I agree 100% with your statement that making yourself indispensible is one of the best ways to keep your job but disagree 100% that it's one's own fault for losing their job.
It's one thing to lose your job for slacking off and quite another because some bean counter determined it would be cheaper to cut you loose and hire some college kid.
I've learned that no one is secure unless you're at the top of the food chain. However, you can do things to embed yourself in your job like a tick, making it difficult or cost-prohibative to replace you (as I have).
That being said, try showing some compassion rather than attacking this guy. Not everyone is able to handle/cope with the shock of losing their job after such a long time of loyal service. Being unemployed, be it for 6 weeks or 6 months is damn hard. It's not only financially difficult but the blow to one's esteem is incalcuable.
Man, I feel for you. I was unemployed for *two* solid years due to the tripple-whammy of the tech bubble bursting, the overal economy going south and being involved with a startup and not an established company.
Thank God I didn't have a family to support but I grew up in a household where my dad was chronically unemployed because he had a Ph.d in a dead field. Therefore, I can relate better than most about the hardship(s) you're probably going through.
I didn't have 23 years of experience in my given field but I was accomplished in my own right and despite dozens of interviews, I couldn't get a damn job to save my life!
Finally, through sheer persistance, I caught a break. After putting up with a lot of shit my first year of "re-employment", things are better for me now. I secured a relatively stable job. It doesn't pay what I'm accustomed to but I can live on it and hey, it's a job.
For most people, loyalty has nothing to do with job security. Rather, it's how you play the political game and/or your value to the organization. In my case, I'm very valuable to my company right now, so they keep me around. Once I'm no longer considered valuable, they'll discard me like used copy paper. That's just the way it is.
The days of Watson's IBM "job for life" culture are long gone, especially in tech.
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It's one thing to lose your job for slacking off and quite another because some bean counter determined it would be cheaper to cut you loose and hire some college kid.
I've learned that no one is secure unless you're at the top of the food chain. However, you can do things to embed yourself in your job like a tick, making it difficult or cost-prohibative to replace you (as I have).
That being said, try showing some compassion rather than attacking this guy. Not everyone is able to handle/cope with the shock of losing their job after such a long time of loyal service. Being unemployed, be it for 6 weeks or 6 months is damn hard. It's not only financially difficult but the blow to one's esteem is incalcuable.
Man, I feel for you. I was unemployed for *two* solid years due to the tripple-whammy of the tech bubble bursting, the overal economy going south and being involved with a startup and not an established company. Thank God I didn't have a family to support but I grew up in a household where my dad was chronically unemployed because he had a Ph.d in a dead field. Therefore, I can relate better than most about the hardship(s) you're probably going through. I didn't have 23 years of experience in my given field but I was accomplished in my own right and despite dozens of interviews, I couldn't get a damn job to save my life! Finally, through sheer persistance, I caught a break. After putting up with a lot of shit my first year of "re-employment", things are better for me now. I secured a relatively stable job. It doesn't pay what I'm accustomed to but I can live on it and hey, it's a job. For most people, loyalty has nothing to do with job security. Rather, it's how you play the political game and/or your value to the organization. In my case, I'm very valuable to my company right now, so they keep me around. Once I'm no longer considered valuable, they'll discard me like used copy paper. That's just the way it is. The days of Watson's IBM "job for life" culture are long gone, especially in tech.