The place I work has had an amazing 5~10 years. Constantly surpassing prior revenue “far and beyond what we expected”. And yet, annual raises are capped at 3%. No matter how well the company is doing, nobody gets a raise higher than 3%. 7% inflation? Fuck you, here’s 3%. Management wildly speculates about the coming year, and misses targets? Fuck you, here’s 1.5%. Sure, the company grew wildly last year, but not as wildly as they predicted, and they just can’t afford raises this year.
Coupled with all this growth meant a hiring spree. As the company grew, it seemed like there were always new faces walking around.
Then, the rug pull. Their #1 customer (about 50% of the business) announced they wouldn’t buy anything in 2024. Management found out in September. Before announcing anything, management forces everyone to sign a non-compete agreement. Nobody is allowed to go to work for a competitor, supplier, partner, customer, or start a new business in the same sector for 2 years after leaving the company. The agreement is filled with scary clauses such as forcing the ex-employee to pay all of the company’s legal fees in the event of a disagreement.
Once everyone signs (a few people left instead of signing), they announce the loss, and say that a lot of people will lose their job in 6 weeks. December 23rd. Christmas. This is painted as the CEO being generous in letting everyone know ahead of time, so they can make arrangements. Actually, it’s their legal obligation (look up the WARN act).
Remember that surge in hiring? Some of those people had only been with the company a few months. Some of them came from our competitors. Suddenly, they’re out of a job, plus they just signed an agreement that’s going to probably force them to move to get another one.
Yes, I know, non-competes are generally unenforceable, but that’s not the purpose. Because they’re not enforceable, they’re written to scare employees into not testing the company’s resolve if they ever leave or are fired. Someone suddenly out of work usually won’t take on that risk.
So yes, I’m a little radical now. I don’t hide it, I’m the “office socialist”. And I found out I’m not alone.