Thread regarding VMware layoffs

No way they will lay off 37k employees in an intelligent way

I'm not saying they are going to use a random number generator. But with that many employees to evaluate, they aren't going to do much evaluation.

They'll use some kind of metric based on seniority, pay, job function. Put it all on a spreadsheet and fire everyone below a certain score.

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| 4222 views | | 20 replies (last September 16, 2023) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1oAuP3pO

20 replies (most recent on top)

"Segmentation is simple: Needs Improvement, Well-Placed, and Leading Edge. 95% of people are Well-Placed.

The categories there are so broad and generic that unless you're Needs Improvement, it has no bearing on your ranking. Even in day to day they don't mean much. Just that leadership may sit with the manager and review Needs Improvements twice a year"

Can confirm.
Will also say that anyone we want to keep around it was stated multiple times do not have them in NI.

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Post ID: @3uuy+1oAuP3pO

They are not going to lay off 37,000 people...

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Post ID: @1qzp+1oAuP3pO

Look at Hock’s previous acquisitions and ask if the business has been successful. On a scale of 10, I’d say he is 10/10. He clearly knows what he is doing. Will there be “unfair” things along the way, yes, but that doesn’t stop success.

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Post ID: @1cbq+1oAuP3pO

That's a manager question. Your direct manager sets the values and should be updating regularly.

Segmentation is simple: Needs Improvement, Well-Placed, and Leading Edge. 95% of people are Well-Placed.

The categories there are so broad and generic that unless you're Needs Improvement, it has no bearing on your ranking. Even in day to day they don't mean much. Just that leadership may sit with the manager and review Needs Improvements twice a year.

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Post ID: @1kuv+1oAuP3pO

For the non managers - what is segmentation and how would we know where we fell in that?

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Post ID: @1txd+1oAuP3pO

No rand(). Prepare to execute on day 1, even if your job will eventually be eliminated. Don't worry about thelayoff.com because you might find good advice here.

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Post ID: @1ibx+1oAuP3pO

Segmentation is nowhere near stack ranking. Completely different things.

Segmentation is normal. Everyone is segmented at all times, but that is only into the established categories. There is no ranking beyond that to give a rank of 10 people on a team.

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Post ID: @1npb+1oAuP3pO

Managers stack rank quarterly that’s mandatory, ‘segmentation’ anyone denying it is lying

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Post ID: @1jhb+1oAuP3pO

Managers not stack ranking anyone right now I am one.
Now after the merger during transition that’s a diff story

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Post ID: @1sen+1oAuP3pO
Managers and up have a stack rank of their employees.

Stop spreading this. It is absolutely, 100% false. I am a manager and we have no stack ranking, and were never given any indication we need to stack rank.

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Post ID: @1hdb+1oAuP3pO

Managers and up have a stack rank of their employees. The way layoffs will work is they will be dictated via the vps to cut a certain number of employees. This is where the stack rank comes into play. Every single manager has one. You cut from the bottom of your list and up. You magnify this across your company and you can see how this can be accomplished en masses. Its not code.

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Post ID: @1hyh+1oAuP3pO

Not really how much of code you churn in and contribute, If you can debate with Manager that we can do better, you'll be affected. Say "yes boss" you are ok unlike other innovation companies.

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Post ID: @lko+1oAuP3pO
They only care about the top 1% that brings in more than 50% of our business.

No, the real number is 2100. There will be 2100 customers in the strategic tier, based on spend. Those companies get the gold treatment, the rest are moved to partners or elsewhere.

How many employees are needed to service 2100 customers?

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Post ID: @gog+1oAuP3pO

It's by product line and business function, it isn't random. Some jobs are dups with BC (HR for example) and are very easy to chop.

Others like IT/Ops BC uses a vendor outsourced model for those so those employees are gone.

Others are by product, CB and EUC probably sold. Other projects halted because they have no revenue or Hock does not want to pursue them so those employees are chopped.

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Post ID: @bxf+1oAuP3pO

@bag+1oAuP3pO

I don't work here anymore so I don't have a dog in this fight. But Hock has hardly any experience with running a software company and as said- not at all the same as running a hardware company. As such, he can play the same game as he always does but he will do so at his own peril. I left VM because of his nasty company so I am def bitter and want he and BC to fail.

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Post ID: @udz+1oAuP3pO

@qcq+1oAuP3pO

You will be the one learning the hard way and are only justifying Hock's assumption that VMware doesn't understand how to run a business.

Broadcom is perfectly fine with losing customers. They will take their money for as long as they'll give it, but 99% of our customers won't get any love from Broadcom. They only care about the top 1% that brings in more than 50% of our business. If Hock can have less than 10,000 employees service those top accounts, he will hit all his targets and then some.

Do you seriously think VMware should be left alone? This place is one of the least profitable and most inefficiently run businesses in the world. We spend millions of dollars every year on feel good programs. You have so many employees that do nothing for the bottom line, and justify their existence by scheduling meaningless meetings.

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Post ID: @bag+1oAuP3pO

BC is going to learn the hard way that Software and how it is marketed and sold is not the same as how hardware is marketed and sold. If they gut the company of any and all staff that had anything to do with maintaining client relations- which is super important when it comes to software- then they will in turn lose a lot of customers. In buying VMW the smartest thing they should do is leave it alone and enable to continue bringing in the money. They have overextended themselves for this deal and they're about to ruin it entirely. Good. I hope all of the top brass at BC lose their shirts over it.

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Post ID: @qcq+1oAuP3pO

If only they were reviewing all our employee data for months or longer…

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Post ID: @tlj+1oAuP3pO

They can also use other data before they resort to use RAND(), like:

  1. Number of times you visited thelayoff.com while connected to corporate network.
  2. Pet pictures posted on internal communication tools
  3. Number of times you complained that there is too much DEI on internal communication tools
  4. Number of times you complained that there is too little DEI on internal communication tools

Obviously, the more you have of these, the more penalized you would be to get in naughty layoff list.

However, if you are in engineering, then they can also count number of code changes you pushed to Git. Obviously the more you have of these, the more rewarded you would be to get offer from Broadcom.

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Post ID: @lod+1oAuP3pO

Yep, they have great spreadsheet functions for this with a heavy dose of RAND()

It isn’t their first rodeo. This is what PE style mgmt folks actually invest in.

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Post ID: @wgf+1oAuP3pO

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