There have been talks about "back up plans" and "decisions being made soon" but even with the threat of shut down looming in the air, nobody really thought it would come. It did. It came fast. On Thursday, we were talking to 2 potential buyers and we were told we had time. By Tuesday, the buyers had retracted their interest. By Wednesday a new and "serious" buyer entered the picture. Today, the buyer backed out.
My company, as of today, after 9+ years of business, is closed. I was called in to be part of the "skeleton crew" that would keep up operations until the final lights out.
I thought I would be a bit more ecstatic, but i'll admit I'm sad. I'm bad at goodbyes. It's weird to think that I won't be seeing these people 40+ hrs a week, bitching and moaning and, well, bitching and moaning. It's weird to see the clean desks, and the shell of the company still intact, knowing that in a month or less, everything will be cleaned out and sold off bit by bit. It's weird to be a part of something that will no longer exist. I was around during the dotcom days and I saw this happen to many a company. However, I was not there til the very very end. The sense of finality is pretty indescribable.
At approximately 4:45 pm today, I accepted an offer from another company.
Needless to say, this has been bar none the craziest work week of my professional career.
UPDATE: two weeks later, said company filed for bankruptcy, received emergency funding, and continued operations with a smaller staff. They asked people back, and (stupidly), they returned. Shakes head. Not my problem anymore. Thank. God.