Been working at Change for 22 years now with a family (elderly parents and three kids) dependent on me. I have to do my best work because if I do maybe they will keep me. If they thrown me overboard and to the curb which most of us fear I will work hard to get another job. It’s hard in this environment as a developer but someone will want a hard working solid employee. Being older (over 45) is an obvious black mark and several interviews have gone nowhere but no room to get discouraged or despondent yet. Advice: save a year of money so if you need it it’s there. That’s just the price for being a worker these days as a company cares about you like you care about a piece of dust in the trash bin.
Until we know whether we are “headcount reduction (RIFed)” or offered an opportunity to stay just ain’t in my control. Realizing this is freeing as it’s my choice to stay and work hard. My hard work will speak for itself and open new doors we hope. But I wouldn’t hang my hat or livelihood on this company as there will be a lot of changes mostly headcount reduction and tech synergies, with heavy losses in shared services - think about 30 % headcount loss as is typical in these deals. To believe any different is besides the point and wishful thinking. These guys and gals are the smartest sharks out there, they have a legal interest to do well by the publicly traded company shareholders and must do what they must to hit their numbers, regardless of anything or anyone else. Else, they may also get RIFed.