Rumors of reorgs, guess it’s to be expected after so many teams were left decimated. Meetings are already being scheduled for next week. I am bracing for the next shoe to fall. What a way to live!
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For people in the trenches, I doubt there will be any raises in the near future, never mind promotions. The best you can hope for is that your role doesn’t end up being filled for a fraction of the cost by someone in in India. Meanwhile, teams are half their size and those left to pick up the pieces need to make up their mind: stick it out, asserting personal boundaries to avoid complete burn-out, or look elsewhere.
You have to definitely self-advocate for a promotion. Make it clear. "Let's work together to plot this out."
As an engineer, I found getting to 5 took years. There was a. review board and the people who advocated for me when I first started the process had all left by the time the review board was asked to consider me due to management changes/reorgs.
"how frequently are employees promoted", There is no definitive period employees are promoted.
But there is certain period of being demoted: from employee to former employee. Bose does it every 6 months for at least 5 years. Sometimes, a few dozens are demoted, sometimes a few hundreds or thousands (sell a division). The trend will continue in the foreseeable future. Run Run Run....
Re orgs are just another way of saying more layoffs. Rarely will anyone get a promotion.
With respect to re-orgs (or) even in general, how frequently are employees promoted?
Use them and lose them. Last year at this time I was on a project that we were told the board member was hot about and its as much as my job is worth if we don't get this done' set the project lead. Because the UX Researcher was overloaded with other projects that got cancelled in May freeing her up to do the work I needed her to do in order for me to write an app, I ended up working every waking hour to get the app done... and then, the in home study never happened. The project was cancelled and many of us laid off because of the sleep buds recall
What projects/programs got cancelled?
Bose Essence and Values need revamping to reflect whatever the heck this “new” Bose culture represents. “Use ‘em and lose ‘em.”
Everything is outsourced or sent offshore - CIS, product development, manufacturing, the list goes on. Instead of a yearning for the good old days, many are feeling a sadness that the culture that once made it a great place to work is gone. Now it’s Just a collection of buildings with unused lab space (unless you happen to be one of the 20-somethings in the Romper Room Maker Space), and an engineering hallway lined with photos of the greats, many of whom were layed off.
Yes, a conclusion reached by many! This! "I was offered jobs elsewhere in the company, but in the end realized that a company that did that to it's people wasn't one I wanted to work at. Trust was lost."
The idea that it's cheaper to axe existing employees with needed skill sets, when those people are high performers (myself... I (SW Engineer) was always exceeding expectations and one of my best skills was ability to collaborate and lead.
I was also one of the few women in my field and at my level. I got laid off because my project got cancelled. I was offered jobs elsewhere in the company, but in the end realized that a company that did that to it's people wasn't one I wanted to work at. Trust was lost. I understand job cuts have to happen when, oh, a huge recall happens, but still - the first step should not have been 'just cut everyone on this project'.
It makes no sense.
I wholeheartedly agree they are getting rid of older employees for younger ones to cut costs. In my case I had been there 23+ years and was at the top of my salary bracket. They said "Oh yes in order to move up you have to prove you can do THAT job for a year and then we will move you up!" They eliminated my position but had to hire 2 people to do my job afterwords. However I am sure they came out ahead due to benefits, retirement, etc.
Most people have a tendency to stay in their comfort zone, stay where they are as long as they can. During my time at Bose, I've seen quite a few big layoffs from other groups. After every layoff, the company tried to justify it "This is a difficult decision...But...We will continue to....." and assure the remaining people they are OK and the future is brighter. The survivors typically think "OK, it did not happen to me, I dodged the bullet and I will continue working here." Life continues until the layoff happens to oneself.
I agree with the other post, why hire new people while laying off people who have been here for many years? Even today, Bose is still advertising new positions on many sites. One reason is cost. If company can hire new graduate in 20s at half of the cost of senior people, why not? It is not only about salary. There are other benefit such as pension if the older employee has been here for over 7 years. Insurance and another big cost. People in their 20s only needs coverage for himself. Older people need converge for a family, three times the cost or more.
Phil Hess was the CEO for 2 years and the company got worse financially. It is not fair to blame everything on him. The new president certainly wants to keep his job, so he has to make more dramatic changes. This mass layoff is step one, planned ahead of the pandemic. He will do more re-orgs and layoffs to see improvement. Otherwise his job is at risk. Think about it, at CED, how many high level people were let go: Sean, Dan, John...
Bose is a like a COVID-19 patient on life support, struggling to breathe and survive. The people being laid off are just sacrificed to save the company. Whether the strategy of new leadership works or not is another question.
There is no employee-employer loyalty in US. Whether you work for the company 2 years or 20 years, anyone can be terminated in 15 minutes unless you are in a union (none at Bose). Don't be emotional. It is just a job, work in exchange for money. Don't believe the propaganda posts on some websites "The company takes care of its employees" That's posted by HR for PR purpose.
Bose has been in business for more than 50 years, longer than many tech companies. The founder is dead, the company is no longer a leader in the industry. It is time to move on. Many people started their new career at other companies such as facebook, google, Amazon .... They are doing much better.
What shocked me when I was laid off, was we were let go based on our project's being cancelled with little regard to what our skill sets were. It's expensive to hire new employees, so why let go the ones that you actually valued previously. NONE of us that were let go from my group had received any kind of performance based warnings. We were all regarded well enough and collaborated well with each other. Everyone had new external jobs lined up at the end of the time frame they gave us to look for jobs internally. It makes no sense. Layoffs crush the spirits of those left behind, especially when you see yourself in the group that left.
I know a pretty senior person that is in a position that has been forced to do his regular duties, and then replace 2 people they let go on different tribes. A lot of people who are remaining at the company have no trust in leadership anymore. I was let go, and thank god. I got a new position paying more within 2 weeks of being notified of my cut, so I'm definitely not angry at the company, it was a good way out for me.
For sure, good alert, it is not over by any means. Now those remaining will be put under even more pressure to take up the slack, with some of those then eventually let go. While managerial confusion and cluelessness reign supreme. Let the platitudes fly again. Patterns of the past 5 years, at least. With no bonuses and no raises this year adding to the tension and lack of trust.