Is there anything?
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So 20% of Chandlers Ford staff are to be sacrificed to pay for the Finastra Mafia’s truly catastrophic attempt at stitching up Cisco. Whatever cash was saved during the last year and a half will cost CF staff dearly now that SynaDefendant are forced into an agreement to pay back Cisco plus all those legal costs. SynaSpin still haven’t admitted the truth to us and continue with their clumsy dance of deception. Centres of Expertise my an-l sphincter. There is only one true Centre of Expertise and that expertise is clusterfornicating and the office is in North Carolina.
At least Kaltura are doing well, selling new products to our key customers and they love to employ ex-SynaSacked staff so we might find a warm NDS style welcome there.
Thanks for all the fish,
That last Synameet was the biggest circle jerk fest I have ever seen. What a bunch of clueless clowns.
As the song goes -na na na na naaa, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Still nothing in the UK? I’m really hoping that plenty of the head office fat gets trimmed.
No one has really addressed the protectionist problems around the magical security tech. Every attempt at moving support to other regions has failed due to deliberate obfuscation or point-blank refusal to share knowledge. Whenever the 'special' region has been asked for information the answer will invariably be along the lines of "why do you need to know?". With this attitude it's no wonder that other regions have been able to provide support. And whenever anyone does manage to steal a glimpse, the engineering practices have invariably been very, very poor. Let's talk about config management for critical security components.
Time's a coming.
CA is not going to be a thing anymore. Underdtood.
Antipiracy only is the new direction. Ok.
But many of the people being let go now and in the last year supported existing big customers which just signed heavy support agreements and should provide upgrades to discontinued infrastructure.
No one in India can provide this support quickly now. How will this be conveyed to the customers?
Let's ignore the troublemakers. What do we think -should- be happening now, rather than wrecking the real talent and skill? What's the right way forward? How do we build for growth?
@2hzh+1eExGW6b - you should clearly have your mum come down to the basement to review your posts before you submit them. You obviously don't read well for comprehension.
No one was "dissing" on low cost regions. The previous threads focused on the loss of skills at the expense of trying to save a few dollars. Software development isn't like the name tag / hairnet jobs you've held in the past. There are more skills required than asking if the customer would like fries with their order.
The new management are obviously id--ts. Keep your heads down and pretend to comply. This stupid time will pass.
Oo, special skills. Security. Dissing on “low cost regions”. Don’t tell me. I know this one. The work can only possibly be done in one, special region.
Hmm.
Ooh, I know. It’s Israel.
Polygraph ‘em up and it’s jobs for the boys!
The point that's missed by the CEO, CFO, CIO and several responding to this thread is that Synamedia is trying to re-invent itself. They're moving away from providing OTT and Cable video solutions to focus more heavily on anti-piracy, credential sharing prevention and content security. This is a specialized field that requires specific skill sets. Not only in the products that are developed but in the processes followed to secure those products during the development process.
The concerns being raised in this thread by those in-the-know aren't just about people losing their jobs to someone in a low cost region, but about the company losing skill sets that are required for them to develop the products they intend in a secure manner. They're getting rid of people with skill sets that are necessary for them to be successful to hire the cheapest developer they can find to replace that person. Can that new person learn the skills necessary? Sure. But can they do it in the time frame needed for the company to become profitable AND not accidentally cause a security breach that could damage the company's reputation while they do it? Very doubtful.
These are the subtleties lost on leadership that don't understand the development of security products. Their arrogance will be their undoing.
From the December 01, 2021 filing (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11305402/filing-history)
"As a result of the right-sizing initiatives, the average number of staff reduced from 3,089 in FY20 to 2,820 in FY21..."
What's the plan you ask:
"As a result of the right-sizing initiatives"..... Layoffs are the plan. Management is figuring out what jobs are needed and then moving the work to a cheaper location and figuring out what jobs are not needed and just eliminating them. Synamedia is still not profitable.
Some numbers:
The company's own estimates from the year before suggest that the company started with 3500 employees (FT and contractors) when exiting Cisco. At the end of the FY21 the average headcount per region:
471 in the Americas (20% reduction from FY20)
1275 in EMEA (-7%)
1074 in APAC (-4%)
Here are some items you need to consider:
What is it that you personally are working on for Synamedia? How important is it to the company (i.e. how much money does it make them)? What region do you work in? How expensive are you (what level are you)? What do you provide in terms of skills that a cheaper person does not? Does the company need/care about those skills? How much more could you make somewhere else? What career opportunities are you passing up to stay with Syna?
The company exists primarily to make money for shareholders. Not for the benefit of the employees.
I can accept saving costs, but this company is saving costs ad absurdum.
What's the plan? There must be one, no?! What makes Permira et al think that anyone would want to spend a dime on this hollow shell?
Asking seriously, looks like there is a point i am not getting.
Any more news on Israel? How many people got let go yesterday? Reckon we can save any of them?
Even experienced engineers in India are too expensive for synamedia. They’re paying rock bottom wages - that’s why they’re losing engineers in India in droves.
Sad for the people that have gone, but maybe they were just too expensive?
Compared to labor costs in India, everyone is too expensive. Period and end of story.
Recall a year ago when Paul announced out loud during an all-hands meeting to the India group that India specifically would soon benefit by gaining more jobs, including support, services, engineering and even marketing, since other countries were more costly to operate in? Then he was called out for it specifically during subsequent all-hands meeting, where he then tried to backpedal (pathetically) and claim that he was not planning to outsource jobs to India. The original video may still be available on the intranet, I don't know since I left there a few months ago on my own accord. I couldn't leave there fast enough. Yes, you could call me a "grey beard", but so what, why let someone who doesn't care about your career define your future for you?
If I could offer advice to anyone at Synamedia, it would be this - don't wait for this company to do what's right for the employees, because they have proven time and time again, from clueless Directors / VPs all the way down to Directors and Managers that they do not care about you. Stay there at your own peril. It's a new year so now is as good a time as any to update that resume and start looking for better opportunities.
Cheers and best of luck to you all.
Sad for the people that have gone, but maybe they were just too expensive?
At least 5 in Jerusalem, delivery/system engineers, and pm all in the middle of delivering projects.
Also jobs relocated to India.
What do people think should be happening instead? More investment in product?
It’s happening. I hear it will be relatively big. Jobs being moved to India. It’s all about the Benjamin’s. CEO, CFO and CIO have no experience in this domain so no understanding of what it takes to develop product.
Ironic thing is we are losing the engineers we hired last year in India. Now that the economy is recovering in India and employers are hiring again, Synamedia is losing engineers in larger numbers because they refuse to pay competitive wages. It’s sad what they’re willing to pay.
Synamedia is not ready for prime time. It takes money to make money. I just hope the CEO realizes his CFO and CIO are clueless before it’s too late.
Yes, in Lawrenceville as well today. 1 person affected that we know of thus far, job is being relocated to India.
In Jerusalem. Already 4 peopke I heard of.
Not long now
I haven't heard anything new.