Demob Happy

Well this week Freescale announced the death of their Cellular Products Division. Contractors are out next week, and the permanent software development staff will endure a "period of consultation" before being axed around October. The chip manufacturing plant will be de-commissioned in 2011.

Unlike at SEMC, there is no other site that will continue the work, no one to hand over too, no customer to support. Nothing. The end. The atmosphere at work is therefore one of resignation, and pretty anarchic. Even the bosses have gone nuts. I was trying to finish something off earlier in the week, and one of the line leads was in my seat when I returned from a break. He asked me what I was doing there in the kind of tone he might use if I'd been found in the women's toilets (and could I come back after he had finished chatting!)?

Anyway, the job market here isn't so hot for S60 work it seems. No surprise there, as I personally thing it's doomed anyway (S60 that is), but this week some of Freescale's previous victims dragged us out for another picnic, as they had found no work yet and were bored. We happily accepted, as we were bored too. It was also sunny, which has been an all too rare event in April. So more pizzas by the lake near work and more "working in France".