Thread regarding SAP layoffs

A reality check about future layoffs...

  • I posted this as a response, but figured it would be more useful to some if it was a standalone thread. *

    Come one, everybody! Don't be so gullible.

    CK didn't say there wouldn't be layoffs in our recent all-hands call, he just said they aren't focusing on that right now. It's an incredibly careful response the comms team has prepared ahead of time for the topic.

  • What does 'focus on that right now' even mean? Focus on it later (this month? next month?) He might focus on them next week if the market reacts badly to his strategy?
    P23 and P24 were VERY expensive once you calculate out the VERP and severance packages of thousands of senior skilled colleagues with decades of time at the company. They'll want to find a cheaper approach to 'brushing their teeth' going forward. (Clue: "Our new Performance Management" where we overload you with work, give you impossible targets to hit, then later on use missing them as the reason to fire you for performance reasons with no payout).

  • After the morale cratering debale that was how they handled P23 and P24, they'll want a quieter approach to future layoffs. They don't even have to tell you. Just cut a team of 15 here, 25, there, 55 here, 30 there... no need to announce it, and if anyone finds out use the bogus 'location strategy' explanation (you know, the BS one where a team of 30 can get cut because that office is not in their strategy, yet for other colleagues in that same location all is fine).

  • The next layoffs will be cheaper and done as sneakily as possible - manufactured performance problems for expensive workers followed by unattainable PIPs, and voila.
    Let's not be gullible. "not focusing on that right now" absolutely DOESN'T mean there will be no layoffs in executive speak, just like "there aren't any plans currently" or "we want to keep our best people". They're empty non-answer phrases that give nothing away.

SAP couldn't give 2 ships about you as a person. Do what's best for you. If that means stay and try to put up with the political drama and backstabbing, good for you - best of luck to you. But if not, don't be blindsided. Tidy up that CV and start paying attention to what's out there. I certainly will be.


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| 45 views | | 26 replies (last May 9) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1kqpy76d8

26 replies (most recent on top)

@16j I am aware of the cases. Such a shame and honestly so disgusting that SAP didn’t adhered to compliance. I understand that you need paper trails such an emails or some evidence to pursue the compliance case. It adds some pressure though as SAP is bind to law. They have a legal department that will start covering their traces. The more compliance cases the better.

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Post ID: @16z+1kqpy76d8

@w7+1kqpy76d8 It was verbal communication from the HR. No proof to file a compliance case.
Also, around the same time there were many compliance cases running in Berlin office regarding the Signavio Design Director and another Design Lead/ Manager, on which the Bloomberg article was written. Those were Germans and no actions were taken so it was pointless to file a compliance case for this matter.

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Post ID: @16j+1kqpy76d8

@s8 at least you were told. For me it was always subtle, only colleagues with longer time at SAP will tell me “forget you will become a manager if you are not German”. did you follow with a compliance case?

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Post ID: @w7+1kqpy76d8

@eg 'So they move to Germany to get better worker protections and bring down our salaries and take our jobs and make the work culture so much worse because they work on the weekends and outside of office hours even when not on call.'
Wow thats some statement! So from your viewpoint, 'they' are actively setting out to upset you and others by leaving their homes and loved ones travelling half way round the world at great expense to steal your job. Really? Are you sure? I think anyone who decides to make a move like this does so to attain a better life for themselves, nothing more nothing less. It's g-b-s_ites like you who need to get out more, stay away from your favourite news feeds, you know, the ones that consistently reinforce and agree with your twisted world view.

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Post ID: @v3+1kqpy76d8

@f7 Very truthful and honest post. Of course the usual crowd will be very upset with the truth being presented to them in such an honest manner. Looking in the mirror is not something they like to do to often, way easier to point the finger at a minority as the problem. Good on ya mate.

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Post ID: @v2+1kqpy76d8

@s8 In my 30 years at SAP I have never encountered racism. Not once.

In earlier times women were slightly disadvantaged, but this has improved.

So, I would recommend SAP because they offer a fair and open environment.

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Post ID: @ts+1kqpy76d8

I work in Berlin office BER03 and I interviewed for a manager position and the HR directly told me as you are not a German and have no C level German skills, the team will find it difficult to connect with you and recommended to stay as an IC.

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Post ID: @s8+1kqpy76d8

@ms Completely agree and unfortunately it's the same all over Europe but it's more visible in Germany and France.

I would not advise a non German or French to take a managerial position, the team will not accept it and will turn against him/her and will end up fired...

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Post ID: @p4+1kqpy76d8

Yep. A lot of anti-white people here and I guess at SAP.

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Post ID: @nz+1kqpy76d8

Only Germans and people with connections get promoted here. Wdf employees have an edge over managerial positions - non German, women, Indians and Asians are third class citizens who only rise till T4 without managerial responsibilities. Only a few are given that position to prove there is no racism.

