This is a letter that the boss sent to the editor of the Globe and Mail. The letter was published on 21 March 1996. The exchange began when an editor, laid off as part of Hollinger’s takeover of the Star-Phoenix, wrote an op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail about the experience. Ms. Tibbets volunteered advice to the terminated employees about the amazing opportunities that were open to them as a result of being downsized:
Re: A sheep in capitalist's clothing (19 March 1996, page A20)
Cheryl Tibbets suggests that terminated employees get with the spirit of downsizing and embrace the new opportunities that await them. The newly liberated wage slave with a healthy severance package should get down to his local franchising show and sign up as a capitalist himself. Yesterday's editor is tomorrow's donut shop operator. We are also admonished not to worry where those funds that used to be salaries are going. The shareholders will use them wisely, whether blown on Canadian ski vacations or used to strengthen the surviving business. This rather narrow list of options leaves the impression that the savings from layoffs will always be spent -- no matter whether foolishly or wisely -- on something that generates new local employment. Perhaps Ms. Tibbetts should get out more, or even take a look at the Fashion and Design section of your paper. Shareholders who get hold of a windfall often opt to blow it on something foreign and expensive with very little local labour content. Mr. Black, the downsizer who began this debate in the first place, is a case in point. No one outside Hollinger Inc. really knows where the capital saved by the Star Phoenix dismissals will be invested, but we can be reasonably certain that it will be somewhere far from Saskatoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment