Laid Off: After 10 Years at The Walt Disney Company

"There are a lot of emotions and reflections I still go through each day, especially now with continued layoffs, recent current events and the holidays coming up."

Nov 25, 2024

Laid Off is the coolest place on the internet to talk about being laid off. Wanna partner? Have a tip? Hit reply.

In today’s issue, we talk to a former Senior Financial Systems Analyst at The Walt Disney Company about being laid off after nearly a decade with the same company, and a commitment to prioritizing creativity and family.

Matthew Pak, 48, worked as a financial analyst for The Walt Disney Company for nearly a decade.

In May 2023, he received a Zoom invite from his director and HR at 6:30am. At 10:30am, he was laid off. By 5:01pm that same day, he was locked out of his laptop. No access to emails, shared folders, or any of the work or connections he made in the last ten years.

He did see it coming — they had heard about layoffs across the company a few weeks prior — but was still surprised he was impacted.

From a financial perspective, Matthew felt the layoff was handled acceptably. From a personal one, not so much.

“I felt like a transaction, not like a person needing care,” he said. “Adding to the frustration, I found out my role was re-listed and filled six months later. I’m still confused around how it was handled.”

Ten years... that is a meaningful chunk of time to dedicate yourself to one company. Can you share how it felt to be laid off from a place you spent so long at?

Angry. Even a year later, I get angry. The experience left me wondering about my value to the company. One of the many conclusions I arrive at is that I had little overall value because I was easily disposable. That’s difficult to say coming from a company that has a history of selling the idea that “it takes people to make the dream a reality”.

It’s definitely reframed how I view work. In hindsight, I’ve seen all the things I might normally get worked up about and realized they are unimportant in the grand scheme of time.

And yet, I’ve learned to live with the anger by reminding myself this is a moment to exercise grace. I’m more accepting of the feeling and its triggers and I’m learning to be less reactive.

Who was the first person you told after getting laid off?

My wife. I woke her up. She wasn’t surprised because we had already talked about what we would do “if” it happened to me.

Was there a way they could've handled the layoff better? If you could sit down with the people in power and give them advice on how to create a more empathetic or humane layoff experience, what would you tell them?

There were probably 101 ways they could have handled it differently. But if I were to sit down with someone in leadership, I would remind them of the responsibility they have to their employees. Sure, we’re in an organization that has shareholders to please, but maybe it’s time we think differently about that.

With the ease at which organizations go down the “layoff” road, I feel it’s beginning to numb workers to their intrinsic value. My long-term concern is that this becomes the norm rather than the exception. I truly enjoy working because I like being able to contribute to a team. But when I’m disposed of so easily, it hurts and makes it seem like the work was meaningless.

You mentioned talking to your wife about what you would do "if" you were laid off. Is that because you sensed layoffs were coming?

We knew the layoffs were coming because of an internal note in early 2023 informing us that 7,000 jobs would be cut as a part of cost savings initiatives. And while most in my department thought we were safe, my wife and I took the approach of thinking no one was safe.

We talked about the “what if” and outlined our priorities, emergency actions and, most importantly, what was necessary from a mental state if it turned out I was being laid off.

Do you think it's important for people in partnerships/relationships to have that conversation these days?

It’s important to have that conversation consistently and be open to the possibility that you will be laid off at some point in the future. No job or role is safe. That’s a hard truth that requires open discussion and you have to be prepared for when it happens, not if it happens.

Since you had that conversation about a hypothetical layoff, did you have any plans in place? Some readers have mentioned having an emergency or rainy day fund.

We had a three month cushion saved in the event that something like this happened. The severance added an extra cushion and we were able to stretch that out for the rest of the year.

How has being laid off changed your relationship to work?

All the professional things I used to be concerned about no longer are important in the short or long run. Even professional work relationships. Nearly 3/4ths of the people I connected with on a daily basis have disappeared. And that’s ok. I prefer the silence right now.

I view work as a very small aspect of my overall life. Yes, it funds my ability to keep my place warm, food on the table and pays for vacations. Now, I’m very protective of my time and don’t take on more than I am willing to as I now see it as a moment away from my family and, most importantly, myself.

What's something cool you've worked on since the layoff?

I write poetry daily.

Poetry! Can you share a bit more about that?

I’ve been craving a creative outlet to explore this moment of professional upheaval. I was inspired by spoken word poet IN-Q who I’ve followed for about five years. I picked up his most recent book The Never Ending Now and in it he says “Poetry can be a mirror for humanity and when you are brave enough to show us who you are, you make everyone feel a little bit less alone in this world.” That sat heavy with me.

There were moments over the past year when I was very emotional about the situation. Being able to read, watch or listen to someone’s story similar to mine was revelatory to be able to add strength to the understanding that thousands of other people throughout history have lived, and most importantly, thrived through their challenges.

My oldest daughter recently moved out so I’ve found small pockets of time to focus on expressing my feelings through poetry. For the past four months, consistently, I’ll take 30 minutes each day to put some thoughts down on paper. Sometimes it’s one page, sometimes four or five pages. And sometimes I publish it, sometimes not. It depends on the feeling I have and I’ll go with it.

You can find what I post on Medium.

Why did this post-layoff time feel like a time to pursue that passion?

There are a lot of emotions and reflections I still go through each day, especially now with continued layoffs, recent current events, and the holidays coming up. It would be easy to distract myself. We live in a culture that prioritizes the distraction above the uncomfortable: dive into work, spend time at the bar, update your feed. Even checking LinkedIn to see what’s going on with others is easy, which, oddly enough, I am thankful for because I found you!

Every day, I’m working to take a committed approach to prioritize my creativity. It has provided an opportunity to be disciplined each day to express what’s in my soul and put it on paper. I’ve enjoyed going back and looking at certain days, reading and reflecting on what I wrote in those moments. If I share it with the world, that’s an extra blessing.

Laid Off: After 10 Years at The Walt Disney Company

"There are a lot of emotions and reflections I still go through each day, especially now with continued layoffs, recent current events and the holidays coming up."

Discussion about this post