Tinseltown Asks: Are There No Workhouses?

'Tis the season for turkey, stuffing, football and.... yes, pink slips.

Though the practice is not exclusive to Hollywood, Tinseltown is notorious for laying off people between Thanksgiving and New Year's. With the sweeps period coming to a close, shows go into reruns and production wraps until January. That leaves many people shuffling from store to store shopping for holiday employment instead of stocking stuffers.

This particular editor has been laid-off twice in the past 5 years--and both times the layoff has taken place during the week prior to Thanksgiving. We know that corporations are concerned with one thing: the bottom line. But during this time of the year, it's rough for anyone to face the greedy Ghost of Christmas Present: Unemployment.

Unemployment affects everyone differently--for some it's a new start, for others it's a blow to the ego. But during the holidays its effect is universal: it means scrimping on presents, cutting vacations and crying at Hallmark commercials because you're emotionally threadbare.

So, LAist is sending a memo to all those execs who can make a difference: think twice before stuffing stockings with pink slips. It's bad karma, bad business and doesn't foster employee loyalty or morale. We realize that staying out of the red is paramount to companies, but there is also a human factor. We think there's a way to balance them both.