“Our People Are Our Greatest Asset”
Corporate-speak at its finest
How many times have you sat through a corporate meeting or listened to the President or CEO of a company say that to its workers or the public in general?
Have you ever been laid off or fired from a job? How do those words resonate after going through that?
I heard it plenty, having worked for one of the three major airlines. It was especially prevalent after 9/11. They were trying to make it sound like we were “safe.” But that word left the corporate lexicon after the tragic events of that day.
There were the initial layoffs, primarily among pilots, flight attendants, and ground personnel, because the public wasn’t flying. Because of that, management employees were having a field day with their flight benefits. Post-9/11 was the best time ever for space-available travel. But it wasn’t long before it became apparent that the customers weren’t returning, so hundreds of flights were pulled down.
Then, with fewer planes being flown, the vast corporate workforce began to be affected. First to go was the “low-hanging fruit,” as they liked to call them — those mostly in support positions. As the airline was smaller, its rank-and-follow needed to be also.
And before you knew it, we had filed for bankruptcy protection, the first of…
