When companies barge ahead with layoffs right before the holidays (as so many are doing these days), it can be seen as particularly heartless -- so it's only human to rejoice when you hear about a tale of comeuppance like the one over at Gawker Media.
See, some of those who are laid off get immediately escorted from the building. Some are granted until the end of the day to pack up their things. And, in rare cases, some are permitted to ride out the month. But of course, if you let someone stick around for a while after you've essentially punched them in the gut, hijinks are bound to ensue. (This is why the whole building-escorting thing happens in the first place.)
Case in point: one of Gawker's three staff writers, Sheila McClear, was informed this week that her services would no longer be required, but that she could stick around until the end of the year and would be compensated based on the pageviews her posts received until such time as she and Nick Denton's blogempire parted ways. So what did she do? She took matters to their logical conclusion and posted pictures of herself in her underwear (well, almost). And sure enough, the post's getting more attention than anything else on there right now, so McClear's setting herself up with a tidy little windfall.
We love happy endings.