I just got off the phone with my dad and my heart is breaking in two.
He has worked at the same company (rhymes with Ficron) for over 40 years. He started on the production line and worked his way through promotion after promotion until he was two positions removed from the CEO. This is a man who came from nothing, from poverty and no education.
He dedicated his entire life to this company. Whatever they asked, he was there. Nights? Sure. Travel internationally 50 weeks out of the year? Sure. My dad had to miss so much of my childhood because of work obligations.
Two weeks ago, he was forced to lay off multiple people under his management. He would never admit it, but he cried night after night. He told me the guilt of sending someone home and telling them to figure it out made him feel like a piece of shit.
Guess what the brand new CEO did today? After making a man is his sixties do the dirty work of all their layoffs, they sent him packing. No warning, no apology, at least he got a severance package. After 45 years of 6AM-8PM every weekday. He called me trying to sound strong, but he had been crying. He feels embarrassed and thrown to the curb. He thinks it was his fault.
Words can’t describe how angry I am for him. Fuck corporations. Fuck their profit margins, fuck their “restructuring” and fuck their greed. My dad deserved better. All people deserve better.