Thread regarding BD (Becton Dickinson & Co.) layoffs

@dp your 100% correct. I would also add it's a VERY toxic environment at that level and despite them preaching about the BD WAY - I don't see it being followed by themselves.

Let me also say - once the last thin layer of those who actually know how things work (and it is very few) is removed because they are "old" or "unskilled" like you all are wishing for - total collapse will occur. Careful what you wish for and who you disparage.

My dear posters.... not sure how many of you actually share the misery of working in TGS but to me it seems there are a lot of outsiders looking in that have zero clue the complexity of what the organization needs to support. Decades were spent migrating to a single solution ERP platform based on a dictate that made sense at the time. Unfortunately the repeated expansion and buying up of businesses has only exacerbated the problems inherent in current system design. Individual business go to market strategies are poorly supported and so we spin off peripheral systems to accommodate. Business people have zero connection to data or transactional system function. Layoffs have removed the people who actually could interpret and point out the issues in favor of bright shiny college kids with zero transactional experience. They are brought in with high salaries and rendered ineffective by blabbering buzz words and ticket tracking jibberish, then put in charge of complex implementations they cannot possibly handle. The knowledge level is so paper thin and their mindset is that they are project managers who just need to make pretty powerpoints and then turn the problems over to the tech developers. The tech developers don't know the business and the business doesn't understand the tech. It's a death spiral of cluelessness. It isn't going to change.

Anyone who thinks BD is ready for AI is seriously delusional. Also, anyone who thinks the long term employees have nothing to offer should rethink that. Every newbie that walks in thinks they have the answers - problem is they don't know what the actual question is - sure there are some that serve no purpose - but that is because they have been sidelined in favor of the daughters and sons of executives who have zero experience to draw upon and think chat gpt is the answer to everything. Beware those who are unable to take their own notes or write their own words. BD can't get ERP correct - how the f*k will they get AI right? roflmao

@OP in short, BD TGS is gang of low IQ, low morale folks, and they want to be surrounded by their low IQ friends and family. Unless, someone capable agrees to join this org ans CIO and kick all these leeches, IT will be worthless here. Many BU leaders feel their own separate IT is much more efficient compared to TGS. TGS is very painful to work with.

I had the pleasure of knowing the IT Sr Director who initially negotiated these 3rd party contracts. He was leaving so he didn't mind sharing some details that he probably shouldn't have - basically he said he can claim whatever savings on paper to make himself and his dept look great, but nobody is ever held accountable for the results (not the vendor, not IT, maybe just the hard-working ppl on the ground when things don't go well). There's no strategies at BD, except there's a savings target. If you look at anything TP is doing, it's that one goal. So yes what you said is just the natural outcome of what you give out - you get what you paid for. Not that they didn't know, but most importantly, what makes them look good for Wall Street.

@2pf Lots of examples of people who are given roles they have no business being in. A popular tactic is to peg someone for promotion, regardless of their past performance or capability. The person is given a leadership role on a high profile project with no regard of their experience or knowledge. Then, regardless of outcome, a pre-determined story is told of the person’s outstanding contribution, and a promotion is given. This is often based on complete fiction. This cycle happens over and over in TGS. Resources who are far more capable but do not fall within a desirable demographic are ignored and not given suitable roles they are highly capable of.

@OP

With 90% of the people either corrupt, incompetent, or both, no team here can achieve anything worthwhile. TGS poured $50 million into a project that could’ve been done for under $10 million — a perfect snapshot of their rot. The leadership talks nonsense in meetings, and the person in charge of MDM doesn’t even understand master data, one DEI promoted another DEI who in turn promoted anotehr DEI. This company has long stopped valuing skill; it’s now run by people who have none. God help anyone trapped in this IT disaster.

@1q9
I echo your sentiment.
The funniest part is when one id--t calls another person id--t — and both of them think they’re experts. Honestly, fewer than 5% of BD folks are actually good, but most of them aren’t in any position to make a difference.

I have never seen an incompetent org like BD anywhere else.

@1p8 as a consultant myself, I can confirm that no established vendor will waste its good people on a company like BD. BD is the perfect account to send your junior resources to and just milk it. It is also painfully obvious there are kickbacks happening. I’ve seen several cases where a director will insist on using a specific vendor for anything and everything despite there being better options. I’ve seen this in other companies but never as blatant as it is at BD.

