Frequent layoffs, low morale, clueless leaders, heartless decisions, blatant conflicts of interest (just learned about this one, oh boy is it a doozy.....you might know what I'm referring to) that goes unchecked by leadership and HR....what does the HR department do these days besides processing layoffs? People get away with sh-t they shouldn't but then the kindest, hardest working employees are let go. This was not the company I joined. I can't believe we might be watching a company go under in real time. Will F5 even be around in 10-15 years? Is it dying a slow death?
24 replies (most recent on top)
Yes it was a deliberate and conscious effort by VP and was supported by his pet donkeys and je-ks. All the offshore managers does is to please their bosses in seattle and kiss their A..
==========================
So many long term employess have gotten the ax...... There was no unconscious bias about long term employees being RIFd. It was very delibrate and conscious.....
“F5 needs to die”
Someone got fired and can’t find another job.
Move on.
F5 needs to die
F5 lost its corporate soul. We use to do things with and for the community. Social agendas have replaced doing anything for the community at large
All of these observations are spot on. FDR ruined the spirit of F5 and Kara has no soul. I was there 20 years. McAdam was a much better and benevolent leader.
To the person who said "DEI", allow me to correct/adjust your statement:
s/DEI/DEI Above all else/g
When Hiring decisions and (IMHO) the other end of that spectrum are made based on that... it's a problem. Case in point, the last round as I understand it were mostly "Product" teams. Best I can tell, Technical writers, The very Next day--- over 100-ish postings were made for Technical writers in India and Guadalajara.
We have accepted mediocre results. That is the new norm.
So many long term employess have gotten the ax...... There was no unconscious bias about long term employees being RIFd. It was very delibrate and conscious.....
"Should have left F5 at the start of when the individual was no longer valued."
When managers in a tech company call engineers "resources", most managers are nothing more than OVERHEAD.
While FLD might be a decent financial manager, he's definitely terrible at nurturing and growing a corporate culture and squandered immense customer and employee goodwill. John McAdam built the culture and business and FLD will be remembered as the one who squandered it all away.
The heartbreaking part is that he probably doesn't know what he's lost.
Having been forced out of F5 several months ago, I have had time for reflection. First couple of years employed at F5 were great - was a part of an engineering team that valued the individual and the team made some significant product contributions. About 5-6 years ago, things started changing. The individual was no longer valued and substituted with rigid process indoctrination (SAFe, Scrum). The focus changed away from engineering great products to stories, standups, iterations, increments and Big Room Planning. They called it being agile. It was more like time thrashing (continually being bounced around). I was loyal to the new system - but I knew better that great products were no longer possible with the mandate. Should have left F5 at the start of when the individual was no longer valued.
Not wrong.
What happened to F5?
DEI
Kara is more interested in controlling people than creating excellent technical products that fit the markets.
Her recent email about RTO and the percentage of the workforce not fulfilling the "requirements" is an example of this. Very few employees are excited about commuting and wasting time and money to satisfy the "better collaboration by the coffee machine" FLD's agenda.
As long as these people are in charge, there is no future for and in this company.
@2jlb+1pt7Gppi , this is exactly how I now feel about F5. I look around and see longterm F5ers sticking around hoping the old F5 will someday come back, part of me even feels that way. These are the only ones keeping any remnant of it feeling like how it used to feel. Nothing against newer employees, it's just a different place now. I'm sad they couldn't experience what it used to be like.
FLD was the tipping point. He really had/has no vision. If he knew what direction he wanted to move F5 he would have never brought in the consultants. He is a clueless leader that surrounded himself with weak leadership. For example look at Kara. She never delivered or built any product. The cash cow (BIG-IP) delivers the goods. Nothing FLD or his minions have done can compare to this success. They have failed.
What happened is what always happens, greed. The board panicked, lost faith in the people that built f5 and sold out the company. The company died years ago it’s just momentum and loyalty that’s keeping the heart beating. With enough layoffs the lackluster McKinsey driven decision makers will cut out the last of f5’s heart and doom the company to PE he-l. Rest easy, on that day Kara and FLD will declare success, not failure. Let’s face it, we lost, we were too busy making great products and didn’t think this could happen. It’s hard to imagine another place as cool as f5 could exist again. Oh well.
Not only Kara and FDL board has to remove long trail (Eve, VP,..) from India (Hydarbad, Bangalore). Those are the real actors ruining F5. Otherwise, no hope it will look like F5 (made in India).
A question that I was about to ask too so that I could justify that my last six years at f5 meant something. Seems if kara is pulling in $4mil a year and FLD $12mil a year that a new product other than buying one would be in there somewhere. If not we done nothing of value
Yet, it's way better than Cisco. Remember that.
Why cut a source of income instead of building it? Why fix what's not broken?
If she wants to save $30M, it's possible silverline's service margins weren't high enough.
Note: not a Kara fan as she's the opposite of inspirational but this one might be a necessary business decision. Do she or FLD have one thing they can point at as an unqualified success?
When FLD contract not renewed, the board of directors find a new competent leader to rescue 5. There shall be hope!
Just spoke to someone in Silverline, who has been there since F5 bought Silverline and build it up. There are happy customers who love Silverline for years. He said Kara wants to save $30 mills and wants to show revenues for MCN. She ordered to move all customers from Silverline to MCN. As a result, F5 lost Telus account along with 6 other customers. I feel sorry for the Silverline Team watching their baby being decimated by their very own hands. Losing 7 loyal customers they work with daily.
Why cut a source of income instead of building it? Why fix what's not broken?
"Will F5 even be around in 10-15 years? Is it dying a slow death?"
Stay assured that no one from the "ELT" cares. After a few years, they land with millions of dollars in their bank account and jump the ship.
I dont know what happened. It's depressing and it's shaken me to the core of believing and trusting anything anymore