Log
Bought Out, Sold Out
Last Friday, my old company’s assets were bought by a smaller, out-of-state company. When business dried up in March, we employees were more or less laid off; our status was changed to “consultant,” meaning we were only paid for billable work. Around that time, the two companies started discussions.
Originally, everything sounded great. We were promised jobs right away: the staff would remain the same, there would just be new owners. That “offer” quickly changed to contract work, with the assurance that we would be hired full time when one of the pending bids came in. Of course, that turned into a promise of just contract work.
“We’ve got some work we need your help with right away. But you’ve got to take $10 an hour less than you’re getting from the other company.
“Oh, and by the way, sign this contract that denies you use of your work in a portfolio and prevents you from working with any company that we’ve ever had contact with for two years after you finish your work for us.”
Uh, right.
So obviously, there’s no local staff to deal with the few remaining clients, which is something that a lot of the local clients value. All the existing personal relationships are gone: the last two production people, including me, have taken other jobs. The salesperson is gone, bitter. If we ever want any type of business dealings with my former boss, at least for the next few years, even a letter of reference, we can’t do contract work for the new owner, thanks to a no-compete clause in the final sale document. Strange thing to do when you’re hoping to expand your business in the area.
So for the past few months, I’ve been doing work for my former employer on a contract basis—finishing up projects and handling maintenance, etc. I’ve kept my email account in order to create as seamless a transition as possible with the clients. I still felt ownership for the work I was doing.
This morning I discovered that someone else—the new owner—, without notice, is getting my email. I love it. It leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
I guess I should have expected it, given the way this company has proceeded with the deal. It just sucks to be invested in something that suddenly goes away. And the kicker is that I still have contract work to do for them.
06/10/05 03:56PM My Life
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