I will be pleasantly surprised if TGS can do anything under the current leadership. None of the leaders has any leadership quality but full with corruption. BD is a gold mine for consulting orgs. They deploy their worst, gift expensive cars and holiday tours to those managing SOW and invoice, and make huge profit. In one like, these are people without integrity and intelligence.

You guys know nothing. In TGS, every Tom, Di-k, and Harry has a “vision.” Is it just me who did not know that we have so many Elon Musk and Steve Jobs hinding there? 😂🤣

In TGS, leadership = bullying gang. No technical skill, no people skill, zero business understanding and people have title like VP, Director what not. TGS is functioning exactly the way it is expected function.

The entire IT org needs an overhaul. Start by offering early retirement packages to the many with 20+ yrs of service who at this point spend the majority of their days on Outlook and Teams and don’t actually produce anything other than emails and slides. Flatten the org as there is an outrageous number of VPs and directors. TGS has directors with no or only a few direct reports. That is ridiculous unless you’re a bank. Finally, as suggested by others, reevaluate the existing “talent” and weed out those who really do not belong in IT and are basically general administrators. There are a lot of them.

IT should serve as the backbone of any company, especially in the age of AI. However, the board of directors needs to take concrete steps to make that a reality. Start by removing underperforming executives and having all vice presidents evaluated through independent, external interviews. Replace those who aren’t fit for their roles with new, capable talent from outside the organization. This approach will attract fresh expertise, curb nepotism, and put an end to internal kickback networks.

@OP
TGS spends huge money for the substandard work by its vendors because of the kickback scheme they run and decision makers have no clue about the technology they use. Never seen an IT org with this huge percentage of id*iots. 60-70% of the managers are hardly technical, got the role via friends and family scheme, they won’t be able to write a single line of code.

@n2

Imagine having to work under four or five layers of completely incompetent leaders—people with no real skills, no experience building or producing anything, yet somehow in charge. My respect goes to all the TGS employees who still manage to deliver results despite such disappointing leadership

@jz TGS leaders are just like their boss, i.e CIO. They simply follow her. How come one like that be CIO of such a big company? Person who brought her was shown the door, not sure how she is still there.

TGS will never be a real IT organization with the so-called “leaders” they have in charge. Honestly, if you’ve been with TGS for more than five years, you’ve probably turned into a dead weight by now. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but most of the TGS folks I’ve worked with share one fatal flaw—they have absolutely no idea how clueless they are.
Some of these clowns talk about technology with such misplaced confidence that you can’t help but mute your mic and laugh. They’ll discuss tools and systems they’ve never even touched as if they’re experts.

Some of these nincompoops even go out of their way to undermine the few things that actually work at BD.

And I truly believe all of this is intentional. There’s no way the Board of Directors hasn’t seen this site or read the comments—they absolutely have. They just chose to ignore it. If TGS has any hope of being saved, the CIO and every VP under her need to go. The business side has its own set of problems, but that’s a different story altogether.

@e2 I am from TGS and I feel this feedback is pretty accurate.

@OP Could not agree more with bullet 6. Project timelines are ridiculously long because planners and leaders simply don’t know what they’re doing. 12 months into a project and status meetings are still all about the fact people aren’t reporting status correctly. Then, by the time the project is “finished”, scope has been cut, budget and timeline has been surpassed, the vendor is blamed, and TGS over-congratulates itself.
TGS does get a lot of rejects from other companies. You can’t blame the many “lifers” who never worked anywhere else and just don’t know any better. The TGS motto is “fake it til you make it”. The problem is you have a lot of people in their 40s and beyond still faking it. The few knowledgeable ones either stay because they need to focus on personal lives and BD is such a non challenging place to work (the bar is really low), or they leave with the hope of putting their skills to better use.

Haven’t seen any TGS VP making sense of anything; they don’t understand anything and hate those who do. Never seen such an incompetent IT team ever in my career.

BD hired all rejected folks from Coty, not a single one has any skill. Funny is, they consider themselves “leaders” and even brag about it.

I am not at all surprised to what is happening in BD TGS.