I agree, it’s better to be informed rather than be blindsided.
I was working at CSRA/GDIT for almost 2 years in the PMO doing IA and I was part of the first phase of layoffs.
I had been hearing rumors, just like this, since November 2018 but didn’t pay them much attention until early 2019 when my supervisor kept dropping hints and then other department heads were talking about it as well. By this time I was already actively looking for other jobs inside GDIT and outside the company.
Then I was given notice that I would be layed off, along with about a dozen other people from various departments. We were given two weeks notice.
Most people were surprised, but the people in IA and Security were aware of the rumors for months. All the signs were there but some people were too comfortable to notice.
I felt the most for the investigators. They do so much work, are constantly hounded to produce more and are not kept in the loop about anything. I talked to a few investigators I trained and they said they had no idea. Some of the Field Managers I talked to told me that they were aware but were told not to tell anyone. Most of the department heads I talked to knew for months.
Then more terminations came in phases. The reasons for termination were performance, IA complaints, not enough work to go around, etc. Then my old coworkers told me that they were given notice that everyone on the contract will be laid off.
My advice is to listen to all the rumors, try and get the facts and pay attention to the patterns.
Are there issues that you’re hearing about from multiple sources/message boards?
Have you noticed a decline in work?
Management changes?
Layoffs?
Sometimes a rumor is just that, a rumor.
Sometimes there is merit to it. Don’t dismiss it because you dont want it to be true.