We are having a bloodbath with all the red badges right now, we have dropped 20% of them with another 15-20% to come. It's nuts, I was already working 60 hrs a week and now they want me to work even more, to "do more with less".
Looks like there was a moratorium on layoffs for blue badges, it's all the red badges they are getting rid of around my dept. Cross my fingers my interview Monday goes well, I am sick of working myself to death only to be told we need you to work more.
As far as managers taking kick-backs and pocketing funds, ludicrous, that's just silly and unethical I might add.
Why should a manager not skim from that pie, it is a victimless crime, not to mention easy to pull off and get away with. Do you know how rampant the practice is ? Now think why not.
"All these funds goes in the pocket of managers and staffing firms."Idiot,body shops do make profits from their employees, it's called business. As far as managers taking kick-backs and pocketing funds, ludicrous, that's just silly and unethical I might add. Red badgers make lots of money. Being a contracted worker is quite lucrative and in many instances converting to an FTE is a bad move if you're looking at it from a pure dollars perspective.
I have no idea why anyone could not apply for a "blue badge" position directly.
If they had skills, they would be chosen. .. otherwise, it is only fair that they are hired on a short term contract until, they can show their skills and then converted to "blue badge".
In many cases, a manager can't get head count for a blue badge, so he gets a red badge. Then after a while, assuming the red badge does a good job, the manager is able to finally justify the permanent spot and gets budget for it. The manager will then write the job description tailored to fit his in-place red badge so that he can do a few interviews of outside candidates to dot his I's and cross his T's, then hires the in-place red badge after a token interview.
However, the in place person runs the risk that someone really qualified that the manager & team likes will interview and then it becomes a risk they will not be converted.
I was converted this way, and I watched more than half a dozen others do the same thing in my BU before I was laid off in the workforce reduction of '11. That BU was converting one red badge per quarter after the hiring freeze in '07. I was told I "had to wait my turn" as there were other red badges who'd been there longer than I was.
Does anyone disagree that ethics team is unaware of these kickbacks received by managers. While the suspect level is high on certain managers, they still got promotion and they haven't delivered great results.
Agree. I lost 2 red badges (second class citizens). I was working more than 20 hours a week. Now I don't know what to do. This is very sad for me!
@OUS0n6k-1vuw When I was a red badge for 2 years I was making 75k. When I was converted to a blue badge I was given 110k. I still wonder where all that money went. I am not an Indian, nor am I on H1B.
".....only fraction of the hourly $ that cisco pays goes to those consultants...". What is the range of such a hourly $ for a senior eng for example? I have seen some very low numbers in various locations (not specifically for Cisco jobs)...
I have no idea why anyone could not apply for a "blue badge" position directly.
If they had skills, they would be chosen. .. otherwise, it is only fair that they are hired on a short term contract until, they can show their skills and then converted to "blue badge".
All of us do it , even when we buy a product.. if something is not right, we return it immedietly without penalty... so why crib about "red badge" blue badges ???
Is the ethics team aware of the kickbacks received by managers who hire red badges ? Is the kickbacks part of the salary package ?
What a pathetic comment. I have known some red badges that really should be Blue. They are excellent. However as a red badge you do know you are on limited time. Its the nature of the beast. As an aside I appreciate that most Americans believe Cisco to only exist in America but the majority of the work force is outside of the US (and increasing). So the whole HIB junk thing is a bit boring....yeah you don't like foreigners stealing your jobs....yeah yeah. Build a wall!
Red badges are useless anyways. Some red badges are on H1B. Double junk.
Screw you. I think you're worried about losing your job to them. I worked with a lot of Indian workers. Some good, some mediocre, some worse. The worst never lasted long, the mediocre had to at least pull their own weight or they were not renewed and were replaced. The good ones didn't last long either, but they usually quit and went someplace better.
Some red badges are low-level, inexperienced workers hired to do grunt work while more experienced workers get project-level work done. Others, on the other hand, are just as skilled as the blue badges and the only way to get hired as a blue badge is to start as a red badge, prove yourself and do your time, and then get converted. As other threads are saying, managers are getting kick-backs from the vendors. It wouldn't surprise me if that were true given how many teams only convert red badges after 1-2 yrs.
I paid my dues as a red badge before becoming blue, and so did most of my team.
More than half of our total team were long-term red badge. Lost a lot of knowledge in that blood bath.
What makes you think Cisco cares about lost knowledge? Lots of knowledge goes out the door when 10+ yr employees are let go.
I had 10 yrs combined red & blue badge, and a co-worker had 15 blue plus I don't know how many red, but his badge # was in the lower 40K range. With the departure of the manager who built the team and the tech lead, there's only one person left with more than 5 yrs Cisco experience on the team. When he's gone, well, I don't want to watch what happens.
The purpose of red-badges is to work for 1 - 3 years. Both sides know this.
Not all red badges are in H1b visa, many of them are permanent residents and US citizens. In many cases they hire skilled red badgers but they don't provide opportunity to work independently, usually red badgers will be assigned under a lead or senior who is an individual contributor. Those frustrated leads harass the red badgers. They don't set clear direction and provide support. They let conflict to happen and enjoy the red badgers struggling. they always micro manage, exhibit power trap, and oppose what these skilled red badgers perform. keep in mind that only fraction of the hourly $ that cisco pays goes to those consultants. The agency takes lots of cuts and pays commission to the cisco hiring manager. I would highly recommend to keep cisco as the last option, also consultants in cisco should constantly look outside and quit cisco if they find a better opportunity. I know red badgers are threats to full-time employees but most of these red badgers make less money with no benefits and holiday pay. All these funds goes in the pocket of managers and staffing firms.
We lost all of our red badges in June. More than half of our total team were long-term red badge. Lost a lot of knowledge in that blood bath.
Red badges are useless anyways. Some red badges are on H1B. Double junk.