I swear, some people are their own worst enemies. A guy on my team was shocked to be cut. Like, genuinely “what the he-l just happened” shocked. He knew all about the layoffs, but somehow convinced himself he was safe. And now he’s completely unprepared.
I do feel sorry for the guy, I really do, but still, I’m just sitting here thinking…how?
@a9 because when u read on the news that many other companies are also doing layoffs how do you know that you are not jumping from a sinking ship to another one :-(
spot on. nice summary.
I left 20 years ago. The writing was on the walls for many years. First, they got rid of the old culture that made Intel Great. Then they promoted based on immutable characteristics and not results. They missed the call on Graphics, which opened up a hole for NVidia, they missed that call on Arm, which opened a hole for AMD and Apple, and they took the profit from the CPU teams and spent it buying junk. The problem was the senior management in the 2000-2010 time frame was not very good ... I encourage everyone who is there to dust off their resumes, get new skills and be proactive in finding a job.
@OP
After the earnings report in Q1 2024 I told several people I worked with that this was just the beginning and things were only going to get worse. One guy looked at me like I was crazy. I retired last year in July and I am so glad I did, I was so close to quitting in the middle of COVID, thanks to my spouse for talking me into hanging in. I even told my boss I was going to go ahead and retire and he said why don't you hang on a while and see if things get better. I have to say when I told him and several in my group I was going to retire it's like it lifted away right off my shoulders. I'm just glad I avoided the past year of soul crushing stupid decisions and projects.
I wasn't that upset because I knew it was my turn going in. I was the most expendable engineer on my team- I was still doing stuff and life will be worse without me, but the others can do what I did collectively.
It just su-ks, that's all
Workers surprised when they get laid off after attending all the company BBQs, office parties, and Top Golf events.
@a9 in case of layoff, I am looking forward to enjoy a few months without work (but I have some savings)
It is not that surprising since 75-80% of all employees will survive the worst case predictions for this round of lay offs. I suspect that you are in a fairly solid team and the manager was forced to pick someone.
A better question is why is anyone at Intel not already looking for their next job?
@a6 you are forgetting about taxes. The lump sum payout is taxed like a bonus. You will have 4-5 months to find a job in a really tough job market.
@OP there nothing you can do to prepare. You can lie to yourself that you can leave before you get told and somehow that is going to put you in a better spot. You get 7-9 months of pay. So you got 9 months to find another job. You will take a pay cut. That is just how it is. The job makes is the same 1 year ago than it is today. Just keep an open mind and keep looking.
I don’t really understand it either. Honestly, I’m surprised I haven’t been cut yet—and since this isn’t over, I’m still expecting it to happen at some point if I haven’t secured another job by then. I’m currently waiting to hear back on a final interview after three rounds, so I’m hoping that works out.
I know I’m a good, responsible employee and have solid relationships with coworkers, but I don’t have any special connections with leadership that would make me a “favorite.” So maybe flying under the radar is actually working in my favor this time? Either way, I really don’t know how anyone could be shocked to be cut during this particular round—it’s been a full-on butcher’s fest.
“I am special and Intel loves me, layoffs only happen to other people.”