summary of the main thread https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1vpJeD5g (or @OP+1vpJeD5g )
** Leadership is blamed for layoffs **
Many employees believe aes leadership is pretty much responsible for the layoffs, there is no other way to describe it. In this thread folks argue that poor planning, bad investments, and reckless spending led to the cuts.
"$7 million over budget alone in travel last year. 50 to 60 executives traveling and staying in 5-star resorts to talk budget in Panama. But it's the election results that drove this decision." — Anon1955 (@fzr+1vpJeD5g)
"those at the top failed us. the excuses stop there." — Anon1955 (@fzr+1vpJeD5g)
others point to mismanagement of renewable energy projects.
"aes leadership sc--wed up. no one can deny that the renewables dev team burned through millions for no good reason." — Anonymous (@fz5+1vpJeD5g)
"they miscalibrated writing off/selling out of some coal/gas from early on, which seemed to be in pursuit of attempts to be included in esg index funds." — Anonymous (@fxn+1vpJeD5g)
** senior leadership avoided impact **
employees are angry that leadership was not affected by the layoffs.
"one group that was not hit hard was the senior leadership team. they had 0% impact." — Anonymous (@fz6+1vpJeD5g)
"our big boss was upstairs. he couldn't bother to walk down one flight of stairs to check on the team." — Anonymous (@fz6+1vpJeD5g)
some believe layoffs were designed to remove employees who remember how the company operated before aes.
"the real strategy is to eliminate people who remember what it was like before aes." — Anonymous (@fxb+1vpJeD5g)
** layoffs and cost-cutting **
aes announced that $150 million was saved through layoffs, and more cuts may come.
"on the earnings call they said ~$150 million in costs reduced this year and that they plan to ramp this up to $300 million in savings through 2026." — Anonymous (@fxn+1vpJeD5g)
"i'd expect the bulk of the extra $150 million will likely also be another 10% of the company towards the end of 2025 or early 2026." — Anonymous (@fxn+1vpJeD5g)
some employees warn contractors and vendors to be careful with payments.
"to all the gc’s out there currently contracted in aes projects. watch your payment schedules. the amount of poor decisions being made is staggering and unsustainable." — Anonymous (@fwz+1vpJeD5g)
** leadership blamed election results **
employees are frustrated that leadership blamed the 2024 election rather than taking responsibility.
"to potential future employees, aes laid off ~10% of its workforce on 02/27/2025. leadership has placed the responsibility of this outcome on the november 2024 election, stating 'elections have consequences'." — All Together (@fxa+1vpJeD5g)
"ceo sent an email basically blaming the current elected officials for being forced to make this decision. so instead of being accountable and owning this, they blame trump? ha. terrible leadership." — Merciless (@fwp+1vpJeD5g)
"how elementary is it to understand that leveraging your financial dependencies on who’s occupying the state house and oval office is clearly not the way to go about things?" — Anonymous (@fws+1vpJeD5g)
** morale and culture **
many employees say morale has collapsed.
"the axe came today! lots and lots of leadership and high-paid staffers were terminated across ohio and indiana." — Anonymous (@fsy+1vpJeD5g)
"vibes are in the toilet." — Anonymous (@ftp+1vpJeD5g)
some feel that aes does not care about employees and is only focused on financial survival.
"many employees know this, but this is not a culture of honesty. since core issues are not addressed, this will happen again at some point..." — All Together (@fxa+1vpJeD5g)
"corporate leadership does not care about you. employment is a transaction for services rendered. find fulfillment in your family, friends, and hobbies." — All Together (@fxa+1vpJeD5g)
** uncommon opinions **
some comments suggest layoffs might not be over, or that more information is needed.
"we were told by a vp that there weren't plans for any more at this time but honestly who knows." — Anonymous (@fv4+1vpJeD5g)
"would there be a second round of layoffs?" — Anonymous (@fv3+1vpJeD5g)
a few employees question if layoffs were necessary given earnings results.
"the earnings released this morning look quite good… does not explain the need for mass layoffs." — Anonymous (@fx8+1vpJeD5g)
overall, employees blame aes leadership for layoffs, citing overspending, poor business decisions, and dishonesty. the layoffs have destroyed morale, and many believe this will happen again.