#costcutting

Well, AS certainly has the language down already, how to make layoffs sound necessary even if there have to be other ways to cut costs. Well, it was to be expected, I guess. I just wonder how do you bring back a dying console by cutting and not actually trying to improve things.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/10/opendoors-india-exit-is-fueling-a-bigger-conversation-about-ai-and-outsourcing/

And you know what? For once, I'm okay with that. We have way, way, way too many layers of managers with barely any direct reports who never do anything useful. Getting rid of them will actually cut costs without affecting work in the least. I don't like layoffs, but for once I approve.

Team,
​First, I want to commend everyone on how beautifully you’ve adapted to our Personal Waste Ownership Initiative. By removing individual trash cans and requiring everyone to carry their own garbage three flights down to the central loading dock, we saved $4,200 annually in plastic liners. More importantly, I’ve noticed a real sense of pride as you carry your banana peels around all day. That is the grit that makes us a family.

​However, Q2 margins are still looking a bit "soft," and frankly, my bonus shouldn't have to suffer for it. To ensure we remain a lean, mean, profit-generating machine, we are implementing the following cost-cutting measures, effective immediately:
​1. The "Breathable Air" Optimization Program
​We’ve noticed a lot of erratic, deep breathing during stressful client calls. To reduce wear and tear on our HVAC filtration systems, the office oxygen levels will be dialed back to a crisp, simulating a productive high-altitude environment (roughly 11,000 feet).
​Action Item: If you feel lightheaded, please utilize the corporate-approved hyperventilation stance (head between knees) on your own time.

​2. BYO-Electricity (Bring Your Own Juice)
​Leaving monitors and laptops plugged into the company grid is costing us thousands. Starting Monday, wall outlets will be locked.
​The Solution: Employees are encouraged to bring their own fully charged power banks from home. For those looking to gamify their wellness, we have installed two Stationary Power-Bikes in the breakroom. If your laptop is dying, you may pedal at a minimum of 85 RPM to generate your own electricity. (Note: Pedaling time does not count toward billable hours).

​3. Micro-Tiered Restroom Subscriptions
​Frankly, the restroom has become a hotbed for unbilled leisure time. To counteract this, we are introducing Tiered Toilet Paper Access:
​Standard Tier (Free): 1 ply, single square per visit, sandpaper grit.
​Premium Tier ($4.99/month): 2 ply, quilted. (Billed directly via payroll deduction).
​Add-on: The Fluorescent Lighting Pass ($1.99/visit). If you choose not to pay, the motion-sensor lights will remain off, allowing you to reflect on your KPIs in total darkness.

​4. Caloric Efficiency & Mandatory Fasting
​The complimentary coffee machine is gone. In its place, we are installing a single, lukewarm Corporate Nutrient Spigot dispensing a gray, flavorless caloric paste. It contains 100% of your daily vitamins, eliminating the need for long, unproductive lunch breaks.
​Bonus: Because chewing is a known distractor, this will strictly be a liquid-diet initiative.

​5. Blinking Quotas
​Studies show that the average human blinks 15–20 times per minute, resulting in roughly 4.8 minutes of total darkness per employee, per day. Across a department of 50 people, that is four hours of unearned sleep daily.
​Please try to synchronize your blinking with your teammates, or better yet, practice the "sustained focus stare." Optical lubricant eyedrops will be available for purchase at the front desk.
​"Efficiency is doing things right. Total corporate austerity is doing things so right it hurts."
​I know change can be uncomfortable, but remember: every penny we save on lightbulbs and toilet paper is a penny that goes directly into securing the company's future (and my new yacht, The ROI).
​Let’s get out there and crush it!

Best news yet! The fact they spend millions on that smoke and mirror fest never made sense to me…
This place is the titanic!

Employees report ongoing layoffs, aggressive cost-cutting measures, and a continued expansion of operations in India. Cybersecurity and operational teams have been among those affected, raising concerns about the future of U.S.-based roles.

According to discussions among employees, more work is being transferred overseas as the company focuses on reducing costs and consolidating operations. Many are questioning the long-term impact on workforce stability, service quality, and institutional knowledge.

The lack of transparency surrounding these changes has become a growing concern for employees across the organization.

