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There’s no good way to lose your job, but there are certainly bad ways.

As the stories of mass dismissals in the oil and gas sector circulate with each round of announced layoffs, complaints are emerging of staff being told to be in their offices at 8 a.m. sharp with the door closed. They can then wait a couple of hours for “the knock.” That time in employment purgatory lasts until human resources staff have completed their sombre rounds.

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So much for downsizing with dignity.

Devon Canada revealed Wednesday it was cutting 200 people, about 15 per cent of staff, as itwrapped up a major oilsands project while MEG Energy said it has laid off about 240 people, about 30 per cent of staff, due to the challenging operating environment. Enerplus Resources laid off 70 people, or 10 per cent of employees, on Monday due to low oil and gas prices.

The spouse of a now former Devon employee complained to the Herald about the layoff procedure even before the staff cut was made public and there are similar stories across the oilpatch these days. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has said there have been more than 35,000 layoffs in the upstream industry this year.