IT staff laid off while fat-cat private-equity owners rake in the dough

There's an eye-opening story in the Wall Street Journal today (subscription required) about the consequences for IT staffers when private-equity firm Blackstone Group bought Travelport Ltd. last August. "Two months after the deal closed, scores of employees were lugging boxes of personal belongings to their cars, having lost their jobs," the story says.

Let's look at some of the human casualties:

• John Kliegel, 41 years old, a computer-systems analyst, and his twin, Russell, a technical writer, were both laid off. They're selling the house they share because they can no longer afford it.
• Don Kleppinger, a 46-year-old software engineer with five sons, lost his job, leaving him without health insurance for several months.
• "It came as a shock," says Michael Berson, 49, who lost his job as a data engineer in October, three years after receiving a "Super Star" award for saving the company $1.2 million on telecommunications costs.
• Grace Covyeau, 63, who lost her job as a telecommunications engineer, took a part-time job last month making sandwiches and coffee at King Soopers grocery store.

Meanwhile, Blackstone has squeezed out the profits it sought and recouped its investment. It's been lucrative for Blackstone, its partners, its investors and its executives. Backstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who resides in a 35-room Manhattan apartment, made more than $650 million on Blackstone's recent IPO and retained a 24% stake now worth more than $5 billion. 

Such riches raise hackles among laid-off workers. "These investments are helping the fat cats by hurting the little guys," says Ms. Covyeau. "It'll make you sick."