Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat

EMC Cuts Staff as Recession Continues

Posted on Dec 04, 2008 by Stephen

Apparently, some were annoyed, offended, or hurt by this post. For that, I sincerely apologize. My intent was to reach out to my friends at the company in this difficult time, but what I meant doesn’t help those who are directly affected.

I have only one question: What is the right thing to do when bad things happen? Should one offer help or remain silent? This is not a rhetorical question – I’d like some advice.

Although nothing official has yet been announced, enterprise storage giant EMC is apparently conducting a massive workforce reduction today. Update: EMC reported in January that they would take a restructuring charge in Q4 2008 and would reduce overall headcount by 2400. The job losses reported here were part of this restructuring. I hear that there is a voluntary early retirement program, too.  Multiple sources have confirmed to me that perhaps as much at 10% of the folks from Hopkinton will be let go. Update 2: The Boston Globe reports EMC’s claims that only “a small number of workers” has been let go. The Register reports that the numbers are “small and modest.” I personally know of a handful who were affected, and they claimed widely divergent losses in their departments, so I have no idea what the number was.

Update: I’m hearing conflicting reports from inside the company, with some absolutely confirming the RIF and others scratching their heads. Might be divisional rather than company-wide, but a good number of people both in Hopkinton and elsewhere are apparently losing their jobs. A number of others are confirmed to have been let go over the past three weeks.

This follows last week’s news that Quantum would also let 180 employees go, and Pillar and Overland also reduced their respective workforces this quarter.

There are also rumors that one of my favorite storage resources (which will remain nameless for now) will not last into 2009.

I’m really speechless about all of this. There are many, many fine people involved at these companies, and I wish all of them the best.

If you are affected, please drop me a line. I can’t offer you a job, but I promise to do everything I can to help you land on your feet.

Tags: economy, EMC, layoff, Overland, Pillar, Quantum, recession, work