It’s official. I am now unemployed. Hasta la vista Sony Ericsson… Hello world! 🙂

Back at the end of September, all the employees of Sony Ericsson Manchester sat in a big room together, facing the heads of the company all dressed in black (big giveaway of what was to be announced) to be told that sadly the Manchester site would be closing on March 31st. The mobile phone industry is really struggling in the recession and there have since been similar announcements for Vodafone and Nokia. The Manchester site was the Smartphone division (simply AKA touch phones) so it is perhaps ironic that just as the world starts to take notice of smartphones and they begin to filter into the mainstream market, Sony Ericsson closes their dedicated site and moves the work to another site. Hopefully it will work out for them, it is certainly a brave move!

As you can probably imagine, there was a lot of alcohol consumed in Manchester that evening and anyone in Dukes 92 was probably baffled as to why on a tuesday, the place was so busy and full of very drunk, geeky looking guys (who aren’t the usual clientele!). I will miss them all!

I believe being made redundant is a fantastic opportunity to do those things you always wanted to. I have created my ‘Action Plan’ and have put together a list of things I want to achieve. These include numerous activities such as learning new skills, freelance work, guest reviews, networking… I will even be helping to run the Ergonomics Conference in a couple of weeks. I used to do this as a student and always really enjoyed it even though it is hard work and long hours but because it is an intense experience you form a strong bond quickly with the other members of the team.  So, I’m feeling excited and motivated about the future. I’ve already met and spoken with some amazing people and look forward to meeting more!

Feel free to get in touch if you need any work doing or if you just want to say hi! I may even see you at a future networking event 😉

Good luck to all the ex-Sony Ericsson employees out there coming to a city near you!