One Sun employee's journey This little light of mine

With the last earnings announcement, Sun announced layoffs would be one the cost-cutting measures.

It appears to be what shareholders and analysts want to hear, so sacrifices have to be made to appease these gods. Human sacrifices.

Having been a manager at Sun for an extended period, I had to walk a number of people to the door. For the good of the many, we need to impinge on the few.  A necessary act, but a painful one nonetheless.

Some took it well, some with an appropriate level of mixed emotions, and some very poorly. It was hard on them. It was hard on me, too.

It reminds me of a standard phrase that I heard only very infrequently as a child "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you."  I doubted it when I getting smacked a good one on the rear, but I realize the truth in the statement now that I am older.

I know what Sun is losing when we let people go.  All that talent going out the door. All that passion. All that effort. Free to do something different.  Free to spend more time with their spouses and family. Free to ponder and reflect, to dream and to imagine.

Many of the folks don't go far. At least in my experience. They go to partner firms, they start their own consulting firms. They stay within the galaxy of the Sun, if you will (geez, the puns / double-entendre's are easy given the name of this fine company.)

The ones that take the news poorly don't stay in touch. They were hurt and disappointed. These are the ones that I regret. Something was missed. It was incomplete.

The ones that take it well, they stay in touch. They continue to work with and for Sun, in their own way.

They are still part of the family, even though they have left home.

Best of luck to all of them. And stay in touch.

With this form of human sacrifice, it's painful but it's not lethal. Thank Heavens.