bloody hell

Guild layoff checklist

Important layoff update

San Jose Newspaper Guild

Beginning Monday evening and through Tuesday mid-morning, the company said it will tell as many as 69 Guild members that they will be laid off.

Thanks to everyone for your continued exceptional work during these difficult times. Please remember that there should be no stigma attached to being laid off and that Guild members will stand by and support anyone who loses his or her job. You should be proud of your role in building an excellent newspaper.

Key Contact: Guild Executive Officer Luther Jackson will be available seven days a week as your key contact for layoff-related questions and concerns. He can be reached at luther@sjguild.org or at 408-436-0761 (work), 408-729-5586 (home) and 408-506-3646 (cell).

Layoff Announcement Process: Here’s what the company said it intends to do: Managers will inform business-side employees who are laid off with telephone calls to their homes between 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday, December 4. Those employees will be given an appointment to come to HR sometime on Tuesday the 5th. Editorial staffers will be called Tuesday morning between 8:00-10:00 and be given HR appointments on Dec. 5, 6 or 7. Luther will be in the Guild office from 7:15-9:00 p.m. on Monday, December 4 and starting at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, December 5.

Personal and Company Property: As soon as the calls are made, the company will cut off affected employees’ access to all Mercury News computer systems. At the HR sessions, the company will demand their employee badges, keys and any other Mercury News property. Any access to computer files after receiving the lay-off phone call must be made by request to a manager who can retrieve specific files requested by the employee. Any access to personal belongings in the plant must be arranged with HR and a manager will act as an escort. The company said it plans to give most laid-off employees access to their desks, with a manager present, on the weekend of Dec. 9 and 10.
http://www.sjguild.org/news.php?ID=2993