According to this CNN article, earlier today Borders announced that it will be liquidated. A lot of companies go bankrupt and survive. When a company liquidates, however, that basically means it is completely finished. Think Circuit City.
I have a really close friend who works for Borders. So does his wife. They just had a baby three months ago. He had worked his way up in the company following college and is now a store manager. Unfortunately, he’s now going to be a manager in search of something new to manage. I know he’ll bounce back, but it reminds me of the need for married spouses to, if possible, diversify their income sources. Not to be a downer, but it looks like things are agains getting worse rather than better. Although the writing has been on the wall at Borders for a long time, I’m sure its talented workforce still feels blindsided by the news.
What disappointed me was when I read the comments to the Borders story on CNN.Com. It seemed like 1/3 blamed Obama, 1/3 mocked the “untalented Borders employees,” and 1/3 left intelligent but uncaring comments such as: “the whole industry is changing.”
Perhaps it’s because I know some of the Borders’ workers firsthand, but I sure hope the majority of people care more about humanity than those comments show. To think otherwise, would be totally depressing.
Best of luck to anyone suffering job loss, with Borders or otherwise. Let’s all keep networking, whether we are currently employed or not…
because the worst may still be to come.
“1/3 blamed Obama, 1/3 mocked the “untalented Borders employees,”
The one’s who have never set foot in a bookstore.
Just because one leaves a comment about the industry changing doesn’t mean they are uncaring. I can feel sympathy for those who lost their jobs because of it and still say that Borders made stupid mistakes by refusing to change with the industry, refusing to acknowledge the adoption of the e-book and the e-reader, and refusing to move with the times. Criticizing the business and it’s corporate … well .. ignorance, doesn’t mean there isn’t caring or sympathy for those employees affected by the situation.