Thread regarding Elevance Health (Anthem) layoffs

@a2+1jkx5b4t4 - " It is supposed to be based on performance but your boss looks at it as “if I lose this person, how much harder will my job become?”

I need to start washing my manager's car, giving them my lunch, picking up their drycleaning, shining their shoes, and giving them manicures and pedicures. Is offering a back massage going too far?

Not sure about inclusion criteria in RIF, but the exclusion criteria that is applicable in ALL cases is:

Associate is a member of {Elite friendship circle of the people leader- whether that is Director or Staff VP}.

Or the Chief of Staff of the Sr Director or Staff VP is a close ally of yours and is cheering for you.

My d-mb DEI hire ex boss for the BOA team had 6 people on her team. 4 with 10+ experience and 2 newbies. She kept the newbies and 1 of the seniors. She was left with 3 people and 2 that needed to be trained. One of the senior purple would work on her new home office putting up drywall with her husband instead of training us! I quit and now I’m a PMHNP make $300K a year! Funny how life works out !

@bv+1jkx5b4t4 Okay, I made a typo, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re also "expendable"

@bp+1jkx5b4t4, yes, a good thing my pants are “expandable” just like my waist.

OP just so you know your expandable as well 🙂

Completely agree. I know atleast 3 people who gave worst feedback in associate survey and they were given lowest feedback and made to move out of team and 2 got RIFd. They are excellent workers. Happened under G* W*.

I’m glad bumbling leadership team had so much time on their hands to be posting to this site.

@bb+1jkx5b4t4 I’ve know plenty of people where I was surprised by their riff. You are making it sound like anyone who gets riffed deserved it because they did something wrong and that simply isn’t true. Hence what this whole thread is all about. Basically you’re expendable or your boss just doesn’t like you or is incompetent. Quit making people feel like they deserved it and hope it isn’t you one day. What would be the reason if it were you.

Wow someone needs their ego stroked repeatedly. Oh thanks great wizard of leadership.

As a former manager I had zero input on who was riffed, and I was riffed myself.

I totally agree with the original post on this thread. Being RIF'd may take performance into account but 95% of the time, it's because your boss or boss's boss put your name down on the list. In my case, I was the only female direct report my boss had and he was definitely one of those good 'ol boys. It didn't matter my evals were great and I was frequently complimented on my work, I was on the list. I will say, I am SO DAMN HAPPY to be somewhere else! Looking back, I'm glad he put me on the list. Life has been full of no stress or worry and no fear of Thursday's. It took a little time and things were tight but I love where I work now. If I thought I could get away with it, I'd share where I'm working now. So, I would say keep looking for your next job and don't wait to be RIF'd. Life is too short to deal with the BS.

I know for a fact that my leadership had NO SAY about who was rebadged on our team. Some of their favorite people were forced out. It’s all such a mess.

only time it's not about you was when the entire department was eliminated. Otherwise, it's definitely about you, it's either your manager doesn't like you or you are the lowest ranked employee in your team(that meets expectations rating from the last review means nothing, there is a degree of meets and you are probably on the low end of it) or you have some behavioral issues reported by multiple collogues in your own team or from other teams you interact with on a daily basis. Most of the time your teammates would not be surprised by the choice your manager made.

@aj+1jkx5b4t4. the 1st one.

Haha. All the downvotes are probably from people leaders. You can rip on us peons but can’t handle it when peons rip on you! You not better because you are people leader.

OP are you suggesting that you’re a high-ranking leader in this company which operates in multiple states, and this is the standard approach used across the organization? Or are you saying to the best of your knowledge this is how it's done at least in your area?

@ab+1jkx5b4t4, yes the manager is lying if they said they had no input. They may have had no input in their boss saying they need to let 3 people go but the manager is the one who have their boss the 3 names.

I am sorry if the truth makes some angry but here we go again on this site, someone who understands how these decisions are made shares the info and those who are not in HR and not people leaders say “no, that’s not how it works!”

For the person who mentioned budget, yes, for a whole area there is a budget reduction number that needs to be reached but that does not impact what individuals are chosen. At the individual level, salary does not factor in for who gets chosen.

If you had a favorable review and you were rifd that doesn't necessarily mean your manager lied on your review. Just means they had to pick someone and for whatever reason it was you. It doesnt automatically mean your performance was horrible and your manager is a liar. At this place anyone is expandable if you think otherwise your delusional.

We’re assuming EH hires people or promote people to leadership positions that are qualified for those roles.

You should tell your fellow leadership team members to be more transparent and honest about the RIF process and during performance reviews. If you find yourself "holding back your true feelings" and withholding honest feedback during performance reviews, it may be time to reconsider your leadership role. They really need to reinstate manager reviews, as many would also be considered expendable.

What about all the whiney managers on here that say they have no input on who gets riffed. What is OP’s opinion on that? Are those managers lying?

Just shows how many managers su-k and shouldn’t be managers if they don’t truly address problems and let employees think their work is fine. I knew EH had a manager problem with as many managers I’ve had just su-k. Like my last was hired with no management experience because she’s best friend with the VP. She wanted people to talk about their personal lives and then punished them for it. I just wanted to do my job and keep my personal life to myself.

If it’s supposed to be based on performance then why does the script they read to you say it isn’t based on your performance?

Yeah. This OP has their opinion on what criteria is in their experience. That’s not to say other areas of guidelines along pay. I think pay can be a factor in some cases. But this OP thinks differently because it just shows that just because you do it one way in your area doesn’t mean other areas do it the same. Thanks for your input but maybe you don’t know everything.

In some RIFs it also comes down to hitting a certain dollar amount vs expendability. If a budget demands X amount reduction, leaders will attempt to RIF 1 vs 2.

@a1+1jkx5b4t4. It is supposed to be based on performance but your boss looks at it as “if I lose this person, how much harder will my job become?”

The person who if they are lost, will have the least impact on their boss’s job becoming harder is deemed expendable. Someone who if they were gone would make their boss’s job that much harder, would be safe.

Formally, there is an assessment that takes place across a team even if one team member is in scope for a RIF. It looks at skills/behaviors but your boss can rate you however they want to rank you at the bottom. Again, they are looking at how expendable they perceive you to be and those names would be at the bottom for the assessment.

To add, just because you received favorable reviews does not mean you are not expendable. Many managers are non confrontational and a lot of times hold back their true feelings about an employee's performance on their review.

If that is the case, what criteria do managers use to deem a subordinate expendable? Is their deeming based on the phases of the moon, a roll of the dice, throwing down chicken bones, beseechingb Jah for his will, or something else?