6 weeks to layoffs: All the open reqs would get closed. Bagels and muffins on Fridays are replaced with bagels only. Cream cheese flavors go away, leaving just plain cream cheese, but only two 8-oz tubs for 36 bagels. The lights on buildings were set to go off at 6PM to lower electrical costs, occasionally throwing employees who chose the wrong moment to use the rest room into total darkness. Shutting off the air conditioning during periods of peak loading, to help the California power grid, and just coincidently to save the company money. The problem was that these peak loading times generally occurred on the hottest days of the year.
5 weeks to layoffs: All personnel reviews stop. Emails for "let's get these projects wrapped up" steps up, but not from anyone you know. More "one-on-one" meetings for status, but no one is listening to you, and these are often canceled at the last minute, with no reason given.
4 weeks to layoffs: Real Half & Half disappears from the break room. Replaced with nondairy coffee creamer (plain, not flavored.) Vending machine expiration dates are getting closer to today's date. Bagels go away. For some reason, they keep delivering the cream cheese, though. Folks stop using their vacation, and canceling previously scheduled vacations. However, sick-time goes up dramatically usually in patterns of "3 days present, 2 days absent." No one will say why.
3 weeks to layoffs: General downgrade in level of still-open job requisitions (already noted.) Oblivious employees do not notice this phenomenon until they are given "the talk" by their supervisor: "I can't guarantee anything because I don't know what the final cut might look like, but you *are* on the list." Cream cheese finally disappears on Fridays. Nondairy coffee creamer continues to be available, but now rationing of coffee bags is apparent. No one is making afternoon coffee, usually because there aren't any coffee bags with which to make it.
2 weeks to layoffs: Weekly staff meetings stop. Direct level manager is frequently unavailable to discuss pretty much anything. Next level up is "hunkered down," trying to figure out "how deep, how quick, how extensive." Project meetings are often postponed to a date that's one week beyond what the project leader thinks is the impending RIF date. People are in their offices, working industriously to finish projects, if possible, working toward some mysterious, unstated deadline.
1 week to layoffs: Daily newspapers carry stories of investor meetings; the stock is UP on rumors of cost-cutting "now in progress." HR personnel are unavailable to assist in relocation to other areas of the company. Employees are on their "best behavior" but no one seems to notice. Managers and directors are now using their voicemail to 'screen' incoming from inside the company. Morning coffee strength has now DOUBLED, and 2 bags are now used to make 1 pot of coffee. Coffee runs out about 11:15 a.m., for the day. Phone call volume is up, but everyone is whispering. The HR department looks like a cemetery. Everyone disappears about 1:00 p.m. daily. They're present, we just don't know where. For some reason, cream cheese once again appears in the lunch room, with about 3 or maybe 4 bagels, which are gone by 8:30 a.m. You only know this if you get to work before 8:30 a.m.
Layoff day: It's like Disneyland, with quite a bit of chaos and every manager being led around like a Disney character with their attendant HR person carrying 3 or 4 employee folders at a time. They call people into an office with too many chairs. Sometimes Security personnel roam the hallways with ear-pieces that are squawking at regular intervals. The meetings last for about 6 or 7 minutes. No one is listening. These folks have a job to do, perhaps the most important one they've done in weeks. "Where is x?" "I think she went home sick." "Well, find her." Doors open, doors close, occasional quiet sobbing but mostly a sad resignation (no pun intended) to one's fate. Others are clearing out their offices, some more aggressively than others ("How *do* you remove a Blade server without setting off the status alarm?") By 2:00 p.m., everything is very quiet. (You only know this if you weren't laid off.) All the managers have gone home, or they're in the restrooms throwing up and crying. Either way, most individual contributors are on phones, trying to figure out who on their team is left to continue the project (if anyone.) Like any natural disaster after communication is once again restored, people are trying desperately to connect with other people they know, to obtain status, next steps, and perhaps most of all, reassurance that the worst has past.
Others: According to the story, at one large company, the most reliable indicator of layoffs or downsizing was with the vending machines. As the story goes, the company would notify the vending operator that the number of nearby people would be going down. So the vending machine operator would get to work and trade out all the big vending machines for smaller ones. Often the vending machine tradeout would precede the public notification of the layoffs by a significant time (like a couple of weeks).
