Remember the Scary Times a few years back? Apple was losing a billion dollars a year, and the company was shedding people and projects at an alarming rate in a desperate attempt to stem the bleeding. Copland was proclaimed a money pit and axed, OpenDoc was laid to rest, and entire departments working on Cool Stuff™ were cast off and left to fend for themselves in the wilds of Silicon Valley. We feel cold just thinking about it. Of course, things are much better now; Apple's still on the upswing, awesome products are streaming out of Cupertino with no signs of stopping, Steve Jobs has a new jet to play with, and all's right with the world.

Or, at least, all's right with Cupertino. Sometimes it's easy to forget that Apple's a global company, and its operations don't cease at the U.S. borders. And the vibe we've been getting from Apple Europe, for example, seems strangely reminiscent of the Scary Times here in the States. The U.K. Apple Expo was canceled (again), the entire U.K. marketing staff was laid off last month, the German marketing staff was pared down significantly, and most recently we heard that all U.K. support staff are being laid off or relocated to Cork, Ireland. Despite reports of Apple Europe's explosive sales growth, we can't help but be reminded of the bloodshed and carnage that ravaged Cupertino a few short years ago.

So when we read in Macworld UK that Diego Piacentini, Apple Europe's general manager and veep of sales, is resigning, we can't help but wonder just how far the shakeup will take things. Okay, Diego has supposedly left Apple "for his own, personal reasons," but in the light of all the layoffs and disruptions in his neck of the woods recently, we find ourselves wondering if his personal reason is simply that "things at Apple Europe suck right now." It's purely speculation, of course, but layoffs and resignations often go hand in hand. Luckily, Diego has agreed to stick around through the end of the quarter while Apple looks for a replacement. Here's hoping that once the dust settles, Apple Europe will enjoy a Golden Age like the one in Cupertino.