sean99
pfm Member
I resigned from my job on Friday and accepted an offer from a new employer. In 2003 I was employee #1 at a new startup founded in San Jose CA by two guys I'd worked with previously - funny to think I was worried it might not last. (They promised me a year's pay no matter what happened). In 2016 it was acquired by a multinational and for various reasons I made some money, but not a life changing amount of money - I will still need to remain gainfully employed for at least another decade. It's expensive living in America.
The multinational has wrecked it. Last Spring they laid off 90% of my former company, without regard to the value of the people they let go, and without regard to the fact that we are still comfortably profitable. They told us they have better engineers / processes / manufacturing in house. Ha! New products that we used to be able to get to market in 3-6 months will now take 18-24 months because of the bureaucracy, multiple layers of signoff (by people who have little idea what they're signing off on). Our customers see the writing on the wall and are starting to bail to our competitors.
Even worse the parent company is now in financial trouble and is either facing eventual closure or takeover / asset stripping. They also didn't carry any of my years of service over, so I only have a 1 month layoff notice period despite working for the original company for nearly 17 years. The five of us who remain from the acquired company have all been planning our exits for at least 12-18 months, but we have non-compete agreements.
I got a call from a head hunter last October and interviewed for a new startup. I wasn't quite the right fit for the position they had open, but I interviewed and we parted on good terms. They got in touch just after the New Year and last week made me an offer. 15% pay cut, but more importantly a company in growth phase, locally based (I'm now in Boston MA) and with a chance to build a local network. I think the work will be difficult and stressful, but probably not dull.
It's been a real emotional rollercoaster over the past week, coming to terms with walking away from a product line that I've lived and breathed (and wrote 80% of the embedded firmware that wasn't open source) for 16+ years. Walking away from customer relationships (being a startup I'd be on site at customers quite often) of 10+ years. Walking into who knows what. Still I feel that I have to make a move, because sooner or later I'll be laid off by my current employer, and with no local network and 16+ years in one position my CV is getting stale.
Not looking for any sympathy - I've been well paid and I'm extremely fortunate to have had such a long period of stable employment. Just wanted to share - it's cathartic, and I'm sure some of you can relate to having a big corporation come in and ruin a small but successful business that is the basis of your livelihood (and I must admit part of my identity).
The multinational has wrecked it. Last Spring they laid off 90% of my former company, without regard to the value of the people they let go, and without regard to the fact that we are still comfortably profitable. They told us they have better engineers / processes / manufacturing in house. Ha! New products that we used to be able to get to market in 3-6 months will now take 18-24 months because of the bureaucracy, multiple layers of signoff (by people who have little idea what they're signing off on). Our customers see the writing on the wall and are starting to bail to our competitors.
Even worse the parent company is now in financial trouble and is either facing eventual closure or takeover / asset stripping. They also didn't carry any of my years of service over, so I only have a 1 month layoff notice period despite working for the original company for nearly 17 years. The five of us who remain from the acquired company have all been planning our exits for at least 12-18 months, but we have non-compete agreements.
I got a call from a head hunter last October and interviewed for a new startup. I wasn't quite the right fit for the position they had open, but I interviewed and we parted on good terms. They got in touch just after the New Year and last week made me an offer. 15% pay cut, but more importantly a company in growth phase, locally based (I'm now in Boston MA) and with a chance to build a local network. I think the work will be difficult and stressful, but probably not dull.
It's been a real emotional rollercoaster over the past week, coming to terms with walking away from a product line that I've lived and breathed (and wrote 80% of the embedded firmware that wasn't open source) for 16+ years. Walking away from customer relationships (being a startup I'd be on site at customers quite often) of 10+ years. Walking into who knows what. Still I feel that I have to make a move, because sooner or later I'll be laid off by my current employer, and with no local network and 16+ years in one position my CV is getting stale.
Not looking for any sympathy - I've been well paid and I'm extremely fortunate to have had such a long period of stable employment. Just wanted to share - it's cathartic, and I'm sure some of you can relate to having a big corporation come in and ruin a small but successful business that is the basis of your livelihood (and I must admit part of my identity).
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