Thread regarding Intel Corp. layoffs

Oh, you didn't bring up my mama, did you? LOL

Good thing you're not still there @1fwl, if you're going to bring up "your mama" with the diversity direction Intel is going. just sayin'. LOLOL

@IJiHuN4-1ioc -- I'm in the same boat, but took the ERP in 2016 after 32 years. I still care for the company as I have many friends who still work there. It's not your mama's Intel anymore.

Be nice @sma. That was totally uncalled for.

@IJiHuN4-1ioc 35 years, your really must have f---ed up to have to work that long. You should have easily been able to retire when the stock had risen during the internet bubble, sorry you wasted another 10 years of your life at the circus during the CRB,/PSO/ and BK days, poor idiot.

LOL @ and who cannot drive or park a car properly, and who walk on the wrong side of the hallway.

!!!

That made me laugh out loud because whenever i ran into someone walking on the wrong side of the hallway I'd say "I walk on the same side I drive on, the right side". Dumb*sses.

I'm so glad I ERPed. I would NEVER had put in 35 yrs though. I waited till the Rule of 55 (first eligibility for me) and then waited for a package to take with me. Never looking back.

@1ioc- You are spot on!

Worked for 35 years and took the VSP offered in 2015 and retired. Saved a lot in my 401k all those years. I am happy to be retired and out of Intel. Sad to see a good company corrupt itself with so much political correctness and with a CEO who allowed that charlatan, Jesse Jackson, to shake him down.

But I don't care what happens to Intel anymore and here is why:

1. I don’t HAVE to work anymore because I saved and planned for retirement for 35 years. I took the “Rule of 75” retirement, and the cart full of money from the offered VSP. That money and my 401(k) works for me now.

2. I don’t have to get up every weekday morning to drive in rush hour traffic for 2 hours and do the same after work. I can get up anytime I want now.

3. I don’t have put up with BK’s bullshit policies and Richard Taylor’s childish HR ethics yearly class requirements. Oh, Richard Taylor, your such an a$$.

4. I don’t have to deal with an unfair Ranking and Rating system where my employment status is based on an arbitrary algorithm instead of merit and accomplishment.

5. I don’t have to deal with a bunch of RCGs and/or H1B visa engineers who cannot write an email in comprehensible English any better than my 8 year old 2nd grader, and who cannot drive or park a car properly, and who walk on the wrong side of the hallway.

6. I don’t have to go to endless useless meetings and watch PowerPoint presentations given by an RCG who cannot speak intelligibly.

7. I don’t have to listen to a CEO and/or upper management tell me year after year, quarter after quarter, that Intel made record profits but in the same breath, tell me that there is little money for raises, and that the profit sharing contribution will only be 6% or less, and that my health care costs are going up, and that the Bonuses and RSU grants will be smaller. But I am expected to work harder next year and pull in schedules and cancel my vacation time while they waste billions buying back Intel stock, a stock that has been stagnant for over 16 years.

No, I don’t care anymore. I have wasted too many calories dealing with Intel crap. The Intel I knew has faded away. No longer will I bust my a-- for a CEO, a board of directors, and an upper management who are nothing but a bunch of yuppie shareholders with unrealistic expectations for unsustainable profits. Why should I?... when there is no possibility that I can get any share of the "record profits".

Any manager who has a clue after 2015 should have figured out that there wasn't much left after the 2 out of 3 rule, but again we are talking about intel managers so it is possible they really are that stupid, LOL

@IJiHuN4-1gnr. If managers were unaware of the SL4 thing in 2015, it is because they weren't paying attention AND to be fair, HR was not pounding it into their brains because there had never before been a need to use it to ISP people. See interesting post from rcg.

This is a good reminder for folks, @ceb: To get a government subsidy on the healthcare marketplace after you leave Intel or after the ERP coverage ends, you'll want to put your SERMA into suspension.

I've said it before in other posts, but it's a very good reminder, especially if someone hasn't read my other posts on the subject.

