'There's been a few letters published on Here Is The City recently on the subject of being laid off. Most of the stories are touching and fairly uplifting - folks overcoming adversity to succeed against all the odds, employees retaining their dignity as they make painful exits from their firms, etc. Well, that's all well and good. But I was mighty miffed when I got canned late last year, and I'm still as bitter as Hell towards the manager who fired me, the firm which used me and the industry that chewed me up and spat me out!

I was laid off just a few days before year-end, so I didn't qualify for a bonus - despite working my nuts off for most of the year. I can't reveal which firm I worked for, as to do so would breach the terms of the Compromise Agreement I was obliged to sign to get what little money I could out of the bank I had given my all for a period of over 12 years.

They say that I (and many like me) are victims of the credit crunch. Well, that's not really true. I lost my job because my global CEO (and our Chief Risk Officer) didn't understand the risks that a few fixed income traders were taking in a misguided effort to continue riding the gravy-train. True, both the CEO and the traders have gone now, but they all left with decent exit packages, and most of them will never have to work again anyway. I walked off with the equivalent of a few months money, and the prospect of a long period out of the industry during what many now recognise is the most profound market adjustment since the Crash of '29.

I don't really care about being dignified, and I don't want to suffer in silence anymore. And I'm sick of all these well-intentioned do-gooders who keep telling me that everything will be OK, and that me losing my job was really a blessing in disguise as it will enable me to 'refocus'. Well, I don't want to refocus - I just want to go out and earn a decent living. I just want to go to bed at night and know that I stand a reasonable chance of getting a few decent hours sleep. I want to be able to leave the house during the week, and not be stuck in with a wife complaining that we can't afford a new 4 x 4, and over-active kids whose idea of fun is to take the rise out of 'poor old daddy', who lost his job and can't get another one for love nor money. In summation, I want my old life back!

I admit that did alright out of the industry, earning decent money during the good times. But, like many in my position, I spent most of what I earned. True, I should have put more aside for a rainy day, but you never think of that when times are good and bonuses are reasonable. And it's difficult to understand that my whole life in London has been turned upside down, in the main, because some jokers in the US got over-zealous giving mortgages to trail-trash, and some silly investment bankers thought that they saw a no-lose opportunity! Well, I, and many like me, lost!!

So, spare me the sympathy and homespun advice - just help me get back in the 'rat race' as quickly as possible!'.

READER COMMENTS

1. 'Utter idiot! So, you've spent all your cash, can't afford a new 4x 4, and were dumb enough to marry someone who complains when you get laid off ? What, and you want sympathy ?'.

2. 'As someone who got shafted in the Enron debacle, I know exactly how this reader feels. My biggest concern, however, is how he describes his domestic situation - was he just a cashpoint machine for his family ?'.

3. 'Is this bloke related to Heather McCartney ? The poor fella's probably still got more cash than your average Joe. And his payoff would have been free of tax. Lastly, not thinking about a 'rainy day' in the industry we work in is just plain stupid'.

4. 'Ponder this - firms do use you and drain you, then discard you. But you get a doggie cookie every so often (a paycheck) that allows you to live how you want to. Everyone will tell you, however, to save for that rainy day - but until you screw up and realize what a pearl of wisdom that was, you are stuck in the bed YOU made.

Embrace these two concepts:

1. Life isn't fair

2. Your gonna get screwed over

And grow up and get the binky out of your mouth!'.

5. 'Proof indeed that redundancy stops being a statistic when it happens to you'.

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'I Got Laid Off & It Hurt Like H.ll'

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