#layoffs

Everything at this place feels impossible: producing executives who don’t resemble a circus act, making a profit without layoffs, holding on to good employees, fostering a healthy culture, or recovering from years of negligence. And then some.

Arena BioWorks has laid off 30% of its workers 19 months after launching with $500 million and visions of bringing the Bell Labs model to biotech.

Changes at Arena BioWorks follow events that have shaken confidence in gene therapies.

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/arena-bioworks-19-months-after-splashy-launch-lays-30-its-staff

Every time quarterly results disappoint in any way, I start worrying about cuts. It doesn’t take much for leadership to decide and pull the trigger if it helps them get out of the hot seat faster. I might be paranoid, but something tells me I’m not far from the truth.

There’s a town hall scheduled in less than two weeks. Is it related to any news about potential layoffs?

That is exactly what this feels like. They are letting us wait this long, making us stress, worry, and think about our livelihoods potentially disappearing next week every hour of every day. Why would they prolong it like this? Can anyone give me a real reason besides simply wanting to torture us?

Get ready to unlock more “‘synergies” when this deal closes. I’ll take a severance

New top heavy Martian C-suite means they’ll have to clear out mid-level Directors with long complicated titles to justify new inflated salaries. WTW typically lays folks off before the third quarter or right before the holidays. AI, innovation and offshoring are increasingly popular and very un-American. They have started for 2025.

https://theconversation.com/state-department-layoffs-could-hurt-us-companies-ability-to-compete-globally-an-economist-explains-why-262988

That’s just how it is - layoffs, all the time. We probably won’t even have to wait until next Friday, or Sept 2, or whatever date is floating around, to find out.

And what’s with all the rumors about 30k being the overall target?

There will be a significant workforce reduction at the Bridgestone Off-the-Road Tire Plant in Normal. Neither the company nor the United Steelworkers union representing workers could provide a precise number of jobs targeted.

https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-08-21/job-cuts-ahead-at-bridgestone-tire-plant-in-normal

Any rumors at all? I seriously doubt they’ll limit it to just redundancies. I expect they’ll go after experienced, skilled veterans too, because that’s what everyone does. Knowing your job often comes at a cost. I’ve yet to see layoffs, here or anywhere else, done strategically. It’s always crude, led by numbers, never real planning.

So that means we’re still a long way from being done? Mid-September is the earliest we can hope for this to finally be over?

The Union of IT & ITES Employees (UNITE) protested against TCS, alleging potential job cuts affecting 30,000 employees, a claim TCS denies, stating the reduction is around 2% of its global workforce. Supported by CITU, UNITE demands government intervention and warns of a larger layoff scale, while TCS emphasizes restructuring for future readiness with severance packages.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/tcs-layoffs-protest-it-employees-union-claims-30000-job-cuts-plans-global-action-company-issues-statement/articleshow/123403929.cms

We have serious organizational and leadership challenges that a headcount reduction alone can’t solve. Yes, there may be redundancies in some areas, but at the same time, we’re missing key roles that are critical to moving forward. What we need is competent leadership with a clear, thoughtful vision for where we’re headed and how we’re going to get there. Letting go of 30 people, seemingly at random, without a strategic plan to address the root problems won’t take us anywhere.

Any truth in this Rumour?

Removed Link: https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1jyqg6rar
@OP+1jyqg6rar

# Suddenness and Secrecy of Layoffs
Posters emphasized how the June 24, 2025 layoffs were quiet, poorly communicated, and unsettling for employees left behind.

• "ADP has started heavy layoffs on June 24, 2025. They have been quiet about this to the point where internal sellers who will be impacted are unaware." ( Anonymous, Jun 26, 2025 )
• "Why is it always such a quiet layoff? There’s never an official email or anything. I’m still on edge because I don’t know if it’s over." ( Anonymous, Jun 27, 2025 )
• "Anyone know if further layoffs are coming?" ( Anonymous, Jun 26, 2025 )
• "Lost 10 coworkers on our product on the 24th. Second year in a row that there's a big chop." ( Anonymous, Jun 26, 2025 )
• "It seems something cooking for next week or month, I heard from multiple folks." ( Ano, Jul 27, 2025 )
• "How are you so sure it was a 'very very small reduction'? Did they email you a running tally of all layoffs company wide?" ( Anonymous, Jun 27, 2025 )
• "Continuously firing levels below VP, independent contributors, etc. to pinch pennies isn’t going to last forever." ( Anonymous, Jun 26, 2025 )

# Offshore Outsourcing and Job Cuts
Many pointed to outsourcing and offshoring as a driving force behind layoffs, often linking it to declining quality and cost-cutting.

