The abrupt and the restless

I've just come across perhaps the most perfect article that just captures our whole situation in an accelerated nutshell.

80 workers let go after long-time Edmonton company closes

Workers at one of the Edmonton's oldest companies are angry and hurt after the company fell abruptly into receivership, putting 80 employees out of a job.

Marv Holland Apparel, which makes work uniforms and fire-retardant protection gear, had been in business for 65 years, but closed its doors at the end of June.

"They called us at 9 o'clock in the morning and said, 'You have no more job, you're terminated,'" Asha Shergill told CBC News at a gathering of employees in front of the company's warehouse at 10939-120 Street Friday.

Employees were given 10 minutes to leave the building, she said.

"It hurts so much because 39 years I spent with Marv Holland," she said. "It hurts so much."Employees had no inkling the company was in trouble.
"If I did, I wouldn't have bought a new car," Anna Barbosa. "I'm angry, yes. They should have at least told us. They should have been up front with us and told us and been honest with us and told us there is a problem happening with Marv Holland."

Now Barbosa is pulling her son out of daycare to save money.

The company filed for receivership the same day workers were fired, leaving workers blaming the new owner and poor management.

Marv Holland sold majority ownership in the company three years ago to Victoria, B.C. entrepreneur Peter Gustavson.

. In the past two years, the company did cut costs by outsourcing products to China and Mexico.

Now employees are scrambling to determine what to do.

It just has it all! eh? Company? Country? It makes no difference. What is perhaps the most fitting metaphor though for our situation is that the company didn't even tell their employees there was something fatally wrong. If they had, even if there was nothing that could be done to stop the overall decline, the employees would have been able to properly prepare. Everything was seemingly going great, until it wasn't and now 80 more angry people have been added to the flames of general discontent.

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Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.