Transcription
Mr Roberts, you have been fired.
Well, why?
It doesn't matter why. The decision has been made.
One day, when I was thinking, "I've only got a year before retiring," a young manager moved into my department. One day, he called me over and abruptly announced that he was firing me. I asked him why, but he refused to answer, and I had to give in. I felt lost and told my wife about what happened. My wife looked surprised.
I went to the office the next day to pick up my belongings and found it in a disarray. My name is Stephen Roberts. I'm an ordinary worker at a Securities firm. I joined this company at 30 years old and I've worked hard here for the past 29 years. I was only a year away from retiring.
"Mr. Roberts, I'd like to speak with you about this handover."
"Let's see. Are you talking about this client?"
"Yes, I've been assigned this company and I'm not sure how we should handle them."
"I think it's better to have an in-depth meeting with them. They are extremely cautious because this is not a small transaction. It would go smoothly if we can elevate their concerns during our meetings."
"I see. Thank you so much."
As I approach retirement, I was delegating my responsibilities to my subordinate. I was relieved to have a break in my work and was eager to devote the rest of the year to internal projects. Then, one day, someone transferred from Tokyo to our department. The branch manager introduced me to the man, and I noticed that he was still a young employee.
"A new employee has moved to a department. I wondered why."
"A new general manager has just been transferred to our department. He said his name is Taylor Norris. Please introduce yourself."
"I have recently been assigned to this department and promoted to manager. My name is Taylor Norris. I am still young, but I will do my best to lead you all in the same manner that my father led this company. I am excited to work with you all."
Hearing the surname Norris reminded me of the CEO's son's existence, and he is the CEO's son. I was convinced he was a CEO's son and that he had been appointed to the unusual position of department head at the age of 25.
"Who created this report?"
"I did, indeed."
"Why is the document in this format? Can you make it more readable?"
"The format for this document was decided beforehand, and I only followed what was decided."
"What I don't care when it was decided, but can't you revise it? If I find it difficult, I believe my father, the CEO, will find it more difficult."
"Do you give speeches like that in front of the president?"
"I sincerely apologize. If I succeed my father as president and was presented with this document, I wouldn't want to read through it. Please make documents that will catch my attention."
He would mention his father whenever he would speak. I know that new manager is the CEO's son, but he is so arrogant. He simply assigns the work to us and then leaves it to us. The other day, he complained even though I made a document exactly as he said, and that whenever I mentioned anything, he would bring up his father's name. So it's difficult to talk to him. People will complain. In fact, I heard him mention his father's name several times. I didn't pay attention to him because I was going to retire in that year.
"Mr. Roberts, could you please come in here for a moment?"
"Can I assist you with something?"
"Let's talk in private in the meeting room."
"Certainly."
I returned after my lunch break to resume my work, but I was immediately summoned by the manager. I wondered what I had done wrong as I was suddenly summoned to a meeting. Was it about the new client, or was there an issue with a previous client, or was it something more serious? I had no idea what I had been summoned for.
"Sir, am I in any trouble? Is this something else entirely?"
"No, it's just a different matter."
I asked what the meeting was about, but wasn't told any details and was asked to come to the meeting room. So, as I went to the meeting room, I was thinking about why I was summoned.
"Well, please have a seat," he said.
"Yes, sir."
"I'm going to be direct. Mr. Roberts, you're fired."
I was taken aback by the abrupt announcement of my dismissal and found myself at a loss for words. As he speaks, the manager holds out the termination letter from across the table, but I'm trying to remember what I've done. So, his voice gone right past me. I tried to ask him why and managed to wring a voice out. However, the manager did not provide the specific reason for the dismissal but simply replied, "This matter has already been decided." Unsatisfied with the answer, I repeatedly asked for a reason, only to be brushed off with, "It's a decision that's been made. You were retiring next year anyway, so why think of it as an early retirement?"
"No, but it's still a year away, and I'm still physically capable of working as hard as anyone else."
"I heard you've already completed handovers and you don't do any outside work, do you? You're physically too old, aren't you?"
"That is not correct. In any case, it has been decided that you'll be fired, so leave the rest to us young people."
