I have to say I was quite affected by all of the farewell emails that came in today.
I feel bad for the long-term employees who now have to look for a new job and will certainly face ageism.
I feel bad for the impacted who don't live in a major job market. That will be an uphill battle to find a comparable corporate job.
But I feel especially bad for a couple of peers that were with VZ for less than a year. One was a contractor and was very excited to land a VZ full-time offer. His kid had major medical issues, so he was finally happy to have good benefits.
The other was a guy recently divorced supporting 3 kids. He was also a contractor that went perm. Both are in their late 50s so will have a tough time finding new full-time work.
I know this is the downside of choosing corporate life, but it still really stings. And I would be naïve to think that I'll be safe much longer.