Me Me Me Me
I think you are about right with your post as I've just heard that a Swanwick OPS Manager has suggested that all OPS staff at Swanwick take 3 cycles unpaid leave during 2009 to help out the company by reducing salary costs during these hard times. From what I have heard he has been told where to go when he ran the suggestion past some Local Area Supervisors and quite rightly so.
This could be viewed as propaganda so that when we get offered a 0% pay rise we are grateful that we are not being laid off! Alternatively it could be viewed that this Manager has no loyalty to his staff and is only trying to please the Swanwick senior managers and STARBUCKS COMMAND! Either way it's just another stab in the back during the working together process.