Throwaway because my main could be linked to me.
TL:DR: Boss didn't keep promise to me, I quit, three other people quit because of that, the company will not have enough people for it's core business and wont be able to run. Therefore it is either shut down or bought by a bigger company, that wanted it to buy since a long time ago.
Today was my last day as a journalist in a european country for a small and independent regional newspaper, wich I worked at for close to 4 years. Most other regional newspapers have been absorbed by a big national newspaper, that now produced 1-2 pages regional content and then slams its national body behind it. They have long tried to buy our newspaper but failed.
My boss (editor in chief, member of the bord of directors), was a mixture between a great guy and a disaster, with some insecurities (like Michael Scott in the Office). Between summer 2020 and summer 2021 I searched for another job to either really change jobs or to press a better offer out of my then employer. This was mainly due to the fact I asked my boss in 2020 if we can do something about my wage and he said: “Yes of course, this is long due as you are paid heavily under market and I value you and your exceptional work greatly.” Only to follow up 5 weeks later with: “Actually, due to Covid, we cannot raise any wage in the whole company. But if you are dissatisified with something else, come talk to me.”
I loved my job and still do, but having to work while knowing that you are heavily underpaid, as he stated it, was hard. even harder when other people quit and where fired, without a real replacement and all to carry by the ones left behind.
Also the conditions where not that great, long serving employees have been laid off first during covid, executives that lived in the region have been replaced with ones that do not (and do not care about the meaning of the newspaper for the area) and they have then replaced the fired long serving employees with ones they know from other companies, a digitalisation project that involved 30 people mainly in their freetime has been cancelled without official announcement etc.
Exactly a year ago I found another job after a total of 3 applications (jobs are scarce and I did only apply to the top job offerings) that would have been very interesting, offered great pay but would had doubled my commute from 45 mins per way to 90 mins. Also, working in my free time would have been quite the norm at the new gig. This is not really unusual for journalists, but it was not often the case in my current job.
Anyway, I confronted him with the offer, and he offered me a bit less pay (still better due to way) and the possibility to work together with him on newly created multmedia formats such as short video talk shows where I could focus on my main points of interest, business and politics. This was such a great offer for me, that I accepted it (also love many people working there), despite the not so great conditions that the company itself offered as a work environment. He again said how I was super important, part of the core team of truly great workers and journalists, that he hears good things about my texts from readers etc.
Well, Spring 2022 comes and I have been in no fucking video, despite asking and reminding him that this was one of the main reasons I stayed. He just always said: “Not now, we will look” etc. So I start applying again, this time knowing I will quit if something comes along. Lo and behold, 1 application and 3 interviews later in May I have a new job with better pay, less work hours, more vacation etc.
I told my coworkers early on that I will leave, even before I had the job in the bag. One straight up said: “Well, I will search for something new now too if you leave” – She will start her new job in october.
Another one started to talk to me about how unhappy he is, how he wants another (and last) challenge but is too unmotivated to actually create a CV (has been at the company 20+ years). I told him that we can create a CV together, I will help him also with the motivational letter, that it is like it should be today etc. He got an offer yesterday, which he will accept tomorrow and quit his job by december.
What I did not know, his colleague – they are our sports departement and have done this job with tremendous effort for the last 15 years together – made a pact with him that they will quit together. This one will go into early retirement (he has a wealthy wife).
The thing is, I am the easiest one to replace. But even though I told them 3.5 months before me actually leaving that I will do so, they could not find someone despite for them searching desperatly. And they need to replace me and my first colleague, because the remaining ones cannot produce enough articles to fill the newspaper on six days.
No chance in replacing the two sports dudes, and if there is no more regional sport in the newspaper, many people will not prolongue their subscription (based on data from reader survey). The only options are to shut down the entire company (all other parts of the company are centered around the newspaper and have no meaning without one) or to sell it to the national newspaper.