Dear Photon Group,
I understand that you’re in a bit of financial strife. Really, I do. You guys have been partying like it’s 1999 for years now. You’ve got to make cuts, and I get that. But would it KILL YOU to tell your employees BEFORE a 3-day weekend that you’re shutting their whole company down? Because otherwise they might go off and do silly things like buy several thousand dollars’ worth of kitchen appliances. And then they come to work on a Tuesday and you tell everybody that they’re fired and that really, really sucks.
No, the Snook isn’t actually fired. He’s one of the lucky few who gets to hang around for a few weeks and turn off the lights. They’ve said they’re going to try to find him another position in another Photon company. We’ll see. We’re not worried, but yeah, I might have hesitated on the goddamn oven if I’d known.
Edited to add: A little bit of further clarification. I’ve since been told that there were extenuating circumstances that prevented the news from happening last week, not the least of which was an attempt at a last-minute bail-out. I can appreciate that. Regardless of how Mumbrella have spun my post, I didn’t really mean to complain about FH management who were doing their best. I was (and am) just worried for my partner and dismayed at the timing of the announcement.
aim
June 16, 2010 — 1:54 am
Ruh-roh! How’s this affect your vaca? And is it too late to cancel delivery of the kitchen stuff? Those buttfaces. Any severance pay?
Emily
June 16, 2010 — 3:03 am
Oh bugger. He must be immensely employable, though, no???
Still want deets on what you chose re oven and hob.
Kris
June 16, 2010 — 8:53 am
He’s fine really. He’s still employed right now, and his four-week notice period doesn’t start until they tell him it’s over. I’m optimistic that they’ll find him another job – Photon owns like 30 companies and they really, really like him. But it should be no effect on the vacation. Regardless of if/when the shoe drops, they still have to pay him out for four weeks’ notice plus his vacation time. So worst case scenario is he ends up looking for a job when we get back. Luckily the market for coders is really good in Sydney right now, and he shouldn’t have any trouble getting a job. (Heck, my company would hire him in two seconds if we weren’t averse to the idea of working together.)
And no cancelling of the appliances either. It’s not like we can’t afford it; we saved up specifically for these (separate from our emergency fund). I just probably would have played it safe and assumed catastrophic emergency positions if we had known earlier. But Rodd says HE WANTS HIS OVEN, so his oven he shall get. 🙂
I’ll post details later today, Em…
missfee
June 16, 2010 — 12:13 pm
bugger bugger bugger
but perhaps a good thing as he might want a change of scene……
Ailsa
June 16, 2010 — 3:39 pm
Now’s the time for Rodd to go into the jam business!? He makes a mighty mean jam..
M-H
June 16, 2010 — 5:17 pm
Sorry to read this, but glad there’s no need for panic or for you to change the plans you’ve made.
Ex-Photon Staff
June 16, 2010 — 7:23 pm
If it’s any consolation, that seems pretty par for the course as far as Photon is concerned
red
June 16, 2010 — 8:33 pm
Oh no! Not something I wanted to read at all.
Hoping they find him another job… and if not that he finds another awesome one speedily!
brad
June 16, 2010 — 10:29 pm
Photon haven’t got it. They have had their snouts in the trough for too long. Their execs drive fancy cars and wear fancy watches and get payrises and share options while they go and sack hundreds of people because they have been unable to run the company in the first place. Ooooh, i am not making money, i am losing customers, sack everyone and give myself a payrise. IDIOTS!
Kris
June 16, 2010 — 11:23 pm
Yikes. I seem to have touched a nerve. I get that people are unhappy, but I’m wary of this becoming a big anti-Photon rant. (After all, my partner still works there.) So please folks, take the ranting to Mumbrella so I don’t get in trouble. Okay?
Tiaro
June 17, 2010 — 7:26 pm
Marketing services and agencies are the whim of clients. It ain’t just Photon, and indeed it ain’t even Photon (some parts are doing really well).
Staff turnover reflects client whim most of the time. As long as the servicing level and quality/alignment of the deliverables is good, everything is hunky-dory.
That means retaining and encouraging junior staff, and preserving “race memory” of the client relationship (aka, “Knowledge Management”).
Has Photon been doing this? No worse than anyone else.
Hint: They were over-leveraged coming into the GFC.
Hank
June 19, 2010 — 11:11 pm
No such thing as job security. Even if if you are pretty safe, it never pays to allow yourself to become complacent. /sermon
In any case, hope it will all work out. Actually, strike that. You both are very intelligent and dynamic, I know it’ll all be fine.
Kris
June 20, 2010 — 1:36 am
Hahaha, he was actually saying like a fortnight ago that when you get back he should try to get you a job with them. 🙂
hank
June 23, 2010 — 9:27 pm
Yeah I know, he mailed me!! 😀