Quest Diagnostics Trims 25% Of New Mexico Staff

It was a bad week for layoff notices in The Land of Enchantment (really, New Mexico? THAT is your nickname? Lame). Here is the New Mexico Business Weekly with the details:

The New Jersey company that bought Albuquerque’s S.E.D. Medical Laboratories in January said Tuesday that it is laying off a quarter of its 450-person workforce in New Mexico in the next six months.

Quest Diagnostics Inc., which bought S.E.D. from Lovelace Health System, said most of the 125 layoffs will occur at S.E.D’s main laboratory office at 5601 Office Blvd. NE, where its drug and breath alcohol testing are done.

Pretty standard stuff, so far, but check out this asshole statement:

“When we acquired S.E.D. Medical laboratories in early January, we knew there were opportunities to drive efficiencies in the business, and as a result, we told employees that some initial job losses were to be expected,” Quest said in a prepared statement. “It has taken six weeks to do a thorough analysis of the business, identify plans for the future and develop the package of benefits that would enable us to treat impacted colleagues with fairness, dignity and respect.”

WTF? "Opportunities to drive efficiencies in the business?" I realize the operation is located in New Mexico, which used to be cowboy country, but these are PEOPLE you are talking about, not fucking cattle. And you are soooooo concerned about treating your impacted colleagues with fairness, dignity and respect, that it took you all of six weeks to fire their asses? What a fine bunch of folks you fuckers are. Sheesh.


Bonus: Since the dogs apparently found the sheep if not the cattle, it seems like an aopportune time for this song