Hold on tight, everyone. Another round of layoffs is expected within the next 10 days.
The sales numbers are poor, and KKR needs to send people out to make the numbers appear better. The US total sales are in a state of disarray, making layoffs inevitable.
Jenkins and Ruelas have been gone for over a year so you can’t put the poor GTM and Marketing on them. Put it on the head of marketing and who’s running GTM strategy and Marketing @wb
"So what’s your guess as to what will happen next?"
KKR will continue to reduce headcount via small incremental layoffs. However, if more large enterprise customers abandon Omnissa for Microsoft, then another significant layoff is more likely. This is what happened after KKR acquired BMC Software, which continues to struggle with customer retention and profitability. Seven years on, BMC has never recovered from its decline.
Better keep on doing your job where you can and show value in hard times. Even though management might drop some ba--s, be sure to avoid doing the same. And if you don't like the game anymore, leave. That's what I'm planning. Find something else that feeds your flame instead of feeding into the rage you don't control.
@2nb So what’s your guess as to what will happen next?
Omnissa is going through much of what Citrix has previously endured. Private equity firms know how to cut costs and extract any remaining cash flow from a declining business. They don't need to understand the software sector, the competition, or the product to achieve their cash extraction goals. They study the quarterly financials closely and the vendor executive leadership team's performance. We've already passed the point where KKR still trusts our leaders to deliver results. Shankar has run out of options.
@27h this is clearly a leader at OMNISSA who is doing a great job of showing how out of touch they are. Thanks for demonstrating exactly what everyone’s talking about.
@1wz While While employers aren’t required to provide severance, there are some legal protections. The WARN Act requires companies to give 60 days’ written notice before a mass layoff. A “mass layoff” means at least 50 employees (and at least one-third of the workforce) at a single site within 30 days, or 500 employees regardless of company size, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
In practice, this often works like severance because you’re paid through the 60-day notice period, even if your access to systems is cut off. That’s sometimes called “gardening leave.”
To your question: yes, some companies try to avoid WARN Act triggers by staggering layoffs so each round stays under the threshold. It’s a known tactic.
It sounds like you’re already sensing signals from your company. Unfortunately, the more financially stressed they are, the less generous they tend to be with laid-off employees. Best move is to be proactive and start exploring your next opportunity now.
Good luck!
"And, oh by the way, in the US there is generally "at will" employment and no legal obligation for employers to pay any severance."
This brown nose is one more reason why I now hate working at Omnissa; the obedient people who will accept just about anything that enables them to survive another cut.
@27h yeah, pretty sh---y for US workers to have to put up with this arrogance. Bring back the unions!
there way of avoiding giving severances by doing incremental firings instead of scalable layouts
Where is this nonsense even coming from? So far, everybody has been receiving severance. In some instances people collected severance for being transferred to a contracting organization and still doing the same jobs for Broadcom and now Omnissa.
I understand that many of you are miserable and are trying to create a story that impacted people are being cheated out of severance, but that is simply not true.
And, oh by the way, in the US there is generally "at will" employment and no legal obligation for employers to pay any severance.
@1ge, not just VPs, there are many CTOs now.
All of them have minimal technology knowledge, and at the end of the day, they look more like salespersons with a CTO title.
By the way, all of them are Jared’s good friends.
It’s unbelievable that Jared, the infamous person who used to humiliate people, is still doing the same thing repeatedly, and no one is taking any action.
@1wx there way of avoiding giving severances by doing incremental firings instead of scalable layouts
Terminating a few more people here and there may be a new approach to a lingering problem. We have an ongoing revenue and profitability problem. The KKR headcount goal is a moving target. My manager sees no end to the need for these KKR requested cuts due to our financial performance.
@1gs Why all the hate for marketing? Same reason, lack of performance.
@1f0 What’s all the hate for this guy?
@1f0 would Jared Cook would be laid off at this time? Jared is a Vice President and the company is actively hiring Vice Presidents, like this VP of Revenue Strategy job: https://www.omnissa.com/careers/jobs/usa-vice-president-revenue-strategy-and-operations/
@16n not single person is commenting on the total number of cuts. Simply communicating it as it happens. That type of attitude right now is why this place su-ks.
Attempts to downplay the start of this layoff are pointless. Only executives and HR know the total that will be cut. Anyone posting here is not informed, or is a liar with an agenda.
@14b only a small handful of people.
@13r You say “misleading” and “a handful” - do you mean because only a handful of CSM and PS people? Or do you mean a handful across the whole company? (4,000+ employees is stated on the Omnissa web site)
Customer success and professional services were let go today
Misleading. Handful of people tops
KKR still can't find interested buyers for Omnissa, and so they have to cut operating costs further to make our balance sheet more attractive. Revenue expectations (which continue to decline) give KKR no choice but to reduce headcount again to maintain their profitability goals. It's simple private equity math.
@yz Writers who work on product docs. Not because of any product line being sunseted.
@sn the tech writers, do you mean those who write the product docs? (vs marketing pages) Did a product line sunset?
@ta marketing is a huge part of the problem. The rebranding effort was horrendous. Partner program is pathetic. Our overall go to market strategy is terrible. MKG is in large part to blame, but certainly was at the direction to really really bad leadership by Jenkins, Ruelas and now Shankar. Kevin Norlin won’t even be named because he doesn’t do a damn thing
Customer success and professional services were let go today
@r9 which regions please
Our Sales and Marketing teams can't fix the revenue decline for several quarters. So I don't understand why KKR has not replaced more VPs and Directors. Cutting more individual contributors isn't the answer to our numerous challenges. Customers suffer.
There were some layoffs today. I know of 2 technical writers in the US, but they can't be the only ones.
@q3 it’s coming. AE’s and SE’s will be leaving soon at scale. It’s already started to happen, but many more to come soon
Attritition is very below target. Not enough people are leaving.
@ht 90+% aren’t hitting their number. When it’s that high it’s systemic. Retention is also going down, and at risk of other innovations like secure browser. The owners isn’t on every single sales rep, it’s on the organizations GTM strategy.
Fake news ... the company is just doing fine on revenue numbers with Enterprise customers, not bad at all.
Nobody wants to work here because there’s no money to be made. The comp plan can be a lucrative as ever, but it doesn’t matter if nobody is hitting their number
And why aren't you hitting your numbers? Could it be because you're (on average) stuffing the pipeline and then (surprisingly!!) unable to close the deals in time?
Take some responsibility, please!!!
I hope this time they include marketing and the dinosaurs from tech marketing.
It’s a terribly run company though. KKR isn’t exactly the villain in expecting the company to bring in more than its spending.
@OP people are leaving left and right. Not sure how KKR has the luxury to lay people off. Nobody wants to work here because there’s no money to be made. The comp plan can be a lucrative as ever, but it doesn’t matter if nobody is hitting their number