Member's Column Day: Ranting about severance

It has become common for employees nowadays to rant about something at work in order to be accepted by their colleagues.   CGI is no exception unfortunately, and some members enjoy criticizing every decision taken by senior management because it has become fashionable to do so.  It is cool, like the young people say.  Here's what ranter #1 has to say:

I was outsourced to CGI and since being employed by them I and my fellow co-workers have been treated like garbage. CGI is counting on people to not be able to survive on EI, this way the employee is forced to take employment elsewhere and thus CGI gets away with not paying a severance. This is an unethical practice and it should be illegal. At the very least they should have provided the option of severance or temporary layoff. 

CGI Management should be ashamed. I don’t know how they can sleep at night.

I sleep very soundly, thank you for your concern.  I read a few spreadsheets along with hot cocoa in bed, I don't watch TV (except when CGI makes headlines) and my Richie Rich PJs remind me that profitable growth is more than my journey, it is the reality of all CGI members because we all share the same dream.  We are collectively the physical embodiment of profitable growth, we are one with our earnings.

Back to Mr. Whiner here, he should understand that "severance" is a dirty word.  Severance means money traveling in a single direction (from our account to yours) without billable work being done in return.

It is, by every definition, a black hole.

As Hawkins would point out, black holes need to be few unless you want the universe to last a mere 2.3 seconds before all matter is sucked into oblivion.   Same applies with the financial world, CEOs deserve a severance package because there are few (as compared to lower-class workers) and I mean you can't just apply for a CEO job the way you apply to be a Web developer.

I strongly encourage members to take their pocket calculator and crunch some numbers.  31,000 employees, 2 weeks severance package, consider your salary as a baseline and add 20%.  Daunting number, isn't it?  What would happen to our stock price if I were to announce such a lethal charge during our next earning calls?  Apocalyptic would be an understatement.   Since you are a shareholder - if you're not I suggest you reconsider that high opinion of yourself you've been telling yourself  - since YOU ARE A SHAREHOLDER then you know that US paying severance would mean a considerably lower share price, therefore you would lose much, much more in the end.

If you are smarter than a toothbrush, then you know my logic is sound and it makes a lot of sense to handle members termination this way.  Plus, you've guessed by now that those who are layed off are not exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer, meaning YOU are still employed because YOU deserve it.  And that conclusion speaks for itself.

Now get back to work, and stop whining.