#lifeisshort

I worked at Gartner for several years. These layoffs come to no surprise to me, especially as free AI websites become better and more robust. Gartner hires new sales people in waiting for others to quit, get fired, or leave for other roles(inside or outside the company). They literally hire you to sit on the "bench". I worked within the startup sales division, 1-50 Employees, Gartner can help them grow, that is no doubt, however, when I was there, startup funding was in the sh----r. I achieved quota my first year but after that, my territory got taken and the new territory I was given, 2/3 of it was in the Artic Circle... Working with startups, they have incredibly small budgets, we had to sell at the same price that our medium to large sales teams sold at, tell me how that makes sense... That being said, we were not allowed to sell 1 year contracts, unless management liked you. I provided 9 verbal and written commitments to my manager for 1 year contracts with significantly higher than base price asking and was denied. Base was 57,300, I was selling them in the 70s... guess their money isn't green enough(BTW avg deal size was 61k). Gartner really only sold on their name, they are just a consulting firm, nothing else. I knew that the small business division was dying. The first manager I had, was essentially worthless, their onboarding and training is also worthless, and many, many people will agree.
Even with the 9 written commitments, they tried to PIP me twice and I clearly beat it, until the 3rd time, they found out my wife was to have a baby in the middle of the 60 window, that they guarantee you have, and they fired me, obviously I was going to take my full paternity leave. I couldn't be better off at my company now.
The company is garbage, the consultants, while extremely educated aren't as hands on as they claim to be. Gartner says you have unlimited access to them... no you don't. They let you read research notes, thats pretty much it. Management is so out of touch with reality and what sales people are going through, they should be RIFFED.

Lay me off or don’t, I don’t give a damn. I’ve been stressing so much and finally realized I’m destroying my health and for what? A company that’s happy to betray not just us but everything we used to stand for. I’m done with that. Yeah, losing my job wouldn’t be great without something lined up, but you know what? Others have been through it over the past few years, and every single one of them ended up doing perfectly fine after a while. So I just don’t give a damn anymore. I do my job, nothing more, nothing less, and that’s it.

Once upon a time, ExxonMobil told me I was part of a family. Turns out, it was a family reunion where someone always gets voted off the island. Every year, the corporate ritual begins: managers huddle in air-conditioned rooms, armed with bell curves and buzzwords, ready to determine who deserves to be a “star” and who must be sacrificed at the altar of “forced distribution.”

It’s not personal, they tell us. It’s the system. And that’s exactly the problem: the system is personal. It’s designed to pit friend against friend, teammate against teammate, until collaboration becomes a liability. Help too much, and you’ve given away your edge. Share credit, and you’ve signed your own exit papers. At ExxonMobil, teamwork is celebrated in the posters, but quietly punished in the rankings.

I survived this game for years — until I didn’t. One morning, my badge beeped for the last time. Not because I failed. But because someone had to fail. Someone always has to. That’s the brilliance of the system: it doesn’t matter how many projects you delivered, how many nights you stayed late, how many crises you saved — the curve must be fed. And this year, it was hungry for me.

Meanwhile, senior management writes love letters to Wall Street, filled with words like efficiency and right-sizing. They call it strategy. I call it theatre. A tragicomedy in which real people become line items, and livelihoods are “optimized” into quarterly metrics. Funny how bonuses at the top never seem to follow the same bell curve. The VPs ascend while the rest of us are sorted into neat statistical buckets: star, survivor, sacrifice.

We joked about oil wells, about decline curves, about depletion. Turns out, the cruelest decline curve was our own. We became non-producing assets, flared off like unwanted gas. Quick burn. No emissions report. Just silence.

And here’s the saddest comedy of it all: ExxonMobil doesn’t need to fire you. It only needs to erase you. Your email blinks out, your calendar evaporates, your name is deleted from the org chart as if you were never here. The system is efficient — cruelly so. It doesn’t spill blood; it sterilizes it.

I’m left with a twisted gratitude. Gratitude for colleagues who became friends even while the system forced us to compete. Gratitude for the absurdity of it all — because if you don’t laugh, you’ll drown. And gratitude, perversely, for the clarity: now I know the truth. This was never about “our greatest asset.” It was about protecting theirs.

