First Round of Layoffs

So we had our first round of layoffs today… ugh. Mark T, Charlie and Abby were let go. It was a sad day, a soul-draining day. At the beginning of the year we were told that the company was feeling the pain of the current economic conditions, and if things did not improve they would be forced to have some layoffs, but they would go by seniority. So I made a list and have been checking people off of it, watching as my name gets closer and closer to the chopping block. Four names are down, three more before me. Unfortunately for me, two of those names are pretty well locked in place, which means there is only one name before me. Either way, we have downsized significantly this year because of firings, layoffs, and people quitting. We started the year with about 31 workers, and 7 have left so far. So we are down 22.6% in workers, and therefore working at 77.4% of our original workforce. That is pretty significant, so they must be saving quite a bit of money. And at least three of those people were relatively well-paid positions.

So we will see what happens next. I started the day off with a lot of resentment about my job, and my bosses. But after the layoffs, I was suddenly so grateful for this job. I spent the rest of the day thanking God for it. It is incredible how resentment always crowds out gratitude. There is not enough room inside us for both. I want to hold on to gratitude so I have no room for resentment.

Thank You, Lord, so much for my job. Please fill me with gratitude. Your will be done. Amen.