Fringe Benefits To Getting Fired
As you well know, UBS is scheduled to begin laying off some 8,000 employees tomorrow, just prior to accepting the “Heart of Gold Award” for community service unrelated to its own employees.* Bloomberg, it seems, is aware of the date as well:
From: [redacted]
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 6:41 PM
To: UBS-IBD
Subject: **May 6, 2008**
Dear Bloomberg user at UBS:
As your account manager I am aware of what the date above signifies for some of you. Be aware that Bloomberg will provide you with a free trial should you find yourself in between jobs.
To activate the trial, just call our main number 212 318 2000. If you have any questions or if there is something that I can do for you, let me know.
With regard,
[redacted]
* Apparently the choice of May 6th as D-day had less to do with the Swiss bank’s desire to inject a bit of irony into its firings than wanting to bookend the bad news with parties—see you at that cheesy Mexican restaurant on Vanderbilt across from Grand Central at 5! Management has rented out the place for a whole two hours.