~wgv

I was talking about the 2015 layoff when they were UNAWARE @1sgh

~wgv

@IJiHuN4-cyl. You are right, most people who dream of retiring early are forgetting the health care part. Thankfully, ACA at least makes it possible to buy your own policy w/o needing the employer plan if you are able to leave employment early. To get a government subsidy on the healthcare marketplace after you leave Intel or after the ERP coverage ends, you'll want to put your SERMA into suspension. If you are still north of 65 and still employed at Intel, put as much as you can into an HSA because after 65 you are not allowed to, even if you are on an Intel HDHP. And don't assume medicare once you get there is 'free' health care. It has high premiums and doesn't cover everything, and then only 80 percent of what it does cover. Twenty percent of a 100K heart attack bill will be on you. And providers don't have to accept medicare patients and many don't--they don't make enough money on it. Current estimates are that retirees can expect to spend at least a quarter of a million on uncovered medical costs once they retire for the average lifespan and average 'elderly' health care costs. Catastrophic health issues can land you on medicaid in a nursing home. A friend who is a financial advisor tells the tale of her clients who retired comfortably (they thought) with 1M in their 401k. A few years later, with both in long-term care due to cancer and alzheimers, they were financially wiped out.

I appreciate your candid post @rcg.

And I got a giggle out of what your randomly selected IS was (rcg). :)

@IJiHuN4-wgv - Managers for sure had to know what SL4/SL5 meant after 2015 focal. If they claim they didn't know they are either liars or clueless, either way you shouldn't be working for that person. Criteria has been changing though, would like to see what they come up with next year (well, won't be there to know firsthand as I took VSP). Looks like the supply of IR/SL4/SL5 won't be enough if they need to layoff another 10K or so (which is very likely). Probably will go after any unaccepted VSPs/ERPs that are still there.

@cyl - That's what your SERMA is for ($1500 for every year of service put in a pot for medical).

I can't believe all the people I've talked to that are unaware what retiree benefits they get. Why do people NOT look into these things!??! Heck, I knew what they were pretty much Day 1. lol I wanted to know what I was driving toward. It also kept me at Intel because I wasn't about to leave money on the table (SERMA) so held out until I became eligible to retire after 15 yrs (Rule of 55) so that I could get it.

@IJitHuN4-alw. I was in HR and responsible for editing web content on Focal for part of that time, approx. 10 years ago. I was not the program owner or SME but as editor, sure as heck knew what was in there. There was indeed a provision for stock level being a performance indicator. The difference between then and now is that it was rarely used to fire anyone. At the worst, it could get you redeployed or put on a CAP or maybe you'd move on to a BE (now extinct). Back then, even IR was not grounds for being walked out the door on the spot. Beginning with the 2015 layoff, SL4 was grounds for termination if the employee had had SL4 for 2 of the past 3 years. My manager dug through old manager training Powerpoints and sure enough, SL4 as a performance indicator had always been there but was never enforced or even pushed much in manager training, he said. Then, in 2016, unbeknownst to managers, "2 of the past 3 years" now went to "one SL4 and you're out." He claims managers never had that new criterium explained to them. It really doesn't matter if it is SL4 or SL5 or 2 of 3 years or 1 strike and you're out. The point is the criteria are changed as needed to achieve the HC they need. Given that risk, when I got the VSP I checked out. I was pretty sure that soon 15 years of S3/SL3 wouldn't be good enough. They'd figure out some reason to get rid of me.

For people taking ERP at and earlier age, health care would be a significant issue since they would be far away from medicare for a number of years. How are people addressing this issue beyond 2 years that Intel provides. This is an issue even if you have saved adequately to live off interest but health care cost in an uncertain beast. What level of saving would be needed to address this issue at least semi-comfortabley

This not thinking SL4 wouldn't be used is BS, I knew the risk and was careful with my stock allocation. Had to be an idiot after last year not to realize it wouldn't. Any manager that said they didn't know was just saying I don't care, I will make my distribution so I don't need to argue with my boss, totally a weenie approach to their people.

@taa.... re: They both claimed they had no idea that the SL4 would be used

I'm hearing that from a LOT of people that managers weren't made aware of what giving a SL4 or 5 meant. Normally I wouldn't believe it but heard it way too many times from all levels so I do believe it. Some managers thought they were doing an employee a favor by asking "larger raise or more stock?". They were mortified when they lost some VERY good people, AND worse,... unable to rehire them. That was the biggest kick in the gut to me (I'm ERP but have compassion for those ISPed)... to be branded as unhireable. WTH, Intel? I really expected them to overturn that rule but was doubly shocked when they turned around in a year and did it again.

