I want to know who made the decision on who to lay off? That person or people just cut some of the best damn employees this company has ever had and will ever have! These were the people who've been here for decades! How do you just get rid of that kind of knowledge and experience? Does nobody realize how bad this will be for Centene in the long run?
12 replies (most recent on top)
The name of their game is Value Add. There are discussions and recommendations from the People Leaders to upper management including performance, reviews (formally documented, word of mouth, gossip, etc), skill set, and pay all factor. The final decision is usually at the VP level with finance involvement - they are responsible for the department budget.
Anyone who can perform multiple tasks within the department/organization taking on the work of multiple people, transferable skills, and/or has connections to Exec Leadership at Corp are safe-er.
Those in a position that can be deemed even potentially redundant, performing work that can be automated or transferred to another person/team are expendable. Tenure does not weigh heavy. Yet, the greater the salary does.
The goal is to maintain productivity while saving money. Keep in mind this is not the 1st or 5th round of layoffs, it's just the 1st time it was announced and 1st time there was a greater impact on Corp vs subsidiaries and health plans.
I have no clue what that "manager" is talking about. The "calibration" that gets done has little effect on the decision that gets made. I saw many high performers get laid off, while under performers stayed. In talking to my Director, I know there were people who stayed that s/he didn't want there because those individuals didn't have the knowledge and they were just plain dumb. Aside from that, the people who were recommended to stay on were the same people who were laid off. So upper management took no feedback on the matter. Maybe calibration works in some departments but not all!
Manager here – yes, they decide these well in advance. Your review is only part of the decision making process. As Managers, we also go through a silent "calibration" of the team, reporting in Workday:
- How much a staff member is a flight risk
- How much the company would be impacted by their loss (low output / low knowledge)
- How much career potential that individual has
Based on those reports, it's pretty easy to target people who meet some standard of having no growth potential, who are likely toxic due to low morale, or people who aren't rock stars. Combine that with their performance reviews, and it's probably pretty quick to determine who should be on the chopping block.
I'm not saying I agree with the practice, but that's part of the practice that you don't see.
My advice to staff is that you should, on some level, always realize that every day is an interview–if not for potential future position (those of you looking to climb the ladder) then for your current job when these cuts come in.
Make sure your boss believes in you and knows your career aspirations.
Many jobs are moving to India. It's about the money. Follow the money.
The VPs decide. Not medical directors, not managers or directors. Centene has a very top heavy organizational structure. I would assume that hardly any of the top tier executives will lose their jobs. They’ll do anything to survive.
The ppl so far laid off have been good, bad, old, new and anyone they felt like laying off !!! To me it was like a pick of names out of a hat !!! It has no sort of real reason !!! Some I know we’re not good employees some were great !!! Maybe it’s their way of making sure it shows a melting pot and no cases of any sort of discrimination!!! They are smart but if you feel your case can seem as a discrimination please seek legal counsel and do not sign the severance package until your lawyer tells you !!! We all have rights !!! Let your voices be heard !!
They've been doing this for months dude. Scroll down to the August posts. They don't care!!
There are lists prepared in advance, as someone else noted. These decisions are made well in advance - sometimes your direct manager has a say, sometimes they don’t. But I echo what the last poster said. Start planning. You’ll save yourself a tremendous amount of stress. I was let go last year and every day I’m thankful to not be worked fo death anymore and have my sanity back. At the end of the day, it’s hard not to take it personal but for these “leaders” it’s just business and they’re likely hardened. It doesn’t bother them like us, seeing good people let go. In the end, Karma will win.
Does it matter? I'm not being flip. If you read the comments here, high-medium-low performers were axed. Seems like factors such as salary (and corollary age), title, performance reviews, and unit areas all factored in.
Do yourself a favor and ready yourself and your family. Get your finances in order (especially debt), get your LinkedIn profile updated, stealth search if you haven't gotten the boot, network, and engineer a move to a better job place. From comments on other threads, the beatings and layoffs will continue till next year. Flip the script and make your priority getting a new job outside of Centene, even if you are retained for now. You'll feel better and sleep better at night.
I was a part of management a couple years ago when we did layoffs and the decision was made at least 3 months prior to layoffs. It's all about the budget and headcount.
I don't know if it is the same across the board, but when my manager talked to me about the layoffs, he did mention he had input on which of his open positions stayed and which ones were removed. Based on the only person let go in my area (that I'm aware of), I'd say he had some type of say, but not a final decision.
The director gets word that this amount of positions are to be cut and the director decides it’s always based on whether or the director and supervisor like you!