How many of you are out of work?

Before the pandemic, I had been working as a software engineering consultant at a car leasing company up until June. Due to lockdown measures, all staff was compelled to work from home. Shortly after that, they decided to freeze hiring and severely limited the budget to hire contractors.

Those who got to stay will stay to ensure support of freshly delivered projects for a few more months. The rest was dismissed through a simple phone call.

On the bright side, I am working for a consulting company so I am not out of a job. At least not for now. Immediately after the end of the contract I was put on paid leave, and will remain so probably for a few weeks.