"That's not fair! I've... Don't you know who I am, Mr. Roberts? I could even tell the CEO if I wanted to. My decision is the same as the CEO's."
The manager then left the room. I was left in a daze, unsure of what to do. After that, I had no choice but to return home, left speechless. What should I tell my wife? I have to tell her anyway. My mind was racing as I drove home, wondering what I was going to tell my wife and whether I would cause her unnecessary worry.
"I'm home."
"Welcome home. I've made dinner. I'll get changed and be there right away."
I returned home with a heavy heart and decided to talk to my wife about my firing during dinner.
"I have something important to tell you," I explained.
"Has it anything to do with you feeling down when you got home today?"
"Yes, I have been laid off from my job."
I couldn't look my wife in the eyes as I spoke. I couldn't help but look down, worried about how much I would disappoint her. When I heard a surprising response, "I'm so happy you have left your company at last!" I expected my wife to be worried about me, so I looked up in surprise when I heard her reply full of happiness.
"You've put in so much effort. Let's take it easy from now on."
When I look at my wife's face, she was smiling and seemed to be in a good mood, and my wife held no grudge against me for being fired.
"Well, I'm off to work," she said.
"Have a safe journey."
"I'm just going to get my stuff, and we'll return early."
I went to the office the next day to gather my belongings. The atmosphere in the office was unusual when I entered, as usual.
"What is its identity? Who did it? What's wrong with this client? There's a phone call for you, sir. Another phone call in these circumstances."
When I arrived on my floor, the manager was in a panic.
"Um, what's happened this morning?" I asked.
"Why is the manager in a panic?"
"Well, I just heard that our major clients are calling to cancel their contracts one by one, and we don't know why," my colleague explained.
When I asked my colleague what was causing the break, he told me that there had been a string of cancellations by large clients today. As a result, the person in charge of each major client was in constant contact, and the manager was frustrated because he couldn't figure out what was wrong. Even after noon, things had not improved. The number of contracts canceled had increased since the morning, and the general manager's face was pale. Despite the situation, I felt I had to make a final speech. So I approached the manager, but he said, "I'm not in the mood for this right now. Can we finish this later?" He brushed me aside. So I said my goodbyes to the other employees. While I was greeting them, the manager's voice could still be heard echoing around the room.
"Are you in contact with them? There will be a significant loss if we get any more cancellations. Do you realize that? If that happens, the first people to be fired will be those below you."
"But I've been trying to contact my clients since this morning."
"Then consider going directly to the company to apologize. You are completely useless. This is why you can't get promoted. Please be more considerate in your work. If you are supposed to be in charge, you don't need to be so harsh."
"What is a problem? Are you going to talk back to me? Do it after you have solved this problem."
The general manager continued cursing at his subordinates, switching targets one after the other. I couldn't even say goodbye in such circumstances, so I quickly packed my belongings and returned home.
"Well, since I've already been fired, there's nothing I can do to find out why."
When I told my wife about the situation at work, she laughed and said, "Oh, your company! They actually had a lot of contracts with our group companies. My company, you see, owns a number of restaurants, so I had contracts with the company you worked for, but I canceled them all."
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"Are you sure it's because I was laid off?"
"Well, that's one reason, but I didn't think much of your company in the first place. The salesmen were polite and nice, but when I went to the company for meetings, I got the impression that the company was not very open, and the salesmen were only polite at first."
"Oh, really?"
"So when I heard you were being laid off, I thought it would be a good opportunity. As a result, I canceled everything."
In fact, my wife is the chairman of a holding company that owns and operates a number of well-known restaurants. The restaurants she manages had signed contracts with my company, but she didn't think well of my company and took advantage of their opportunity to cancel them all at once. I couldn't conceal my surprise, but to be honest, I was relieved.
"It's unfortunate that you had to leave your job due to the restructuring, but let's take it easy from now on," she said.
"I agree. It's a little early for me, but I'll take it easy."
"Yes, you've worked so hard all along, and I'd like to spend some time with you. Now that I'm stepping down as chairman, I've already chosen my replacement."
Despite being laid off, I had been with the company for 29 years and had enough savings. And my wife said that due to my early retirement, she will hand over the chairmanship to her successor. We entered into an early retirement and started spending our days leisurely.