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Reports are trickling in about a bloodbath/exodus at Paradigm on Friday afternoon, which saw the firing/personal empowerment of some agents and support personnel. An operative tells us that the initial word on the layoffs is being replaced with a kinder, gentler message stressing the possibility of career advancement through sudden job loss:

P-dime is being extra cautious about letting the word leak that they are laying people off, opting for the classier "They are going into management."

So sneaky and secretive, enough so that some of the agents who were sacked or pseudosacked on Friday are at work today. They let go of people in business affairs as well. I guess they're going into management, too.

"Transitioning to a management career" might be the new "shitcanned," but now we're all left to wonder if the staff reductions were carried out just for the thrill of the kill, or whether they were the obligatory ritualistic sacrifices to the Agency Gods meant to lubricate the path to a merger. Keep your eyes on ICM's offices on Wilshire; should a suspicious black cloud suddenly form above the headquarters and start deluging it with the blood of freshly slaughtered Paradigm agents, something could be in the works.