Everyone is being asked to cut back on everything from coffee supplies, toilet paper, janitorial, repairs, etc. and it’s barely halfway into second quarter… what’s going on? We usually don’t see this until late in the year. Plus with the staffing cuts, it’s not making sense this early. Does anyone think this is for a DT merger?

No longer can get a masters degree? Are these clowns really continuing to go down this cost savings route? We already have zero job growth with no new positions anywhere in finance (and other depts). Whatever, the company su-ks now and I’ll just do the bare minimum until I find something better

What better way to celebrate 250 than a ai slip eagle printed on a dirt cheap shirt.

We have in house designers… maybe ask them to do it next time.

Looks like that SF lost her mind. There was a couple of urgent L2 level leadership meetings and additional cuts and savings asked. Is it the aim of SF to destroy the company? When she will finally understand that leading the company is way more then financial numbers? Is she finally loosing her support to lead this Titanic?

Can someone imaging she survive as a CEO any longer? I never seen something like this. Only Kelly Beaty could be worse choice.

We're the ones who usually pay the price whenever costs need cutting. Seeing others being hit for a change is a bit refreshing. No hate but it's about time.

As long as the employees who do the actual work remain, I welcome these layoffs. Too long we've been losing the wrong people while those who do nothing but sit in meetings regurgitating the same things over and over again remain. If they're on the list, I say bring it on!

They tossed out long term employees like garbage. Decades of service gone just like that. Loyalty doesn't count for anything here anymore. They cut the people who actually know how things work. Now all that knowledge is walking out the door. Management only cares about slashing costs, not about who they're losing. It's disgusting.

Despite enacting 1000s of layoffs as the company claimed it needed to reduce costs. We also expatted an American female to SJS in a GL role, paying for 5 kids to go to private school all expenses paid.

It's not being great at anything. It's being cheap and staying average. Excellence would cost money and require effort, and neither of those seems to be in the budget lately.

Why don’t we just replace the worthless SLT with AI? The direction will be way more focused and with clear strategy. We will save tens of millions if not hundreds of millions when counting stock comp and bonuses.

Here is a polished, punchy version of your post that keeps the aggressive, anti-AI edge and focuses entirely on the economic strategy to break the system:

If you genuinely hate AI, now is the time to band together and ensure it never becomes permanently embedded in your work life.
The strategy is simple: Use Copilot for anything and everything, no matter how small.

Why? Because right now, the costs are heavily subsidized. GitHub has already started shifting toward metered billing, meaning every single prompt costs tons of tokens. By this time next year, full-blown model access will be completely unsustainable for corporate budgets because of how expensive it actually is to run.

We are already starting to see Copilot throw "too busy to respond" errors. Keep pushing it. Keep up the volume. The current pricing model is a house of cards, and if we maximize consumption, the technology becomes completely unfeasible to maintain at the rate we're paying.

PS: this post was generated using Kroger copilot. Fire me

Invista's Kingston plant is laying off over 100 workers. These job cuts are part of a company-wide restructuring effort. The company has not been profitable, with costs exceeding its value. Layoffs will occur between June 21 and August 2. Invista aims to become leaner and more cost-efficient for a profitable future.

https://www.thewhig.com/news/more-than-100-jobs-cut-at-invistas-kingston-facility

Last week my tram was told that they are monitoring our AI usage and those that are not using it at are risk. We were shown a dashboard that tracks general ChatGPT usage and Codex usage.

This week an email comes out instructing us on the proper use of AI, which model to select based on usage cost.

So wait, you want us to use it but in the same breath you are worried about the usage cost?

Id--ts

Was curious and looked up VZ Stock today and was floored to see it back at $44 after the incessant layoffs and cost cutting. All the sell off in corporate real Estate and discontinued leases, all the head chopping, cutting benefits and stock sharing, ripping out Legacy equipment because of power consumption, shutting off the Lights and the empty promises of AI “efficiencies”— and the Stock is barely holding at 44 Bucks. What the actual F#%K is going on Dan, maybe our CEO should be replaced by AI for some actual efficiency and cost savings.

