This was back in 2019. Fortune 500, international company. I worked in manufacturing with them.
2017-18 was a huge year for them. Big ramp up where they hired hundreds of people. December 2018 they spent $3 million(this was the rumor) on a party because they had their biggest quarter yet. Around Q2 of 2019 things slowed down.
One day a few hours into our shift, people started getting called off the floor for donuts.
“Hey guys, we got donuts in the break room. You can head out for them now. Oh not you, Rodrimrr, this is something special for certain people.”
After they left, we never saw them again. We heard from some that they walked in, grabbed a donut, and mid-bite were told they were being let go effective immediately. Most people worked through a temp agency so there were no benefits for them. Just gone, no job, no notice.
To clarify, it wasn’t a temp job, some of these guys worked there close to 2 years, just never directly for the company.
As you can imagine, morale went to an all time low. That day was immortalized as Donut Day. Eventually the company got busy again so they started hiring more people, and the trainers made it into a joke. By the time the new hires made it to the floor they viewed it as a laughing matter.
Always remember, folks: you’re about as valuable as a $0.50 pastry to these corporations. And that’s only if they like you.