Rodriguez was laid off about a year and half ago from his job at RS&H where he did architectural work, said Renato Gonzalez, a manager in the firm's DeLand office. The layoff was part of firm cutbacks.

"I know that we was not very happy with the layoff," said Gonzalez, who recalled that Rodriguez made disgruntled comments when he left the firm, though nothing that indicated he would resort violence.

"He took it a little worse than most people." - Orlando Sentinel

A year and a half ago? That's a real long time get that fired up and crazy.

^ according to the news he recently filed for bankruptcy and worked at Subway post-layoff.

Considering that most of the people I know who got laid off were treated like criminals and got escorted out of the building without being able to say anything to friends and coworkers, let alone clean out their desk, there is a small part of me that feels like his actions had some justification. Not enough to say it's ok to walk in and unload round after round in coworkers and staff but maybe enough to case physical damage to the premise and perhaps throw a computer or two.

All in all, I think too many offices have little to no HR skills and given the current state of affairs could benefit being a little more sensitive to employee needs. It will be a great day when the economy resurfaces and all the offices that have gone along treating their employees like crap suddenly realize all their employees have quit.

Reminds me of Falling Down, the movie.

from RS&H website:

[...]A recent survey of some of our newest recruits characterized the firm as having a great team atmosphere, offering excellent compensation and benefits, having exceptional projects in a variety of locations and many stated that they were pleased to work with knowledgeable projects managers and have the opportunity for ongoing training.

Ultimately, we know that people make a difference at RS&H[...]