• "Hard working people losing their jobs to less qualified, cheaper labor abroad." ( Anonymous, Jul 4, 2025 )
• "Yes, they are sending as much offshore as possible." ( Anonymous, Jun 27, 2025 )
• "Curious to know if they are outsourcing the roles, hiring more offshore folks?" ( Anonymous, Jun 26, 2025 )
• "When I was at ADP, these offshore associates could do no wrong in ADP Management's eyes... I supervised many of those offshore associates and estimate that they failed to deliver quality work about 80 to 90 percent of the time." ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "Who else who have dealt with offshore associates are familiar with 'cab delays'? I know they accounted for HOURS a week- we were lucky if we got a 30 hour work week out of them." ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "Our American associates were expected to work 50, 60, 70 hours a week or more. Of course, those overtime hours were uncompensated." ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "Off shore folks that actually are enthusiastically putting in a 40 hour work week in the office. Winning!" ( Anonymous, Jun 30, 2025 )

# Employee Frustration and Difficulty of Leaving
Many described being stuck at ADP, unable to easily find new work or fearful of more cuts.

• "Difficult to leave when it's hard to get another job, even for a quality employee." ( Anonymous, Jul 25, 2025 )
• "If you have no skills beyond what ADP has taught you, where are you supposed to go?" ( Anonymous, Jun 29, 2025 )
• "Wow! I didn't know that ADP over bloated their staffing. From my experience, we were constantly understaffed and under pressure all the time." ( Anonymous, Jun 30, 2025 )
• "Knowledge is indeed power. During my tenure at ADP, I noticed that management liked to keep everyone scared, thinking that scared employees are productive employees." ( Anonymous, Jun 27, 2025 )
• "Not comical but sad, most everyone bashes ADP yet doesn’t leave. Isn’t that odd?" ( Anonymous, Jul 25, 2025 )
• "If employees were satisfied and relaxed then they would not be under any pressure to perform. So harum scarum stuff was always going on, from rumors about layoffs, office moves, and other disruptive situations." ( Anonymous, Jun 27, 2025 )

# Culture of Fear and Distrust
Some noted a toxic environment where management kept employees insecure to push performance.

• "Keep those of you still standing d-mb and scared. Which is of course such last century thinking. Maria is terrible... She's just doing this as insurance policy on her bonus." ( goskiprope, Jun 27, 2025 )
• "Even printouts that were 'accidentally' left on the printer which caused consternation to people that would find them... Disgusting but part of ADP life." ( Anonymous, Jun 27, 2025 )
• "ADP loved to save money on labor costs by overworking their employees." ( Anonymous, Jun 30, 2025 )

# Divisive Attitudes Toward Laid-Off Workers
Posters were divided between sympathy for workers and mockery, with insults and dismissals surfacing often.

• "Qualified competent people will always find employment. The opposite is also true." ( Anonymous, Jul 25, 2025 )
• "Competent people can find work anywhere. Wow, just wow." ( Anonymous, Jul 23, 2025 )
• "They are losers when they can't perform. Just the facts." ( Anonymous, Jul 3, 2025 )
• "Lol! Love the 'competition abroad'! The only way they can compete is by receiving substandard wages. In every other way they are losers." ( Anonymous, Jul 3, 2025 )
• "Seems you’re jealous of the competition abroad. Us VERPS accepted you clowns, why can’t you accept them?" ( Anonymous, Jul 3, 2025 )

# Accusations of Shilling and Defensiveness
Several users accused others of being ADP defenders or “shills,” especially when layoffs were minimized or praised.

• "The only ridicule and insults that I see are from people that don't want anything bad said about ADP. Ridicule and insults = ADP shills." ( Anonymous, Jul 4, 2025 )
• "You are an ADP shill who won't tolerate anything bad said about this company. Well, a lot of us have stories to tell of our experiences and we can't be stopped by insults and ridicule." ( Anonymous, Jul 4, 2025 )
• "People will post anything they want about ADP here. No one here can stop them or do anything about that except complain." ( Anonymous, Jul 4, 2025 )
• "Please tell folks to only communicate layoffs and refrain from the company bashing. Warm regards." ( Anonymous, Jul 4, 2025 )

# Leadership and Executive Compensation
Anger was directed at executives, particularly CEO Maria Black, for receiving millions while employees faced cuts.

• "But it helped make Maria MILLIONS and a pension and a private plane… but congrats- you got early retirement. Cha Ching." ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "Maria’s salary is public in case you’d like to google it." ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "https://bullfincher.io/companies/automatic-data-processing/ceo-salary" ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "Maria is terrible... She's just doing this as insurance policy on her bonus." ( goskiprope, Jun 27, 2025 )

# Personal Experiences and Reflections
Some shared their history at ADP, including voluntary retirement or long-term frustrations.

• "I VERPed in 2018 ( wow, has it been that long? )... The biggest reason... ADP did massive layoffs during the last week of June, during which my birthday fell. Happy friggin' birthday. Now we're gonna throw a percentage of your friends and colleagues into the dumpster. Maybe you. Good riddance, ADP." ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "It’s great you were able to take early retirement- honestly, congratulations... But the people who helped you are losing their jobs and being forced to train the cheaper labor abroad." ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "Writing as VERP who was planning on leaving that year anyways due to financial ability I feel that Maria and Carlos before her is doing a WONDERFUL job. Stock over $300. Too many help-rejecting complainers on here. Sincerely, Cha-Ching." ( Anonymous, Jun 28, 2025 )

# Uncommon Opinions and Perspectives
A minority defended ADP or minimized the layoffs, often in sharp contrast to the majority sentiment.

