Would you complain if you were suddenly told you had to shift your entire job to focus on this whole other area/project without any discussion whatsoever. I am head of strategy at an arm of a large consulting firm and have just been shifted without discussion into something else entirely and expected to act like it is normal. I know times are tough, but surely this could have been reviewed with me and not just assumed I'd do it without any discussion. How would you deal with this?
Hmm... hard say without more specifics (e.g., how long have you been at the company, why are they doing this, etc.) but I would bring it up with your boss. Explain any concerns you have and ask that they be addressed. I don't know if you should "complain", but if you have valid concerns, the company should be open to discussing them with you and helping you sort them out.
Can you *calmly* ask your supervisor what their rationale was in assigning you this task as you are not a subject matter expert? There must be a story you don't know. Someone got fired; they're sparing you being fired; someone more senior had first dibs on a more exciting project; etc etc