Assignment  7  A  company  downsizing  

 
Por: Victor Zamora & Samuel Arriaga

This  text  will  help  you  respond  the  quiz:  Assignment  7  

Mr Robbins was an accountant in a Company called The Z Corporation He was a good
worker and a good trustworthy man.

One day, he was called for attending a supposedly common meeting. He felt comfortable
since he had been called for attending this kind of reunions before.

When Mr. Robbins sat down at a corner of the table, he simply said good morning to
several coworkers who were there, it all seemed that no one knew what the assembly
about, so he realized that there could be something weird, and he asked if everything was
alright, but no one answered his question.

The Z Corporation had cutting edge technology and there were video conferences every
now and then. When the general director came in, he instructed them to watch a video on
the big flat screen.

The video started like this:

”Good morning people. This is an explanatory video

of something we have had lately”.

It continued: “Our Company has been declared in

bankruptcy and we are legally under terms of
chapter 11”.

Everybody got pale and there was a great silence.

The voice on the screen sounded dramatic. And it went on: “for sure there will be an
imminent downsizing”. He said that it would be necessary to wave goodbye to over 80% of
employees, and there would be no distinction, nobody would be considered «special».

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Robbins’s face was blushed, it looked as if he had felt a bucket of
cold water all over his body. He asked himself: “How is it possible?”
He recalled that he some time before he had been evaluated as
«the most valuable and cooperative employee». However that
nomination could no longer be considered a warrantee.

Robbins’s thoughts went on, he remembered that his boss had told
him recently: “you are considered to be promoted, think it over” and
his boss added “trustworthy employees are considered a jewel in the
company, they are never fired”.

After his mind had flown away, he came back to listen to the rest of
the talk:

“Please do not panic. We know that you were always committed to our goals, the problem is that
this downsizing is necessary for the company's health, and people gathered in this room will be
laid off”.

“Now you need to settle down and Human Resources will let you know how much your
severance payment is”.

The dilemma he is now facing is: «an entire life devoted to a corporation». Human Resources
department had prepared a «good check» followed by a plain farewell: “Thank you, We'll miss
you”.

That is all he got. So, now he feels old and believes it is difficult to find a new job.

Images  references  

Alekksall & Freepik. (2016). Man receiving a text

message. Recuperada de
http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/man-
receiving-a-text-message_834509.htm
(imagen publicada bajo licencia Freepik de
acuerdo a http://support.freepik.com/hc/en-
us/articles/202567642-Are-Freepik-contents-
for-free-and-where-can-I-use-them-).

Freepik. (s.f.). Video lectura free icon. Recuperada de

http://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/video-
lecture_68278 (imagen publicada bajo
licencia Flaticon de
acuerdo a
http://file005.flaticon.com/downloads/license/l
icense.pdf).

©UVEG. Derechos reservados. Esta obra no puede ser reproducida, modificada, distribuida, ni transmitida, parcial o totalmente, mediante
cualquier medio, método o sistema impreso, electrónico, magnético, incluyendo el fotocopiado, la fotografía, la grabación o un sistema de
recuperación de la información, sin la autorización por escrito de la Universidad Virtual del Estado de Guanajuato.