Radio Shack did whaaaattt??!!!

Posted by Jim Stroud

September 1, 2006

I had been been hearing a LOT about this and how impersonal Radio Shack was to cut people so callously. For the sake of rumor control, I looked into it and saw that it was not so cutthroat afterall. The people knew what was coming well ahead of time and Radio Shack (to its credit) addressed questions on the company intranet. Still… I don’t know. Emails? Have we become so technical that we have removed ourselves from humanity?

Here is the article…

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack Corp. notified about 400 workers by e-mail that they were being dismissed immediately as part of planned job cuts.

Employees at the Fort Worth headquarters got messages Tuesday morning saying: “The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated.”

Company officials had told employees in a series of meetings that layoff notices would be delivered electronically, spokeswoman Kay Jackson said. She said employees were invited to ask questions before Tuesday’s notification on an intranet site.

Jackson said the electronic notification was quicker and allowed more privacy than breaking the news in person.

“It was important to notify people as quickly as possible,” she said. “They had 30 minutes to collect their thoughts, make phone calls and say goodbye to employees before they went to meet with senior leaders.”

Employees met with supervisors and human resources personnel before leaving. At coffee bar areas on each floor, the company provided boxes and plastic bags for employees to pack their personal belongings.

“Things went very smoothly. Everyone left very graciously and very professionally,” Jackson said.

SOURCE: RadioShack fires 400 by e-mail

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