• "Pretty light on the layoffs. Me thinks a LOT of folks here owe ADP an apology." ( Anonymous, Jul 14, 2025 )
• "Excellent news! Thanks for sharing. Have a great day!" ( Anonymous, Jul 2, 2025 )
• "ADP is an awesome company to work for! Best regards." ( Anonymous, Jul 27, 2025 )
• "Not comical but sad, most everyone bashes ADP yet doesn’t leave. Isn’t that odd?" ( Anonymous, Jul 25, 2025 )

How much longer are we expected to wait in this toxic environment

Sorry I’ve been hiding inside a bubble, but d-mb question…….Could someone please tell me exactly why they are doing these layoffs? Seems to be so out of the blue especially when they get rid of the ones that are very knowledgeable and valuable to this company

They are planning a mass layoff 8/22/2025

Ah, the holidays Coming soon — that magical time when companies drape their logos in twinkling lights, release tear-je-king ads about “family values,” and then quietly toss employees out the back door like expired fruitcake.

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” quite like a calendar invite titled Mandatory HR Meeting on Thanksgiving or December 23rd. It’s corporate efficiency at its finest — cut payroll before year’s end, bump the stock price, and still make it to the CEO’s chalet in Aspen for eggnog.

The PR department will churn out phrases like “right-sizing” and “strategic restructuring” — translation: we’re firing you to protect executive bonuses. After all, someone’s got to pay for the CEO’s holiday Rolex and the board’s catered champagne toast.

And while they sip their peppermint lattes and congratulate themselves on “tough decisions,” real people are at home explaining to their kids why Santa suddenly downsized his operations this year. Nothing warms the heart like watching holiday lights reflect off the foreclosure notice.

If companies want to be honest, they should ditch the fake holiday cheer and just run commercials that say: “From all of us in upper management, thanks for your years of service — and don’t let the door hit you on your way to the unemployment line.”

Because in corporate America, the season of giving is really the season of taking — taking jobs, taking dignity, and taking every last shred of goodwill before the year-end financials hit.

The WIM hammer is coming. Market Leaders not recruiting, gone! Branch Managers not recruiting, gone! Not generating income via Alts, gone!

Does anyone know if there will be more TAM Layoffs coming now that everyone's been given a new title?

Will they be using their tracking of which Cigna people gave low scores to determine layoff candidates? I assumed so that is why I lied on mine. Who else lied on their survey?

So heard today no bonus next quarter and layoffs before Christmas due to Lexmark doubling up staff and I’ve had to job match my team.

He is going to go on another firing rampage.

I’m hearing rumors that business lines/functions will have 20% targets for an October RIF. Is anyone else hearing the same? Does anyone know of any specifics?

The company is tightening up its workforce across multiple divisions and restructured several parts of its business, resulting in the loss of 30 jobs. The cuts have been made with “the goal of investing in capabilities that will propel our business into the future,” according to a Hallmark spokesperson.

https://www.thewrap.com/hallmark-layoffs-company-restructuring/

We all know leadership’s goal is to cut us down to bare bones. Why waste time and energy on PIPs, ffs? Just to save a couple of bucks in a sea of layoffs?

This sounds a bit too much, but then again…

6k is 1/3. That’s the number. That gets the staffing to about 12k which is roughly half of what it was pre covid. That’s a huge reduction. With increasing output and content the goal is double the revenue of pre covid with half the staff. That’s how you turn a profit.
OP: @fh+1k2wpserx

INDIA - DONE
US - DONE
MEXICO - DONE
EMEA - ???

Some people are reporting cuts in their teams. I really hope this doesn’t drag on. Good luck to all of us.

He-l of a leadership strategy - drag it out for days and say nothing. Are they just adding stress on purpose at this point?

Cosmetics company has approved layoffs of 3,200 staff based on a previously disclosed restructuring plan and may reduce head count by another 3,800, with expected restructuring charges of up to $1.6 billion.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/estee-lauder-to-cut-up-to-7-000-jobs-as-china-and-duty-free-sales-stay-weak-82092ee3

I don’t care about the job itself, I just badly need it. I’m in a tough spot in life right now and can’t afford to lose this job. I know I’m not the only one, but I’ve got so much on my plate that the possibility of being laid off absolutely terrifies me. Fingers crossed for all of us, especially those in particularly precarious positions.

I've never been a part of a more confusing, meaningless, awful meeting.

There were recent layoffs and the only explanation was "streamlining" without any explanation of the actual business strategy around it (if there was one).

Managing committee low scores were blamed on middle managers when it's literally his score as the leadership team to contend with.

Recognition only means Best in Us cards when people literally said career development, salary, and workforce strategy.

We're supposed to define our own roles.

If we want to grow we should learn other disciplines but if we want to be a leader we should specialize?

Constant mention of mystery open roles coming after layoffs with zero explanation of what they are and what the business strategy for them is. Almost veiled threat that we should all be applying for them after layoffs.

Blamed a typo on his direct reports not catching it.

0/10 stars

This was ridiculous.

Usually layoffs are to make the stock go up. So what's up with Oracle the opposite has happened.