Thread regarding Northwestern Mutual layoffs

For the record, NM just dropped from 97 on the Fortune 500 list to 111. Mass Mutual is now larger than NM. Great job John and SLT!

Translation. A lot of lazy cheeseheads recognize that the heart and soul of NM, and the cradle of future leaders for the company, is NYC.

It is very relevant to go back to WW1 in the history because it shows how much history of stability and effective management the company has had until now. The firing of an SLT member shows just how poor the CEO is at identifying talent. He is too obsessed with catering to so-called underrepresented groups that he can't even see what real talent looks like. All of those points were mentioned to further show that he isn't failing in one area of business, he is failing in every single aspect of the company. You are probably the goof in NYC who was wearing the 90's yellow tracksuit so I don't anticipate you will understand anything about running a successful business.

Record revenues, record ratings, record bonuses for employees, record engagement scores. Anything else is just irrelevant. Why should we care what the company did during WW2? The fact that firing a SLT member is viewed as a transgression goes to show how poor of a business sense you have. Let’s never hold anyone accountable for anything ever! Lol!

Worst CEO in history:
 Mass layoff of employees for the first time in 165 years. During the Great Depression and Great Recession the company never had to lay off a single person. Layoffs continue to this day.
 Employee engagement is so bad that the company withdrew from participating in the “Best Places to Work” program a few years ago. They were trying to avoid the public embarrassment.
 Policyholder dividends are so pathetic that the company no longer reports on them as a percentage and instead only publishes a number to try and mask the decrease. View the public announcements over the years for proof.
 The AAA rating has been in place for decades prior to JES. He’s just along for the ride and has done nothing. This means nothing anyway.
 Do we need to even mention what an f-up LearnVest was? That cost the company well over $600M and counting.
 4 female SLT members all resigned at the same time. This has never happened in history.
 1 male SLT member was fired. This was the first time in history this has happened.
 Employee turnover is the highest in the history of the company and tenure is the lowest in company history. Let that sink in.
 The company is in such financial distress they can’t even fund a 0.0000001% match on the 401k. This is a basic benefit at that even underperforming companies provide.
 401k match = gone.
 Pension = gone.
 Retiree healthcare = gone.
 Raises = essentially gone.
 Bonuses = essentially gone.
 Insurance Sales = currently down 12%
 Do we need to mention what a failure he has been with his service on the Kohl’s board? Activist investors are trying to oust him for his poor performance and putting that company on the verge of bankruptcy.

To @2vry+1nlrA4CA, "he is a very successful CEO": what about maybe we are a very successful workforce? ;-)
I mean I don't know you or your team, maybe you don't feel like you are contributing to the success of the company, but I can tell you my team, and many people I know, definitely deserve as much credit than JS.

The company just had record setting years of revenue from insurance sales and investment income. NM also just got a massive AAA rating from Moody’s shared by only a few other companies. Everyone also got massive bonuses the past few years and engagement scores are through the roof. I hate to tell you, but he is a very successful CEO. You may not like him, but you can’t argue with numbers.

JES wanted to be the celebrity CEO that AVT was. Get on with Oprah
Buy the fugazi called Leanvest. Impressive cash flow. In the wrong direction it serms

Aren’t all the CEOs in the running either former LearnVest or orchestrated the LV acquisition? Don’t hold your breath lol.

But really, I’m sorry you’re so upset and bitter with the company. If you think people are just fabricating field data to fake PX adoption, then I’m not really sure anything I say would convince you. Why do you stick around a company you so clearly hate and distrust?

Keep telling yourself that you and your colleagues in NYC are great. I can also write a newsletter to say whatever I want it to say. Just wait until we get a real CEO next year and they clean up all JES's f-ups starting with LearnVest.

There is majority adoption and frequent use. There is newsletters about it all the time breaking records. You literally just have to search your inbox.

Again, I feel like you don’t even work here anymore.

Not much. Most used it once and refuse to use it again. The code looks like it was developed by high school students. The higher powers seem to think forcing people to use PX is the answer. Think again.

What are they saying?

I think you better go back and read what the field is actually saying about PX and Advisor Desktop instead of what the marketing and PR people at the home office want you to read about those applications.

The last I read was that the field is pretty happy with the planning software. You either haven't been at this company for a while or have no interaction with the field. I know one of our favorite punching bags on this forum is JES' decision around PX, but you have to admit things actually worked out...

One good thing from the LV acquisition- BLAZEWATER

L O L

Yeah, you’re proving my point. Anything I offer as “good” you’d disagree with. But if you want to hear me say it: everyone in NYC sucks and MKE talent is godly and is the hottest commodity that EVERY company pursues. The fact that NM can’t hire good talent in NY is because nothing can compare to ELITE MKE TALENT.

For the hundreds of millions of dollars spent, the reasons should be crystal clear to every single person why the acquisition took place. The fact you struggle to answer what is a very simple question shows how worthless LearnVest and NYC are. I have yet to see anything I would consider talent at the NYC office.

I doubt anything I say is good will convince you since you seem to think EVERYTHING is bad. But I will say your anger is at least misplaced.

Companies successfully open themselves up to different talent markets all the time. If NM can’t do it, you need to only look to your Milwaukee-based leadership team for the big fail. Maybe ask them why they can’t seem to pull anything out of their investments instead of trashing some 22-year-old kid whose worst offense was accepting a job offer.

Name one good thing that NM has acquired since opening that office or buying LV.

You don’t get it. This isn’t some fringe perk that entitled employees are demanding, It’s literally the cost of doing business in an area that has a cluster of fintech talent. That’s why the office was opened there in the first place: to gain a footing in a competitive financial talent market.

This “problem” that you envision that is owned by either company or employee isn’t real. It’s a market. NM can choose to pay under market and not hire anyone, but then that would defeat the point of them wanting to access a new market of talent.

A lot of this is Economics 101.

We don't pay any of our field agents anything additional in commission based on where they live so why we would we pay anyone else differently? Someone choosing to live in NYC is not the company's problem, it is that employee's problem to make it work. #CloseThatNYCCesspool

For working at a financial services company, it’s kinda funny you don’t get it. Yes, they get paid 10% more because of their location because it costs more to live there. This isn’t extra disposable income, it’s actual cost of living. You have the same purchasing power.

Also, don’t act like commute times compare. I can get to the office in 10 mins. My NY teammates have 1 hour minimum commutes.

Don't forget NYC employees were told to stay home because of the smoke and the possible risk to their health. Milwaukee employees were told the opposite and to quit complaining and get your a$s into the office.