Redwood City, CA Ð After weeks of rumor and uncertainty, NeXT employees on the layoff list were shell shocked as they gathered for a series of company meetings on February 10. Although they expected a fundamental restructuring of NeXT's business model, few thought the changes would be so far-reaching.
In the end, NeXT cut loose 210 of its 530 employees, kept 30 temporarily to help with the transition, and reassigned others. Leaks about the impending layoffs forced NeXT to implement the changes a week ahead of schedule. Suprisingly, many of the newly unemployed, some of whom had been with the company for six years, retained solidarity with their former em-ployer and said they plan to stay in the NeXT community.
Wayne Goodrich, a former hardware marketing manager, said, "I'm first and foremost a NeXTSTEP technology believer and that comes first, whether I'm part of NeXT or part of the greater community."
NeXT will have 230 employees after the 65 employees left in hardware design are transferred to Canon. Of these, about half will be in software engineering, support, and training, another quarter in sales, and the rest in marketing, general, and administration.
Departing from common Silicon Valley practice, former em-ployees were allowed to clean out their desks and computers and remove their property from the premises without being monitored by supervisors or security.
"We decided that we hired them as trusted professionals and asking them to leave didn't change that. We continue to hold the employees we let go in high regard and we wish we didn't have to do what we did," said Paul Bianchi, director of human resources.
Those who remained, however, were also hard hit. Many said they had not only lost their friends but felt the close family-like fabric of NeXT had been shredded.
Most employees received the same severance package Ð about several months pay. Former NeXTers will continue to vest their stock options until April 15. Most will then have 30 days to exercise their options or let them lapse. NeXT is also providing outplacement services.
Early reports show many members of the blue-chip sales force have been snapped up by other workstation vendors, while many former employees said they plan to stay in the NeXT community.