WotC Layoffs - Rob Heinsoo, Logan Bonner, and Chris Sims

[ForceUser]

This is why I'll never work for corporate America again. Best wishes to all who've felt the sting of layoffs. I hope you find work soon.

 

[Herschel]

Wonder how well "black friday" turned out this year for Hasbro and other toy companies.

"Black Friday" itself really doesn't mean much for Hasbro or toy companies. Their sales are aggregate so total sales volume would be their indicator rather than any specific day or few days.

 

[Dragonstar]

Best of luck to all who were let go - with such a large pool of talent, I'm sure something new will come up soon. Being let go ANY time of the year is never good, but speaking from experience this is probably the BEST time to be let go. I was given the axe after 5 years with a major company three days before Thanksgiving, and while it took me 10 weeks of unemployment to find a new job, I had the fortunate side effect of being able to spend the entire holiday with my family for the first time in a decade. It was really a blessing for me.

So to all of you who were let go this year, my best of wishes to you, and enjoy what matters most to you this holiday season!

 

[Herschel]

I mean, I spent part of my last day writing about mind flayers! How many people who got laid off can say that?!
.

If you're writing about your work experince/updating the resume with corporate HR in mind it's the same thing. Just sayin'...

 

[Herschel]

Hey, get the story right. I showed myself the door and have happily left it in the rear-view mirror.

All of the bitterness with none of the severence. Sounds like a diet ad.

It's almost always better to leave on your own terms, so kudos for that. I've left a couple of positions I hated also (or at least the company), both by choice and by layoff. If I didn't buy from every company I didn't like a business practice they did I'd have nothing and what money I did have would be buried in mason jars or in a mattress.

These things suck, and I'd guess most of us with any amount of work history in a white collar environment would have experience with it.

 

[Shemeska]

This is why I'll never work for corporate America again. Best wishes to all who've felt the sting of layoffs. I hope you find work soon.

Working for the government has its own drawbacks as well. For all the pitfalls in the corporate world, I'd have elective surgery before working for a government agency again.

 

[Black Flame Zealot]

I can confirm that I was let go yesterday. I plan to stay somewhat active here at ENWorld. (Though I'll need a name change; how about just "Logan_Bonner"?) I'd like to keep working in gaming, so hopefully you'll still see my name from time to time.

The funny thing is, my best work isn't even released yet! Keep an eye out for HS1: The Slaying Stone. Buy a copy; that'll show 'em! (Okay, not really. But I think you'll like the adventure.) I went out working on something cool, too (that I can't tell you about, of course). I mean, I spent part of my last day writing about mind flayers! How many people who got laid off can say that?!



Let's not forget Peter Lee! He's mostly working on minis, board games, and other non-books products. Let's not forget Matt Sernett, who also does great stuff for Magic! Let's not forget Steve Schubert, Peter Schaefer, and Rodney Thompson, who'll be working a little bit harder with one less developer! Let's not forget the editors and managing editors (okay, I ran out of steam in listing names), who'll be dealing with text that's not had quite as much care and attention as it might have had with a bigger staff! Let's not forget the D&D Insider crew who'll be running without Mr. Sims.

I wish all my friends back at WotC the best of luck. They're a capable crew, and it's been a please working in an environment with such creative people for the last 3-1/2 years. I can design games anywhere, but not having all these great people to work with every day will be the hardest part.



I plan to, as long as I can find work. I still love the game and have more I want to get out there. I'd love to find a good way to get my thoughts on gaming out there, and I'll start looking for a venue soon.



Four people from CAPS (the graphic design and production side of making the games) were also let go. I don't feel comfortable divulging their information personally.

I've had a lot of great times working with this recent crew of folks from R&D that got let go.

Logan and I play in a weekly game together and he's one of the best friends I have here in Seattle; not to mention he's done some fantastic work on adventures for me in Organized Play (his Monster Manual 2 Game Day adventure was raved about by everyone I knew that played it). Stephen and I go WAAAY back - I worked for him as a contractor back in the Living Greyhawk days, and I now occupy his once-held position here at Wizards, before he came back to work with R&D. We worked on development on many projects here in the last year or so together, and he's taught me a lot about the ins and outs of the job I now hold. In fact, I certainly wouldn't be at Wizards if it wasn't for him.

Even though I haven't worked too closely on many projects with Rob and Chris Sims, I certainly can say I know them well enough (I've gamed with both of them some too) and they're great - honest, hard-working, and dedicated to the game.

I wish all of them the best of luck down future roads. I know I'll try to help 'em out if they need it.

 

[MerricB]

I had this horrible thought when I saw you'd posted, Chris, that you'd been "let go" as well. Thank goodness that's not the case!

But that doesn't change how much it sucks that Rob, Stephen, Chris and Logan are going.

 

[Black Flame Zealot]

I had this horrible thought when I saw you'd posted, Chris, that you'd been "let go" as well. Thank goodness that's not the case!

But that doesn't change how much it sucks that Rob, Stephen, Chris and Logan are going.

Nope, I'm still here, and still working hard, trying to get things in place for 2010.

 

[Lord Karsus]

Working for the government has its own drawbacks as well. For all the pitfalls in the corporate world, I'd have elective surgery before working for a government agency again.

-Ah, having incompetent bosses isn't THAT bad.