Thread regarding Rockwell Automation Inc. layoffs

@OP mass layoffs are unlikely.
I can see the company slowly pushing older folks to retire or leave on their own terms

@hnd that is about right! The business is trying really hard to “rid of” the defined benefit pension folks through any available means. They see these senior employees as a financial burden. Too expensive to keep. Too expensive to get rid of (severances). too slow to adopt AI and embrace any change.

The pensions are a huge financial burden/commitment to business. They have learned the lesson from GM.

@hnd Were these roles backfilled or are they wrapping up the Cam operations slowly? Any rumors of a spinoff?

@gmr a few guys are retired or have just retired in Cam. The company is slowly “unburdening” its books from all defined benefit retirement eligible employees.

Any RIFs in MKE or Cam?

@g2t oh snap. Who bought plex. Brian something or other. Now gone (and peddling ex-ptc sh-t). He was a chubby egg head fool. Blake picked him. Just saying.

A few more quarters and Fiix could be headed the way of Plex. Momentum has already slipped to hungrier competitors. Fast-moving SaaS strategy does not seem to align with RA leadership’s strengths. Strong talent has left, and some of the critical members of mid-level Fiix management are Chatgpt wonks.

@fmk not the best use of capital. Playing to a political trope. Rockwells cost will clog up and competitiveness go down.

New jobs created in US.

Rockwell Automation Inc.‘s planned New Berlin manufacturing facility would create hundreds of new jobs, and cost $211 million to $246 million.

The development could be partly financed through its property tax revenue – if approved by city officials.

That’s according to plans filed with the city for the 810,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and office, to be built east of an existing light industrial building at 5800 S. Moorland Road. Those plans were posted online by the New Berlin Community Development Department on April 8.

That building could be expanded by 210,000 square feet – giving it just over 1 million square feet.

A second industrial building, with 425,000 square feet, could be built just south of West Grange Avenue, about one-half mile east of the Costco store, according to the plans.

The proposed development, to be built on what’s now mainly farmland, will undergo Plan Commission and Common Council review. The site to be rezoned totals around 325 acres.

Bake and Scott G. appear to lack a clear strategy. One year the focus is all on PTC. Another year the focus is all on Emulate3d. Another year the focus is all on Optix. Now.......The decision to acquire Otto at a premium price raises concerns, especially when existing Rockwell Automation sales people—who have been successfully focused on selling core products like Kinetix, HMIs, and PowerFlex,etc... — are now being tasked with aggressive targets for Otto offerings. Redirecting their focus in this way risks loosing sales on 'core' products to make a new company acquisition numbers look better than they really are. Blake and the rest of the senior executive team are id--ts.

@dxz then went don't they? Why move individual contributor NA employees to third world countries while simultaneously expanding middle mgmt bloat in US? There are more directors and sr mgrs than ever before now. Mind boggling moves.

@dty well. Everyone is replacable. They can replace 10 directors in less than a month. The directors roles have a limited influence and pull. They are facilitators and conduit not strategic decision makers.

Atm, there seems to be no strategic clarity or clear focus. The company appears to be all over the place.

Focus on Software?
Focus Low cost core products?
Focus High quality for premium core
products?

Fy26Q2 results are coming soon

@djy Which Director's? I'm hoping mine's on the list. Why do we have to wait weeks, that only gives them more time to drive things further into the ground.

@djyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8aulstjbV8

Likely more attrition…silent layoffs…Q2 results will drive futher reductions in number of employees…especially the “overhead” roles…a few directors are leaving in the coming weeks

@dep Blake is the automation equivalent of the McDonalds CEO. Stop talking to the press. You look like an empty id--t. And since you are surrounded by sycophantic id--ts (because you forced your best people out), they won’t tell you. be-doverTurn red.

@cpv can’t wait until they bring back “functional excellence”!

@d61 well MV is drifting into irrelevance. The Cambridge MV facility may likely be moved to US (ie New Berlin). No critical roles are backfilled. The MV director retiring is the last nail in the Coffin. The role may be backfilled by some dei rubber stamp leader.

LV MCC is in a far better shape. US based.

@d5x rockwells presence in Canada has been in decline for 15 years. Cambridge is soon to be a nothing burger. Glen, Steve,……are all gone or irrelevant in Blakes eyes. Tessa(who ran sales in Canada) won’t do anything because she is a follower. Oh well.

@d4s probably moving MV to New Berlin. Cambridge is backfilling no one.