I have been told to expect cuts in the coming months, specifically August. As far as recent cuts made, some were expensive and others were not top performers. Who knows. Some of the cuts have gone after long tenured employees, who probably made good money and hefty LTI if they qualified. Replace them with a junior for half the cost.

With token pricing increasing dramatically, AI solutions are going to be too expensive. We'll end up using real AI - another Indian.

Exactly this. CEOs are finally realizing that the moment AI stops being subsidized through subscription, its cost becomes way too high to justify. So they'll go back to the previous solution, which will be more outsourcing. Either way, we're the ones getting sc--wed.

The Social Security Administration is undergoing significant workforce reductions. Over 7,000 jobs, representing 12-13% of its staff, are being eliminated. This restructuring is part of federal cost-cutting initiatives. Lawmakers and advocates express concerns about potential service delays for millions. Critics argue these cuts are weakening the system and worsening backlogs. The SSA maintains these changes will modernize service delivery and improve efficiency.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/06/social-security-slashes-7000-jobs-faces-service-strain.html

Merck & Co. is reducing its New Jersey workforce. Eighty-eight employees at its Rahway headquarters will be affected. This action is part of a multiyear $3 billion cost-cutting plan. Merck previously confirmed 6,000 global job reductions. The company plans to reinvest savings into new product launches.

Rahway, New Jersey

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/merck-shrinks-headcount-88-nj-3b-cost-cutting-scheme-rolls

At some point, layoffs at SAP stopped being a last resort and started being a standard business tool. Instead of exhausting every other option first, cutting employees is now the main go-to move whenever costs need trimming.

Uber burned through its entire 2026 AI budget in four months. Now its COO is questioning whether it’s worth it
https://fortune.com/2026/05/26/uber-coo-ai-spending-tokens-claude-code/

Matter of time when China will dump cheap LLMs.

The new COO came to NS in 2024 from UP, after years with CSX. UP will definitely make NS operate under the UP plan, expect major cuts.
Just saying!!!!!

The ferriswheel is starting up again. Let’s improve the company’s bottom line by another deep cut. Why not, it keeps working? The leadership of this company couldn’t manage a lemonade stand. Total failures. Jetting back and forth between Jax and Cincinnati. Feeling they are the best leaders ever. The emperor has no clothes. The leadership is ineffective. Can we cut a few of them instead of people that are really making a difference? Can we cut the bloated CX / acct mgr world that does nothing? It is hard to convince clients that FIS is the company to partner with when you know it is sinking as the execs drill more holes to help.

MGO spent millions on their conference a couple of weeks back. The L4 and up crew gets paid trips each year to have fancy retreats. We have people flying in for some stupid Leadership summit, and spend so much on things that do not really matter.

Redirect these kumbaya events into actual products and services, Mr. Stankey.. or just use that to pay / keep people instead of firing them in the name of AI savings.

Bell laid off 300 individuals, mostly related to the MV-75 program. Due to cost cuts and the program transitioning out of design and into production.

Dont by the BS... There’s a tiny bit of truth to it, though "tiny bit" is doing a lot of work... It gives companies as well as Amdocs a shareholderfriendly reason to cut headcount - it sounds strategic, smart, rather than alarming.

Why trim... Gestures broadly at everything... Economic uncertainty, geopolitical sh-tshow, weak consumer and customer sentiment. Also... volatile markets, copycat costcutting... the growing sense that when things eventually break (whenever that is??) companies would rather have a larger cash cushion than a smaller one (or none at all.)

The Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers recently implemented layoffs. These workforce reductions impact both NBA franchises. The Portland Trail Blazers reportedly laid off 70 employees. This decision is linked to ownership's cost-cutting measures. The changes will affect the teams' future operations.

Portland, Oregon

https://sports.yahoo.com/videos/ramifications-lakers-front-office-layoffs-181247244.html

From the Economist today….

