Re: My job was eliminated today
If you plan to use them as a referance {which I would after all that in 16 years} I would follow through with what ever they want and kiss their b-hinds because you never know.
References are not important anymore. It is common to change jobs every 4-5 years. Employers are firing without a 2 week notice and employees are quitting without one. All's fair in love and war. There is a huge labor shortage so it's easy to find another job. Also, someone told me their HR department will not give any kind of info on their job performance, only hire/fire dates, etc. I've called my past employers and they said they never had a call about me for a reference, and I posted all that in my resume and made it easy to do. Still, never happened.
You tell a potential employer that after giving 16 years of your life to a company that they just hand you the papers for no reason and you walked without giving two week notice or helping them train your replacements, I think any human with a heart would understand. Nobody will keep you 16 years if you aren't doing a good job.
The times, they are 'a changin.