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Post ID: @ms+1kqpy76d8

A comment insulting immigrants gets ++ and a comment mentioning truths about white supremacist gets - -. That tells a lot about your company culture.

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Post ID: @jv+1kqpy76d8

Stop the hate. Stop the anti-white and anti-migrant hate.

Make love not hate.

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Post ID: @h7+1kqpy76d8

@fx Nope, they're not gullible either
You are the one that is gullible, if you think people fill in those surveys with honest replies.
Like most things at SAP, it's just self-preservation, so replying to what the bosses want to hear is a logical thing to do

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Post ID: @gr+1kqpy76d8

@OP A lot of anti-white racism on here.

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Post ID: @g0+1kqpy76d8

@fw Who's gullible here?

Answer: The SAP employees who vote for trust in leadership during unfiltered surveys. Apparently, the number is around 70% of the ones that vote.

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Post ID: @fx+1kqpy76d8

@OP Who's gullible here? You always seem to assume that everyone here believes everything CK says, and we're all naive people who think SAP will forever employ us.

Let's be real here - for most of us, this is simply a job; it pays the monthly mortgage, gives us some experience and while we work here, we have great benefits and tons of vacation days.

Stop always pretending the grass is greener on the other side. If you really believe that, maybe you are the gullible one!

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Post ID: @fw+1kqpy76d8

I am not surprised any more of the continuous racism at SAP and by their employees. Invest your hate in educating yourself rather than pointing fingers at others. We foreigners come to do the work that locally cannot be accomplished, we bring skills and expertise that benefit your industries. We worked harder than 99% of you to be at where we are, you just extended your hand to demanded things because of course not getting what you want will be an insult to your white privileges. You are were you are by moving through life complaining about others to hide your weaknesses. If you do not want immigrants in your country 1) do the work and get better at it than anybody else instead of wasting your time and energy at hating others for being more capable than you. So easy to blame than work your a-s off! 2) Stop colonising, ki-ling, stealing and exploiting other countries.

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Post ID: @f7+1kqpy76d8

wow some people here went way too far in their hatered against non white or non German people.

Guys if you're white supremacist and work in the software industry you're hurting yourself very badly because this business is so global that you can't be racist and work in software.
You'll definitely interact, use other people (non white) software to build yours and you will definitely sell it to non whites as well.

If you hate non white, you should definitely move to another business and not try to change people in this business because it's much bigger than you.

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Post ID: @ek+1kqpy76d8

@dy yes and SAP treats Indians much better than Germans. That is a fact. And it needs to be corrected in the upcoming layoffs. Indians are easy to lay off just because they have less worker protections in their country. So they move to Germany to get better worker protections and bring down our salaries and take our jobs and make the work culture so much worse because they work on the weekends and outside of office hours even when not on call.

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Post ID: @eg+1kqpy76d8

@dx Anecdotal evidence to the contrary: my L1 and L2 are non-German women. My skip manager is Indian, sitting in Germany.

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Post ID: @dy+1kqpy76d8

@dk I work in recruitment in Germany and this is definitely not true. We interact with so many racist senior managers that want us to mention German as a mandatory requirement for hiring. That's their way of weeding out non-German employees even for roles that do not require the German language. Some of them only even look at Christian sounding names and reject all other candidates. So at least in Germany, we are not preferring any Indians or Muslims - it is actually the opposite case. Group executives are the most powerful people at SAP and a lot of them want to keep SAP pure by only hiring and advancing someone who has been with us for a decade or more. There is also an aversion amongst them to hire women in leadership roles and it has only gotten worse since last year. They are the ones making decisions on hiring and budgets and layoffs and they will always prefer to keep Germans from around Heidelberg or Walldorf or Rot than to allow Indians to hold important jobs at SAP. We also had to take down so many ads because of budget cuts. So layoffs are definitely next.

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Post ID: @dx+1kqpy76d8

@da This is undoubtedly true.

Unfortunately the last workers council elections brought anti-union forces to the fo-e.

Looks like the idea that white-collar workers are the new losers in the ongoing top-down class warfare is not as widely accepted as it should be.

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Post ID: @dw+1kqpy76d8

@df He would hire more Indians, of course.

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Post ID: @dk+1kqpy76d8

What does Chuck have to say about this?

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Post ID: @df+1kqpy76d8

This is the most anti-employee board SAP has ever had. And still, it does not reflect sufficiently in the surveys.

People should realize that they are workers, not entrepreneurs. They will not be rich. In fact, they are more and more exploited.

They should unionize as quickly as possible.

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Post ID: @da+1kqpy76d8

I do not think we can expect much from employees at SAP as a majority of them still overwhelmingly support their group executives and vote for a higher 'trust in leadership' during unfiltered surveys. The new survey results will be very telling especially if the numbers go up this time. We live in a hateful world where a majority do not care that there are layoffs and that we're cratering the economy as long as we get to "own" a minority of people that are different from us or we disagree with.

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Post ID: @d2+1kqpy76d8

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