For those who were notified about being laid off - are there a significant number of great performers among you? Some comment that they know several excellent performers who have been laid off, and that totally depresses and worries me.
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It seems like their only strategy was to cut the top salaries of every role.
Yes - folks who were promoted multiple times in a few years were cut. Directors with 5-25 years, managers who rose up from a pool of ICs to lead teams, and high potential ICs cut. At least in my function our VP level folks had no idea there was a Feb cut coming and had zero say in who was cut. Seemingly no discussion of what expertise these folks had. It's not the way you manage for the future. If you know cuts are likely and want to manage for the future you ask managers/leaders to rank stack staff or put folks on a standard rubric of performance/potential etc.
There's a working theory that top performers were axed in this round to reduce morale to the extent that others will leave on their own. It's much cheaper for employees to quit than having to pay them off.
I was laid off a week after they purchased an expensive license for me to use. I’ve been at the company 6 years and in that time I’ve never had any negative comments or things to “work on even”. I just got a complementary email from the VP of my dept. telling me thank you for work I’d done with a client.
If I’m being honest, I overlooked a lot bc I was happy. I would’ve stayed long term and they missed out on keeping me bc they let ppl go at random. This whole thing is sketch as heck
They cut many top performers. In my department it was like they went through surgically and chose the most effective employees -- to be laid off. And kept the under-performers.
I've seen a few coming through in my Linkedin feed.
Chief Architect - 30+ years w/ the company
Many instructors w/ the company 10+ years
Mix of sales & marketing people with around 5 years at the company
Last week, my manager gave me written confirmation that I was going to get an RSU grant. This week, I get laid off. This is not related to performance; its purely a cost cutting move. High salaries getting the axe first.
Yes, they cut many top performers, who were loyal and here a long time. People who were still making significant contributions and deeply cared about the mission. The company has lost its soul and it has no where to go but down. We have lost too much.