So to the survivors still inside: play carefully. Smile at your peers while secretly outscoring them. Innovate, but not too much. Collaborate, but only if the credit sticks to you. The machine loves you — until it doesn’t.

ExxonMobil: Energy lives here.
Translation: Human energy is expendable. Executive energy is renewable.

that's what this company is taught us: never work hard for them, never go the extra mile, absolutely do not try hard. only do the bare minimum because they're going to lay you off no matter what

I want to thank all the managers who made it so miserable that I found employment elsewhere. My group manager told me that I would eventually be laid off, said “if there is anything I can do for you, let me know.” I asked for a letter or recommendation, which he said he couldn’t because of company policy. Since I have left, not only have I been 10x happier with my new job, a majority of those managers who thought “I’m too important for them to let me go” were let go. I’m now full remote. There is hope outside the stagecoach.

Stop overselling yourself to your employer, quit legacy work instantly, insist on working on latest tech only. Ask them to use AI for old legacy maintennace work.

Tech jobs not worth holding on to Instead take deep look at how your earnings are going back into pockets of corporates and government - the overpriced loq quality home u bought, the over priiced car , the MRP marked up gorcery and Medicines, the status sysbol schools you send your kids to - wake up middle class, u signed up for slavery to look good among peers in society

If you people don't think they are whittling the company down to make it look amazing on a balance sheet for an eventual sale, you're going to be blindsided when it happens. Don't trust them or what they say. Keep your bills low and your lifestyle in check, you haven't even begun to see the hard times yet.

Anyone else have issues with their pets seeming depressed? Not only is my spouse upset that I'm never home and misses our lunchtime walks and heathy food prepared together, but my cat has acted strange ever since I stopped returning home until the evening. Last year, it was only 3 days in the office and I was typically home in the early afternoon. Now, with full time RTO, he stays in the garage all day, according to my spouse. He always runs to the door when I get home, but then disses me again and goes back to the garage. He used to always hang out in the house with us before this year. It b-ms me out that this has affected him as well.

For those of you going through Wave 2:

It’s been just over two months since I escaped, and even though I wasn’t expecting this outcome, I don’t miss it.

It took a few weeks, but I haven’t felt this good in years.

The more I look back, the more I realise how utterly dysfunctional and toxic Chevron is as an organization. Like a cult that’s more damaging the longer you stay, but that tries to manipulate you into not wanting to leave.

Sure, there were some good people and good times to be had, but also, some absolute trash tier people - many of whom have been hand selected to stay on like the good little impressionable cult leaders are they.

If you feel worried or nervous or anxious about what’s next - remember, you’re not alone. I was there before you, and not only have I survived, but I have thrived.

I wish everyone the best of luck for what comes next.

No more late-night calls, no more corporate drama, no more waiting for the next restructuring email. The circus goes on without me and I don’t miss it one bit. I do feel for my former coworkers who - as I can see it from posts here - still have to go through that cr-p on daily basis. There's light at the end of the tunnel, folks. And it's really bright without Dell in your life.

Is it worth learning a new skill that will get outdated in just for a year or two- certainly not worth the time,money, and health.
Shareholders are prospering while staff are ending in hospitals.

Exactly one year ago today, I, along with many others was informed about our LRs. It was a surreal and chaotic day. People were pulled into abrupt call with leadership, only to hear a cold, unapologetic monologue. No closure. No empathy. Just a hard stop.
That moment marked the beginning of one of the most challenging phases of my life. Self-doubt crept in, overshadowing every achievement I had worked so hard for. It felt like the ground had shifted beneath me.
But here’s the truth, it wasn’t the end. With God's grace, relentless effort, and the support of those who stood by me, I can proudly say I’m in a much better place today personally and professionally.
To anyone who’s recently been LR’ed, this is not the end of your story. It’s a painful chapter, yes, but also a powerful turning point. Believe that better things await, as long as you're willing to explore, learn, and grow.