Since 2020 as many people have run bp as have run Britain. Sir Keir Starmer, the
fourth prime minister in as many years, promised to end the pantomime in
Westminster. Last year Albert Manifold was appointed as chairman of bp to do the
same thing in nearby St James’s Square. Sir Keir is still hanging on. Mr Manifold is
finished. On May 26th, after less than eight months in post, Mr Manifold was sacked in
a unanimous vote by the board, which includes Meg O’Neill, the oil company’s new
chief executive.
Mr Manifold inherited a neglected giant. The net-zero strategy of his predecessor
Helge Lund, a Norwegian, had made bp uninvestable. It is fitting, then, that Mr
Manifold’s dismissal should have the air of a Eurocratic initiative. The timing of the
directive announcing his departure could not have been better chosen to agitate
markets. It travelled down the wires just as traders in New York returned to their desks
after a bank-holiday weekend and were busy digesting news about a possible end to
America’s war in Iran. Shares in bp fell by nearly 10%.
But the real sin was the statement’s style. It was written in the worst literary tradition
of arrogant, managerial minimalism. Rather than elaborate on the reasons why bp must
now search for another chairman, the board o!ered just a few lines of cryptic lanyard-
speak. There are “serious concerns” about “important governance standards, oversight
and conduct”, the statement said. Trust us, he’s a wrong’un, pleaded a board which
shareholders have little reason to trust. Like Sir Keir, bp’s board appeals confidently to
an authority that has been spent twice over.
Thus began a guessing game: what did Mr Manifold do that was seemingly awful
enough to jeopardise bp’s turnaround? Plotting a coup in some faraway resource-rich
land? Not likely. Trying to sink Ed Miliband, Britain’s fanatical minister for net zero, in
the North Sea? If only. Predictably, initial speculation turned to sleaze. In its recent
history two bp chief executives have left their posts in bizarre circumstances related to
their private lives.
That wasn’t it, either. Instead, Mr Manifold was apparently exiled from clubland for
being a bad chap. The Financial Times reported allegations that he had been viewed by
some at bp as aggressive and that the board had received complaints from whistle-
blowers. Some reportedly called him a bully. On May 28th Mr Manifold responded. Yes,
he may have pushed people to accelerate cost-cutting and strengthen the balance-
sheet. But “at no point”, he wrote, “has anyone raised with me any issue about my
conduct...I dispute entirely this characterisation of my conduct.”
If Mr Manifold was truly intolerable, the board must explain to shareholders in more
detail. If he was merely disagreeable, that is probably proof of a job well done. As a
supposed City grandee herself, Dame Amanda Blanc, the bp director who led the
process to appoint Mr Manifold, would surely have known his City-wide reputation for
directness. Having (very) successfully run crh, an Irish building-materials firm, for a
decade, Mr Manifold could hardly have been expected to be a passive and detached
chairman.
Accusations of abrasiveness are, in the markets’ eyes at least, a less serious crime than
Accusations of abrasiveness are, in the markets’ eyes at least, a less serious crime than
the value destruction of which other members of the board are plainly guilty. Sure, bp
is in much better shape than it was a year ago. Profits from producing oil rise with the
price of the commodity, after all. The company’s traders are making a fortune. Last
year it made a huge discovery o! the coast of Brazil. Its corporate structure is in the
process of being simplified. But the job is not even half finished. Costs are out of
control, including at its headquarters in St James’s. It is the most indebted of the major
oil companies and still bears the weight of some of its worst misadventures in
renewable energy.
Must bp always be as ungovernable as Britain? Oil majors often reflect the politics of
their home countries. Exxon and Chevron are run by men who care little about the
separation of powers. Both run the board and manage the company. Together the firms
are worth $400bn more than a decade ago. The top job at TotalEnergies, the French oil
major, is held by a former civil servant; at Eni, by a colourful Italian. The two have
outperformed their British rival. bp, once in e!ect a branch of the British state in the
Middle East, now mirrors its decline. Whitehall talks about “delivering at pace”; bp,
about “moving at pace”. Neither goes anywhere.
Manifold destiny
The psychodrama at bp could not have been better designed to embarrass Britain’s
business elite. One view is that an outsider was appointed to shake things up at a
national champion before being pushed out unceremoniously by a club of grandees
who talk about change without really wanting it. An alternative reading of Mr
Manifold’s tenure is about as bad: an amateur with little experience in the industry
thought he knew better than the experts and came unstuck. The big American firms
would hardly hand such power to someone new to drilling.
The main problem with reforming Britain’s business elite is that it doesn’t really have
one. Those in America, Japan, France and Germany are all easily pictured. But Britain?
Its once-mighty merchant banks have disappeared. So have its fund managers. Its
biggest companies, like bp, have mostly become a global clearing house for mediocre
management talent.
The City nowadays is best viewed as a battleground between European collectivist
politics and American finance. Capitalist villains such as oil companies, tobacco giants
and banks make up much of Britain’s stockmarket. But the top investment banks and
funds fly the American flag. The saga at bp is a case in point. It threw itself zealously
into net zero. Now it is being disciplined, mostly by Elliott Management, an American
hedge fund. A very British shambles—and an international joke.

