Yesterday was "layoff day" at my company.

In the building lobby, there were suit-and-tie security guards lining a roped-off walkway leading from one of the entry turnstiles to a dedicated elevator. About 400 people whose building passes no longer worked (after being deactivated on Thursday night) were whisked upstairs for "processing." Most of them were from the Technology Department; they were given 60 days notice with 60 days paid administrative leave effective immediately - i.e. they will still be paid for the next two months but they're not allowed to enter the building again during that time (for fear that they might hurt somebody or sabotage the computer networks).

Oy, what a way to go!

At least there was a formal layoff.  Here in California, medium and large companies are using "silent layoffs" to get rid of people.  Using any minor excuse or mistake, they fire people at a steady rate.  The stock price remains unaffected and the company saves on payments to the state unemployment system.  It's very draconian and very deliberate.

What kicks me is how unaware the media is of this new trend.  Awareness seems to be bottom up only, i.e., those working at such companies know what is being done but are powerless to fight it.  The state seems conveniently uninformed because they save money too.

The company can always deny the silent layoff (which it clearly is) by claiming they have tightened performance standards.  However, terminations are now so frequent at some companies, that there seems to be a clear transgression of state and federal laws.

Time will tell if the news media ever runs with this.  What a pity. 

Good luck to you and everyone else in the new corporate reality of dog eat dog.