I probably can't add much because I had a 10 year plan to retire at age 58 and THANKS to Intel, I got an ERP package weeks after my 58th birthday. I also paid my mortgage off after 11 or 12 years so no debt. All going according to plan. ;) Looking to buy my retirement home now.

All I can say to people is to SAVE, live below your means, and have a long term plan. You too CAN do it if you just save for it.

@IJiHuN4-iqp good luck...

My story... two decades at intel, similar three kids all in schools, dang two in college out of state. Intel pays well so well I don't qualify for any financial aid so I'm looking at the costs of two new cars a year for the older two and another six figure bill for the little one.

Kicked to the curb due to ONE SL4 in 20 years, worked hard, saved hard, was frugal. But sorry, can't retire yet, and need a new gig for another few years. Love my work, loved working with my fellow engineers and co-managers. To this day my manager and my prior manager haven't once dropped a note to see how I'm doing and if things will work out. Says a lot about do they care, they never did. They both claimed they had no idea that the SL4 would be used when they kicked me to the curb.

So as generous as Intel was with year salary and almost two years of healthcare I'm in need of a good job. Of course given our specialized skills there are few where I live so the whole family life is changed.

Now if this was a rational layoff I could accept the hardship, but I see huge useless groups with incompetent people still employed, a CEO with a strategy that isn't going to fix this company, so it is sad for this great company.

Lucky I do have a job lined up.. it will change my life, as well as my families, but life goes on. I do hope my fellow ex co-workers really do realize how precarious their situation is and that when push comes to shove unlesss they are in close with their boss, forget any thought they really care, your manager only cares about their own career. You and hundreds if not thousands of your co-workers could be scrambling to find a job and make ends meet in a job market where the locale with has nothing. My advice network and assume and plan for the worst. And if you get something good before the next round comes, think hard, do you really think Intel can survive the x86 client slowdown and really think IoT, Memory, 5G, and servers can support 80K employees with this current situation.

Good luck!

Living under a bridge in a cardboard box. Panhandling at intersections to get enough money to buy a happy meal at McD's but it could be worse, I could still be working at Intel.

I'm petrified for the finances. I still have kids at home, have a mortgage, car payment, property taxes, insurances to pay etc etc. I should be enjoying time with the buyout but wake up every morning worried. Also, the work I did at Intel was pretty niche and doesn't translate to the external world as I am checking job postings, and then there is my age. Even if I do decide to go back to work, it's unlikely I'd get anywhere near the same salary as Intel (which I clawed up to after decades). I'm trying to be accepting of this and work on selling the house (though rents aren't cheap either). I don't have a lot of social security coming to me either, mostly the penalty for years I was out of the workforce or otherwise not contributing to SS. Not much in 401k, even though I contributed the whole time I was at Intel. 401ks did not become much of a thing until I was already approaching 50, so I only have about 15 years worth of 401k money. I am guilty of assuming I could work until I chose to retire. So my advice to others approaching the possibility of being 'asked' to leave due to age is 1. don't assume you will be allowed to work to 70 or whatever age is your goal. 2. Put as much into your 401k as you can and do not borrow against it. 3. Keep skills up--what you do at Intel is probably like living under a bell jar. 4. Choose a career in public employment--if you can get hired by a government entity, do and stay put. Psychologically, I'm trying to lean into retirement. I do like not having to struggle into work (I have health issues) and sleeping in. I also do a lot more reading and movie watching. I can take advantage of all the senior discounts around town. I can do errands when there is no traffic. I don't have to get on a plane for an employer or struggle into work when my health is bad. Plus the weather is nice this time of year. I go out each and every day, even if it is just to sit on a park bench and watch the people go by. Most of the time you can strike up a conversation and hear a lot of interesting personal stories.

Retired fully at age 50 -- 26 years ; wonderful career --many travels around the world. Worked hard, saved & loved it. Good luck to rest left behind.

Agreed

Even if you intend to go back to work, take some time off to rid the Kool-Aid from your system. You need to have a healthy perspective on where you've been for the last xx years before you move on.