Thread regarding CVS layoffs

Last year, the layoff notifications went out over the course of 2 days, with no warning. completely blindsided. The higher ups were notified on day 1 of their layoff, then the lower level people were notified day 2, The higher ups who were layoffed day 1 did not leak that a layoff was happening. it was pretty bad, at least we know it's coming on august 14th and 15th this time. Its always a good time to beef up the resume and touch base with some long lost professional contacts.

I question the teams saying they were informed they were safe. There are no teams considered safe and executive leadership and HR have refused to talk about any teams or individuals impacted. Am on the PBM side.

For last years big layoff, for locations that were closing entirely, there were group calls where the entire staff was notified at the same time. for individuals, they got a call from their manager This all happened in one day. But that's not the last day of employment, they will tell you your last day. it will likely be in a few months. to get your severance you have to work as usual without causing any trouble up to the final date they give you.

I think the managers know, they can’t say anything. I find it strange that if we are safe they aren’t even telling us that

They won’t say anything until the day of the layoffs. Just like when they fire people. At least when you are remote they won’t have security escort you out with a cardboard box of your belongings.

For the last layoff , were all the people let go in one shot or it happened in phases ?

Will there be other rounds of layoff after this 5000 cut ?

It's hard to say.

One one hand, if you were a supervisor and they told you that they are going to lay off half your team, but not for another week or two... what are you going to say?

You can't just tell your team, oh hey yeah I already know and half of you are getting the axe. You can't just say , hey Bob and Sally and Pete are going to be getting the axe but everyone else is going to be ok.

The only thing for a manager to do is to just say they don't know.

And they also just might really not know. Some of them may also be on the chopping block.

What CVS should have done is to have just do the lay offs. No two week prior announcement so that everyone is worried. Just do it and let it be done.
How much production was lost with 300,000 employees all worrying that it might be them? How much trust is lost when your boss tells you as far as they know everyone is safe and then half your team is gone?

Layoff of 2022 , the big one, they hired a consultant firm to pick the people to leave. it was a computer based program that primarily used length of service and performance ratings. Anyone below a 3 rating was let go, then they started with length of service. new people were next to go. then they went back to the 3s, and compared performance, etc. I imagine this will be about the same, though i think they're using duplicity of job in one department versus another department. trying to combine two jobs into one job

I was there for the last huge layoff. After the fact, I was told they knew who it was and also picked who would be let go. Your directors know if you are out. They don't just pull people out of the hat. If you have been slacking, your boss knows and your are the employee who should be worried. If you are an awesome employee at what you do and your department is axed they will find you a new spot. All personal experience from the last layoff.

I'm trying to mitigate the risk. If I can't eat it then I don't need it! Beans, rice, eggs and salads. My team was told they dont know anything. :/

Some stores aka customer facing positions were closed down

This is not a spur of the moment decision. They've probably had the lists of who is getting the ax drawn up for months. It sounds like a very targeted, strategic business decision. If you don't serve clients or generate revenue- BYE.

They've announced anyone that is not customer facing and vendors will be impacted. If you don't work directly with members or clients, I'd worry. On the Aetna side, there have been several teams training offshore teams to do their work. I'd be really worried if I worked in those departments or if a bot could be programmed to do my job.

I was told I'm safe but I can't say I believe it

I work in a specialized financial compliance role. I don't believe my job could be impacted due to the very small size of the team I work on and the critical nature of my work with respect to ongoing federal/state licensing and operations. Still, I've received absolutely no communication from leadership. I'm out the door at the first chance I get, and I'm already in contact with several recruiters. The way this layoff has been announced and communicated is nothing short of disgusting. I can only hope this blows back horribly on the executive """leadership""" team.

I question those that were told they were safe early on, if leadership truly knew. Part of me wonders if they are compiling the list now, and that 5000 was just the number they threw out once they saw the earnings report. There’s no real way to know.

Some teams have been told early on they are safe.