Keep exploring. Keep believing. Never give up.
Cheers to resilience, reinvention, and rising stronger.

You look to your left and then to your right. You did it. After months of uncertainty and awkward days in the office where you and your peers were told to report to work only to be cut by day’s end - you survived. You feel pretty good, pretty relieved. You still have a job. You are better than everyone else. That’s what leadership will tell you. You were ranked higher than those who were culled. Your role is valuable to the company and so are you. As the days pass, the office is quieter but work quickly starts to pile on. As the months roll on expectations increase dramatically and you find yourself working endlessly, stressing about work when you come home. We need to do more! Better than last year! Last quarter! Last month! By the end of 2026, you sort of wished you were packaged out - free from having to do more with less. Sure the job market su-ks and yeah you saved yourself from the embarrassment of being laid off but there are opportunities out there. Sometimes a fresh start is nice - sometimes it is actually better.

Written by ConocoGPT

I'm an ex 19 yr employee that had great reviews and more than exceeded our expectations of profits for years. I got laid off first round but had that icky feeling. Thinking the company I've been loyal to for so many years would do the right thing. It's all politics and bringing in 22 yr olds right out of college that have never been in a refinery, to replace you're 22-24 psg. Chevron will suffer from these horrible decisions! There is no loyalty or morals! When I received layoff in round one, almost everyone in the notice was 45 something and up. Get out on your own terms! I regret not being able to say I retired. On a brighter note, almost a yr pay has me enjoying my family and waiting until next year to even care about looking for a job! I wish you all well and sorry you are going through this!

Leaving this company was the best decision I’ve made in years. If you’re smart and want your life back, start planning your exit. We all deserve workplaces where our time, effort, and wellbeing actually matter, not just a revolving door of chaos and stress. Don’t wait until it’s too late to make the move.

If MW and company want to continue destroying morale and this company then if anyone out there is still working hard for Chevron should stop now. Put in the bare minimum. If we have to go into the office 4 days a week, then no late night or early morning meetings with India. S crew them. Collect your paycheck and do nearly anything else. For those saying "have a work ethic and self respect", having self respect is taking back your time and life from a company who obviously hates its employees so the right thing to do is bare minimum work!

I’m investing in my own skills because clearly no one else is going to. I feel like this place is intentionally pigeonholing us into positions so we don’t have too many options to leave unless they’re the ones to kick us out. Anyhow, if there ever was a time to start expanding your skills people, it’s now.

There’s no chance to breathe or rebuild after a layoff before the next wave begins. It feels like living inside a permanent storm where the forecast never improves. I'm starting to wonder if this is all deliberate to force us out by quitting. Can anybody think of a better explanation?

You only get one life. And when the realization hits—that you spent most of it working for a company with no real purpose, serving a cause that added no value—the regret can be overwhelming.

Most people will not wake up until it’s too late. You may not realize the cost of wasting your time, talent, and spirit in a manufactured corporate illusion until you are staring at the ceiling in your final days.

And in that silence, you might remember the beautiful world around you that you completely missed living in shadows of fake company culture:

the adventures you never took, the passions you silenced, the time you traded for titles, meetings, and made-up metrics that meant nothing.

EM sells you a culture—but it’s not real. It’s a carefully constructed façade of progress wrapped in ad-hoc slogans and shallow incentives.

Beneath it is a hollow system, where human potential is sacrificed daily for shareholder returns and surface-level prestige.

You may think you're winning—climbing the ladder, getting promotions, fitting into the mold. But the mold is the trap. And by the time you realize it, the real you will be long gone.

Choose carefully. Because no title, no paycheck, and no pension will ever give you back a life unlived.

Signs that layoffs may be coming include financial troubles such as declining revenue or a hiring freeze, management and leadership changes, reduced perks and benefits, Zero Bonus, increased HR activity, organizational RESTRUCTURING, and shifts in your personal workload or exclusion from meetings and projects.

You may also notice increased secrecy, vague communication from leadership, canceled projects, or a generally somber or uncertain atmosphere in the workplace.

** From 2nd Week of October to 4th week of November you will see many of your team members outlook email id's won't exist

This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations