Cut, slash, reduce

I was off to a one week vacation after work last Tuesday. Little did I know about the shocking news that my company is announcing the next morning.

Chipmaker Altera cutting 3 percent of workforce

NEW YORK (AP) - Chipmaker Altera Corp. said it's cutting about 3 percent of its 2,700 person work force, according to a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nearly all the 87 layoffs are expected to made before the end of the third quarter.

Read more here...

I didn't know anything about it until I was back in Penang the next Tue evening. I took an extra day off on Wed, even then I still didn't know. It was on Wed night that I went to check the company stock price on Google Finance when I saw the article. It came very unexpectedly because I thought the economy is already on it's way to recovery.

Luckily I was still able to scan my way into office the next morning.

Is it good or is it bad that I was not around when they announce the decision? Absent means I missed all the explanation from the management team. Oh well, I think you can roughly guess what they're going to say...'it's a difficult decision bla bla bla', 'we wouldn't do this if we have other option bla bla bla'...maybe it's a good thing I was not around.

Another thing is that I am grateful to be spared from the worry and stress throughout my vacation. If I were to leave one day later or they were to announce the news one day earlier, I would have been thinking about work and job security throughout the holiday.

I had a great time being away from work. I needed it very much. The last time I had vacation was during Chinese New Year back in Jan.

Here's a clue of where I've been:

They are within touching distance