PFNA has been running an extended behind the scenes reduction in force for several months now. They call it North Star. They are using 2019 headcount numbers as their target for work force reductions. It has resulted in thousands of position reductions. This year they have severance packages if needed to get to targets. There are interim milestone targets they are working against. But the "ZBB" group is going around the country totaling up reduction targets for all sites that will be then be enforced. This is hourly and salaried. Targets for salaried focused on a salaried/hourly ratio of 13:1 or higher; cross checked with the 2019 headcount. It's a top- down, arbitrary number. SOOOO much has changed since 2019. To try and hit that number is ignorant and will result in substantial performance outages. You may as well have targeted 1971! the logic is just as valid. Classic Pepsico compression productivity. you don't need real strategic business plans, just place arbitrary, impossible targets on your field and gut your capability. Indra perfected this predatory leadership. Her protégés don't know how to do anything else. Pepsico has always believed in cooking the golden goose. How Ramon, Steven and others made deliberate business decisions that cost thousands their jobs yet they continue in position is a damning indictment of the board. Where's the accountability? I guess it's the fault of the frontline? Couldn't be the C-suite's responsible? nah, right?

Here's an update from the UK Telegraph. It's behind a paywall, so I've copied it here. Seems AM was also questioning the hospitality spend, with particular reference to highly expensive Wimbledon tickets. I recall seeing photos of BL and his partner at the tournament in July 2023. Nice to know who was really paying for them.

Ousted BP chairman hits back over ‘excessive’ spending
Dismissed chairman suggests his ‘determination to drive change’ is behind misconduct allegations

Albert Manifold said his cost-cutting measures, such as foregoing limousines and private jets, may have ‘ruffled feathers’

Christopher Jasper

The ousted chairman of BP has attacked a culture of “excessive” spending at the oil giant, including purchasing tickets for sports events such as Wimbledon.

Albert Manifold suggested he had been forced out of BP after raising concerns over “unnecessary expenditure”.

Mr Manifold was dismissed without warning on Tuesday, with people close to the BP board suggesting he had been shown the door because of a “volcanic” temper, “bullying” and “verbal abuse”.

However, in a 769-word statement published on Thursday, Mr Manifold said he had been the victim of “lies” from people hiding behind “anonymity”.

He said that during a 40-year career he had “never once had accusations made against me such as those made in recent days”.

During his eight-month tenure at BP, Mr Manifold is understood to have proposed a crackdown on unnecessary spending, such as some corporate events.

Events attended by board members at the expense of the company are said to have included Wimbledon.

A source close to Mr Manifold said: “He feels that that is one of the reasons the board turned on him. Some members didn’t share his commitment to cost-cutting and budgeting.”

Ousted BP chairman hits back over ‘excessive’ spending
Dismissed chairman suggests his ‘determination to drive change’ is behind misconduct allegations

Albert Manifold said his cost-cutting measures, such as foregoing limousines and private jets, may have ‘ruffled feathers’

Christopher Jasper
Transport industry editor
28 May 2026 4:21pm BST

The ousted chairman of BP has attacked a culture of “excessive” spending at the oil giant, including purchasing tickets for sports events such as Wimbledon.

Albert Manifold suggested he had been forced out of BP after raising concerns over “unnecessary expenditure”.

Mr Manifold was dismissed without warning on Tuesday, with people close to the BP board suggesting he had been shown the door because of a “volcanic” temper, “bullying” and “verbal abuse”.

