I wanted to rant about this when it was first told to us but I decided to wait till I got all the information. I did not want to risk getting canned for making the corporation look bad or violating some unknown policy. The reason I have waited till now is that today is the last day of work for a lot of the long-time workers there in Anderson. Our department (Information Technology) is in the second group and our last day is at the end of March. My heart is broken for those that I will not be hearing from after today. This was the first job I have ever had where my work-mates were a family, we were all very close. Part of me is happy that I am 8 hours away from the campus as there are going to be so many tears shed throughout the day.
We have all been actively looking for our next jobs, some are looking to transfer within Quest but most, like myself, feel confined within the Quest corporate atmosphere. I have had a few very good interviews already but going to keep actively looking till I nail something down making at least as much as I am making now though I doubt I will get lucky enough to continue to work from home.
There is good news though. Thankfully Quest is not simply leaving us high and dry after our separation date. They are offering a severance package which should give all of us some breathing room if we find ourselves in the unemployment line. There is a cash payout, based on years of service and pay rate as well as cashing out our PTO balances, my separation date also goes past my yearly evaluation which means my yearly bonus check. For me, this should add up to about 5 months' worth of pay altogether so we have breathing room.
