecting its strong earnings that remain steady. Of course this is due mostly to the ‘I’ factor – iPod, iPhone, iTunes – so being a Mac may not have that much to do with it.
Still, it’s got to be an interesting experience being an employee working in a particular industry, during an economic tsunami, knowing you’re safe and secure while your comrades over at the competition are exposed and vulnerable.
Of course, Apple techies, developers, and sales guys have to be feeling relief. But what else? What’s the tone in the Apple offices?
Does the ugly side of the decades-old competition kick in and they feel MS finally got its comeuppance for the stranglehold they’ve maintained on the PC market?
Does the humane side supersede and they feel compassion and sympathy for the company? Or only for the individual employees?
Do they feel guilty for still having a job to come to every day? It’s not unusual for those left unscathed by disaster to experience survival guilt.
For the answers, I suppose there’s one place to turn. We’d have to ask the employees of Toyota, Nissan and Subaru.
Tags: economy, getting fired, job loss, laid off, lay offs, unemployed
PW said:
Jan 22, 09 at 9:00 pmDon’t forget that earlier this week, Apple stock took a nasty drop because of uncertainty surrounding Jobs’ health. Would Apple survive or be as robust if Steve didn’t come back in a few months? As far as whether surviving employees feel guilt or sorrow for the recently departed (fired, laid off) well, there are people there who still ask about me but mostly they’re worried about the other shoe dropping for them. So how’s the 3-month gig going? Is everyone playing nice?
Subaru-Man said:
Jul 23, 09 at 6:34 amNice, thanks
Cool article
cosplay said:
Aug 06, 10 at 1:58 amDon’t forget that earlier this week, Apple stock took a nasty drop because of uncertainty surrounding Jobs’ health. Would Apple survive or be as robust if Steve didn’t come back in a few months? As far as whether surviving employees feel guilt or sorrow for the recently departed (fired, laid off) wel