Staff emerging from Aviva headquarters in Dublin this morning following news the company was seeking 950 redundancies were visibly shocked and upset.
Few people were willing to talk to the media and of those who did speak to The Irish Times, none wanted to give their name.
One man who has worked with the company and its predecessors for 33 years said the manner in which the matter had been handled was "deplorable."
"I'd give my name if I had more information about what is happening. There's been no clarity at all. It's deplorable the way they've handled it. And they're still not giving us any answers whatsoever," he said.
"They're beating around the bush and going this way and that way, but we're not getting direct answers. We won't get them either. The only time we'll know is when they say "you're gone, and you're gone". That's when we'll know. If you're here 33 years or 20-odd years, and you're told you're gone that's it, that what you've done doesn't count – of course that's going to hurt."
Another man with 22 years' service said staff had been told not to talk to the media.
Referring to the screens erected in Aviva's reception area before the jobs announcement, he said it was a "complete circus".
"All those screens they put up there, that was a circus . . . that was done by top management. They said they wanted to keep the media out. And that they wanted to consult us first. That is a load of rubbish. We're still none the wiser. They say they're going to consult with the unions and then talk to the staff. They haven't done that up to now so I don't see them behaving with any dignity whatsoever in the future," he said.
"They'll just go on the way they've been going on. Hide everything and have secrecy around everything. And when it suits them, then they'll say what they have to say. There were a lot of questions fired in the meeting today but we just got indirect answers. That's all we're getting. And we're expected to keep on working normally. It's tough."
Another employee who has been with the company for five years said he was lucky he had no mortgage.
"I haven't got any mortgage thank God, but there's a lot of people in there with young families and mortgages. How are they going to manage. Everyone is pretty upset," he said.
One of the first employees to leave the building after the announcement said he had worked for the company for 11 years and was none the wiser after the meeting about whether his job is one of the ones to go.
"I have no idea about my job. They've not given us answers. We'll just have to wait and see. People are being told that they're going to be losing their jobs but are expected to keep on working as normal," he said.
"Like everybody I've rent to pay, food to buy, and there's not too many jobs out there at the moment. I should be out there now looking for another job, and we're just told to wait and get the business into a better position."