These kinds of corporate crumblings are a strong reminder of the importance of proactively managing your career. Many of Lehman's employees left work on Friday afternoon believing that things would be okay. Instead, bright and early Monday morning they were forced to pack up their desks and hit the street. Most were undoubtedly completely shocked, not to mention utterly unprepared, for such devastating news.
Sadly, in addition to a tough and probably long job search, they now have the stigma of “unemployed” to add to their challenge.