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The Axe
March 5, 2001
A dot.com that I know just let go of a lot of people (OK, everyone knows a
company that recently did). But the echoes and implications linger.
For one year in the mid-80's I did volunteer work in a developing country
and it was the first time I'd seen an animal slaughtered for dinner. Used
to the denial of buying my preprocessed, saniwrapped piece of weighed and
deboned meat at the supermarket, I wasn't ready for the reality of a
sweet-eyed creature drug kicking and screaming from the jungle and
straight to the chopping block. I remember the tangible moment of tense
silence when it seemed the animal understood its fate of the knife: the
emptiness of eyes that knew pleading wouldn't help - the desperate
aloneness when it was crystal clear hunter had become prey.
That's kind of how it felt in the dot.com layoff announcement room. The
bravado and gallows humor over coffee minutes before suddenly quieted when
the group of employees was asked to enter the hall and assume their
places. Sexily competitive in the formerly go-go aggressive internet
market, they used to hunger for the next deal, the next jewel in the
corporate crown. Clients strategically stalked and competitors
successfully outmaneuvered, they could relish in the market spoils and
hope for a bigger part of the take next time - maybe first instead of
economy, maybe an upper management position with increased stock options.
But the mighty fall, and in that announcement room the pale faces and
down-turned eyes couldn't seem to focus on the bosses' lengthy speeches
about "bottom line" and "tough decisions." Motionless in their trendy
black, the group sat tense but impassive as the words fell like weights on
the cold gray floor.
"Downsizing" - explain that to a 25-year old with an expensive degree and
a sense of born entitlement: a virgin to earth-shattering unemployment.
The finer implications of "shareholder value" have no meaning to someone
at odds about how to pay next month's rent. And "important cutbacks" don't
register with people weaned on the theology of bigger-is-better
overconsumption.
But every boom has its bust and the signs of slowdown are clear. Alta
Vista recently fired 200 people and Amazon will cut its workforce by 15%.
Over 40,000 internet employees have lost their jobs since Dec. 1999, a
record 10,459 last December alone. The hiring frenzy of just last year,
with its stock options, hazel nut lattes and fancy perks has crashed and a
generation raised on MTV dreams and sunny promises now faces the bleakness
of redundancy.
The hunter as prey - maybe it's only in that crystalline moment facing the
axe that the true nature of consumption becomes apparent. Gorge yourself
on the buffet of life! You need the latest gadget. More is never enough!
Inhale, digest, and just spit out what you don't want...
Funny to think that sometimes what is consumed is people.
Heather Wokusch is a freelance writer. She can be contacted at
womanrant@hotmail.com
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