MovieChat Forums > Office Space (1999) Discussion > Question about the Initech layoffs

Question about the Initech layoffs

posted 9 years ago by cryptical17
4 replies | jump to latest

Do you think the Bobs layed off other Initech employees, or just the main characters? (Sameer, Michael and Tom). To me it seems as if just the three were laid off. For one, only Sameer, Michael and Tom receive interviews by the Bobs.

There are definitely a lot of other Initech employees seen on screen, but the ones who are just "extras" don't seem worried by the threat of downsizing. Notice how they are all enjoying cake at Lumbergh's birthday celebration. They don't look at all worried, nor do they talk a word about losing their jobs. (whereas Tom, Michael, Sameer and Peter spend the entire movie worrying and complaining about Initech).

The extra employees quietly go about their business in the office as if nothing unusual is taking place. In most offices, if the specter of downsizing looms, there's a general sense of fear and apprehension throughout the work force.

[–] CarlosPC 9 years ago

An easy way to answer this is that there might be other employees not seen but affected by the layoffs.

But I think that the real reason is that the Bobs were not really very clever or useful in their roles as "consultants" and so they did not find and solve the real reasons of the company inefficiencies. Examples of their inabillity are: firing experienced people and outsurce from cheap overseas companies because that's the standard way, firing people on fridays to avoid confrontation and so on.

In this way we have another example of the brilliance of this movie as it portraits the great lies that pervade the corporate world: pretend that you are doing something useful, or pretend that your are brilliant and then you will have money in your pocket.

[–] eastcoastguyz 9 years ago

Consultants cost a lot of money and justify their large consulting fee by showing how they saved the company a huge amount money by reducing the work force. So without thinking they likely came up with a number, say 10% of the work force and then worked in various areas of the company finding people to layoff.

[–] MoviemanCin 8 years ago

Those ass clown consultants should have recommended laying off some of Peter's eight Managers. Fudge packers!!

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

[–] subscriptions-67427 8 years ago

I am guessing they laid off quite a lot of the IT engineers including Michael and Samir.

This was common place in the 90s (especially late 90s/ early 2000s) when IT was seen as an expense and not as competitive advantage. Bunch of companies were either outsourcing their IT or hiring straight out of college short term contractors cheaply. The power was totally in the hands of the corporation.

Contrast that to now, 2016, when employers have to compete for good software engineers as if they are athletes, now good software engineers call the shots.