Some Thoughts About Layoffs and Keeping the Faith

Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center

I received some sad news recently. It seems that Some of my former co-workers had gone into the office on a Monday morning as usual. Began doing their jobs just like they always did. They were then called into meetings, told they were being laid off, and sent off to pack up their things.

I managed to IM one of my friends while she was still at work. I told her how sorry I was and promised any support I could give her. She thanked me, and then said she had to go; they were taking away her laptop. Then her IM ID went blank.

It happened. Just like that. One moment they were valuable members of an important team; the next, they were joining the mass of the unemployed. There had been vague rumors floating around for a while, but other than that, it was a bolt out of the blue.

Not that having advanced notice really makes things any easier. When I was let go from that group, the company had announced a mass layoff two months earlier without giving any hint as to who would be let go. The wait was agonizing. Morale plummeted. The layoffs — which came at Christmastime — went far deeper than anyone had thought. Even with the warning, it was still shocking.

I think of all this when I look at what’s going on inside NASA these days. The Obama Administration’s effort to cancel the Constellation moon program in favor of commercial rockets has left a giant cloud of doubt hanging over the entire space program. I know it must be just hell for anyone working on the program. It’s very difficult to focus on anything when your fate is up in the air for months at a time.

There are some real similarities between my situation and the one NASA employees and contractors face. The macro problem is the meltdown that hit the world’s economy. There was simply not enough money.

More specifically, the powers that be decided that the course the organization was on could no longer be sustained. In my case, the company had been outmaneuvered by a rival and had made many mistakes in the execution of its own projects. With NASA, the Administration has decided that the Constellation lunar program is too costly, too far behind schedule, and has too many technical problems to justify continuing. In both cases, the solution was to outsource to another vendor.

It’s a tough decision to make, and even worse to experience if you are laid off. You end up suffering for bad decisions made well above your pay grade. You wonder why you were chosen to go and not someone else. And you’re left thinking about what could have been done to change the outcome.

It’s infuriating and depressing. Believe me, I know. Been there, felt that.

There is one major difference, however. There are a lot of efforts going on to save the Constellation program. Senators, representatives, mayors, unions and famous ex-astronauts such as Neil Armstrong are working to save your jobs.

I worked in the non-unionized private sector, so there was none of that. No Congressional hearings. No calls for investigations. No Cabinet-level task force with $100 million trying to figure out how to put me and my co-workers back to work. The company decides you have to go, and you go. In our case, we were given severance and three months of career outplacement services, which was very helpful. But, other than that…

NASA workers and contractors have jobs that matter. People care about what you do. It’s flattering, if you think about it. And it’s more than most people can say.

I know that may not be much comfort if you’re facing unemployment. So, let me offer one other piece of encouragement. A few days after my friends were laid off, funding for a job that I wanted came through. It’s a better position than the one I had. And it’s one that I would probably have never snagged if I had not been laid off.

So, although it may look very bleak right now, things do get better. You just have to keep the faith.