isdav59 was merely responding to the first post here, that seemingly devalued the efforts of the men and women mentioned in the article. Blizzard actually could be value-ing their efforts immensely and be offering very good severance packages. The only way you'll know is if you have a Blizzard employee in the family who is getting layed off.
A business will cut extra weight whenever possible, as that's a drain on the business itself. Small drains like that can add up pretty quick. Hell, businesses are expecting you to subscribe to many small drains. Cable TV, cell phones, data plans, internet, home internet, insurances, rewards memberships, etc. All these things seem small at first, but a few small drains later and 90% of your paycheck goes to sustaining these drains. Likewise, as a business it makes prudent sense to plug such drains quickly to minimize loss.
As far as education goes, systems have been setup to prevent you from quickly changing professions. When you're layed off, educating yourself into a new career takes quite a bit of time, effort, and capital. When you're worried about putting food on your table, you cannot afford to think about taking out loans for an education that may not land you a job. You can still end up without a job simply because there is somebody younger who'll work for less. That's not even taking into the psychological effects a career change can have on you.
With that said, we have seen all too often when greed does take over. When companies no longer value human effort. When a few individuals put their personal wants over the needs of those who helped build their company up. As a business, I want an employee that'll give 110%, and will work in the worst possible conditions. A good way to do that is to make my employee's useless to anybody else. I'll take my doctors, engineers, researchers, technicians, etc. and occupy their minds with how to use my system efficiently only. I'll make my system do all the real work, and teach them how to use my system efficiently. Why? Because they'll be damn good at doing the one thing they are supposed to do, while at the same time reducing my fear of them quitting on me because they don't know how to do anything else. Tis the modern age of large-scale operations, where everything is mechanized and compartmentalized.
I must say that I do agree with isdav59's original post, especially since he was responding to a post that seemingly devalued the effort these men and women put in at Blizzard. Though I myself like to think that Blizzard is a pretty good company, considering the quality of their products and general attitude. They may offer pretty good severance packages. Activision is another story however...
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