All the recent posts unlock a memory and role I had at State Street.
Awhile back I assigned to a project involving the creation of PowerPoint slides for management, with deck names like 'Global Footprint,' 'Workload Profiles,' and 'Follow the Sun model.' Initially, I thought it aimed to enhance departmental efficiency, but, unfortunately, the goal was to eliminate the current workforce. It became evident while working on a deck featuring a map of regions and High-Cost/Low-Cost locations populated with employee data provided by HR. Lower-level employees and the project manager handled the data grunt work, creating two versions (current and future state) depicting workforce headcount. Low-Cost locations were rebranded as 'High-Value' to justify moving jobs overseas, but I didn't get to see the finalized future state version, reserved for decision-makers at Slave Street.
I suspect our team's work was initially handled by major consulting firms like BCG, McKinsey, Deloitte, etc. The company likely attempted to experiment by internalizing the work to foster collaboration with current employees. However, the seasoned employees saw through this and understood the true intentions. I think majority of this work have been reassigned back to the consulting firms.
Be cautious working alongside any consulants. State Street executives brought them onboard to do the dirty work to get rid of us. The old timers are aware of this. I just wanted to share this to folks that haven't been in the company that long enough to experience constant layoffs and quiet firings.