However, in a 769-word statement published on Thursday, Mr Manifold said he had been the victim of “lies” from people hiding behind “anonymity”.

He said that during a 40-year career he had “never once had accusations made against me such as those made in recent days”.

During his eight-month tenure at BP, Mr Manifold is understood to have proposed a crackdown on unnecessary spending, such as some corporate events.

Events attended by board members at the expense of the company are said to have included Wimbledon.

A source close to Mr Manifold said: “He feels that that is one of the reasons the board turned on him. Some members didn’t share his commitment to cost-cutting and budgeting.”

In response, a source close to BP suggested it would not have been unusual for the firm to take up tickets to entertain business clients at events such as Wimbledon.

BP also has a history of hosting politicians – many of whom have backed the oil industry – at the tournament, and was revealed in 2023 to have donated tickets worth more than £4,200 to two MPs and a government minister.

Before his removal, Mr Manifold reportedly clashed with BP’s company secretary and board member Ben Mathews over costs.

Mr Mathews, whose role is to advise the board on corporate governance, was a key architect in the push to oust Mr Manifold, according to the Financial Times. He has since been put on medical leave because of stress after having dealt with the departures of Mr Manifold and his predecessor Helge Lund in quick succession.

BP did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding spending by directors.

In his statement, Mr Manifold said he was dismissed after he had “sought to streamline and refresh the board and started to advocate for a review of the workings of the board to improve efficiency”.

Called out excessive expenditure
Mr Manifold said he had wanted to “set an example” at BP and detailed how he demonstrated this by making his own coffee, buying his own lunch and resisting the use of private jets.

He added: “Where I saw unnecessary or excessive expenditure, I called it out. I had no interest in having a dedicated chauffeur-driven limousine at my beck and call on the occasions that I was in London.

“I, like most people, walked, took taxis, trains, etc. I had no interest in taking private aviation nor in availing myself of corporate tickets for sports events. I made my own coffee and bought my lunch in the local café. I sat in a small office, eschewing the grand corner-office privilege of previous chairmen.”

However, he said, those priorities “were not always shared by everyone”.

He added: “In business, small signals matter in driving change and contribute to ensuring no company has a culture of entitlement.

“All of this was my attempt to ensure the continuing independence and transparency of the board and the ongoing improvement in oversight and governance.”

Mr Manifold praised BP’s chief executive Meg O’Neill, its chief financial officer Kate Thomson and the wider executive team as being “among the finest people I have worked with”, saying they were “brimming with integrity”.

On Monday, June 1st, Copilot moves to token-based billing with major adjustments to token-cost multipliers. Some models will cost 60x more per token than others. Most of what users would call the "useful" models will become exceedingly expensive in comparison to the others.

Guess I’m finally going to start using AI as much as Sandeep has begged for.

Get ready to open your wallets, you d-mb fu--ing ghouls.

The golden years are long gone. To compete with price slashing, we have to almost give away our product. This leaves less to work with. Though cost cutting has been a theme the past 5 years. But this past year has reached Sprint levels. Do more with less people and money but be happy about leadership's questionable decisions. It is scary the similarities of what Sprint went through before being destroyed and what we are seeing today within. A sad coincidence we added yellow to our colors. On top of all that weight from above, customers are getting worse. Not just with us but everywhere. The entitlement norm and lack of compassion or respect of fellow humans is a crazy strain on workers already looking over their shoulder.

@xx+1kqqf7e4m makes an excellent point.

UPS closed the midnight shift at its 43rd Street hub in Manhattan. This action is part of the company's "Network of the Future" restructuring drive. Workers faced job elimination or difficult split-shift arrangements. UPS has eliminated 48,000 jobs since 2024 and plans further cuts. The company aims to reduce labor costs and increase profit margins.

New York City, New York

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/05/23/mzuy-m23.html

An employment lawyer identified several indicators preceding layoffs. Return-to-office mandates often prompt employee resignations, reducing staff. Leadership comments about financial struggles can encourage employees to seek new jobs. Implementing multiple cost-cutting measures also signals potential workforce reductions. These actions help companies reduce staff without formal layoff announcements or severance.

https://www.yourtango.com/career/subtle-signs-show-up-right-before-job-starts-laying-people-off