@cz1 it will be interesting to see what happens with MV Business in Canada. Tariffs, lack of investment in development, attrition, bloated, inefficient teams, and merging with LV MCCs will further erode the MV market share and relevance.

@cz1 motion is sc--wed. They will reduce investment and defer to costly large architecture drive development at the expense of motion. It was better to keep them separate but Blake has never shown good leadership. Meanwhile, drives will continue to underperform because the current leadership doesn’t understand the need for strong systems delivery to sell architecture class drives. ABB wins this round. Strong drives and motion via B&R. Maybe Blake can buy another overpriced software company. Dare to grow!!!

@cv5 it will be interesting to see how the org change involving Low Voltage Drives and Motion will be handled. Both groups are understaffed as is (not including the layers of management) and any further reductions will create additional delays and likely the loss of experienced people. If RA wanted to get serious about saving money they would stop releasing half-baked products - just imagine the impact of reduced warranty, not having to reinvent the wheel a year after releasing a product and improving customer loyalty, but we don't have to worry about that happening with the current regime who are focused on short-term returns instead of long-term prosperity.

@cv5 Victoria is crushing it. Dei at its best.

@crq the company will merge and consolidate different BU to idenify and remove resulting resources redundancies, pushing for the operational excellence, global teamwork, lean mean operations, efficiencies etc. Remove, automate, or outsource to India. It seems that the Entire internal engineering teams will be outsourced to India. Middle level managers are also at risk.

@cqm “strategic” roles aren’t going to low
Cost regions. General working roles are. The people who do all the real work. Meanwhile, incompetent leaders like Victoria or Jane or Andrew are busy making PowerPoints. And Tessa and Bob are thinking big thoughts -daring to grow. Bring back Frank and Fran!

@cpd you must live under a rock, the "strategic roles" you mentioned are already in India and Poland.

@cpn any time you hear words like efficiency, global teams, streamline, operational excellence…that usually means cuts or outsourcing of jobs taking place. My husband tells me the exactly same approach happens at thr Milwaukee Tools corp

@cp7 yes... personally. It is happening now.

@cp7 many if not most of the function//roles/jobs/postions can be outsourced to India or Poland. Strategic roles will always remain in US. Roles such as engineering, project management, IT, Customer Care, tehcnical support, big part of Development, etc can be fairly easy outsourced.

I am so happy to be able to retire in a few months.

Young generations will have - very hard time finding and keeping jobs.

@cnr have you personally seen someone with 25+ years in the same role put on a PIP? that sounds fabricated. The company will see changes on the coming months/years. Once the defined benefit boomers retire, there's nothing keeping anyone at a company anymore. People will come and go at the drop off a hat, anywhere who is offering the most money, not the amount of pizza party's they have every year. RTO is a farce, it's always been a farce and always will be. How can a company be expected to retain product knowledge when they're engineering dept is a rotating door every year. It's all moot, We're all getting shipped to India anyway.

@ckk Attrition has many forms. Reaching retirement after years of loyal service and of your own volition is rare. Forcing someone's hand by putting them on a PIP after 25 years or more of service in the same role is completely different! This speaks more to the unreasonable goals being set by people who never had to perform the work themselves than it does about individuals not being able to adapt to change.

Technically speaking, no layoffs at least not in Mke plant. Attrition.

@bd3 unfortunately, most of the wfh/remote nonleadership and overhead roles can and will be outsourced to India, Poland etc. these roles will definitely be backfilled.

hybrid is only enforced if the manager wants to enforce it.. but most managers don't follow the same policy anyways.. or they want you to quit. Pretty sure with all the money they are spending on facilities it's only a matter of time til they make it 4 in /1 out.. which people still won't follow. I see manager and directors stroll into the office at noon.. then leave at 1.

Is hybrid even being enforced at MKE or Mayfield Heights? doesn't seem like it...certain areas still seem like ghost towns.....what is the hybrid schedule anyway? 3 in/2 out???

@9s0 roles are being eliminated/merged/outsourced/modified/globalized quietly. No fanfare. No WARN triggers.

Some orgs are simply too bloated with many high salary overhead roles that have no clear decision making or problem solving capability or authority. Perhaps these roles are too expensive to eliminate

As with other major corps, RA definitely should utilize the low cost/motivated workforce in India and other lower labour cost locations.

The strategic roles must stay in US.

Where did you here we getting more layoffs

@8yc the re-org and consolidation efforts (combining multiple BUs into single unit) result in redundancies in BUs for many types of roles.

A few roles in Americas will be eliminated and many new roles created offshore.

@8na the latest re org will result in imamy redundant roles in both US and Canada