As you’ve probably already guessed, I am a member of that most illustrious and elite company of content, product and now advertising gurus, AOL. As most of you might already know, today marked nearly a 50 percent layoff cut in our Dulles Campus, formally AOL’s Headquarters. While I was spared from the chopping block this round, many of my close friends and colleagues were not nearly so lucky. It was an emotionally draining day for those of us on both sides of the fence, and no matter how many times I thought to myself, it’s for the best, they’ll find an even better job that’s more stable and appreciative… I realised that it was so hard not because we all were the most cohesive and best team on earth (even though we were pretty damn good), but because of all of our time together, we were a family. Some of the people who left were my first friends at the company. They taught me the ropes, invited me to the cafe for morning coffee when no one else thought to, and always popped over with something hysterical to say: whether it was about the latest lame horror flick in theaters, or even the fact that some programming tool was down. (Which of course means break time!) I know I’m getting schmaltzy, and I’m sorry, but what happened today our longtime friends was just heartbreaking. Pragmatism, not idealism, though — and even though I remind myself that business is business and no one can have a job forever, I’d like to state that no one will ever replace those lost. They were credits to themselves and to the company, and AOL was lucky to have them along as long as they did. I’d like to have a moment of silence for those lost in the massive October 2007 layoffs. Please, all of you who read my blog, keep in touch — it won’t be the same without you.
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