....It's now March....

It's been about 4 weeks since SAP announced they would be offering an Voluntary Early Retirement Package to some and also that they would be Laying off some other amount of employees. In total if we really believe the storyline (?) we will exit 8000 employees, but I don't know who is the person who is maintaining the "people counter" to announce when we get to 8000. So who really knows what the final number will really be.

The info for the VERP has already been distributed and people have till April 1 to accept. But so far I don't know of anyone who has been informed they are getting laid off ? Maybe the idea they have is to wait till all of the VERP packages are spoken for before they begin having the layoff discussions.

If they do this like past instances, which I am sure they will do in this case as well, the layoff discussions will be well orchestrated and all of them will happen at a specific time on a specific day. - no doubt when this day comes, it will be a tough day for everyone. If this is how it will work once again, it makes sense that there has been no one yet informed they will be let go until the mgt. sees the actual number who took the VEFP. I would imagine that both the layoff folks will be similar to those taking VERP and both have April 30 as their last day with the company. This would mean the layoff discussions will likely happen in the first week of April.

In the end why did it have to work this way? Could not the announcement about layoffs be made and immediately thereafter the notifications made? To keep people hanging for two months waiting to hear if they will remain employed with SAP is unprofessional and a disregard for individual anxiety over this whole situation.

Comment! It's anonymous!

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The number of people taking VERP has no relevance.

You are correct there is a plan for those below the cutoff age (59) for the VERP, it is called "FIRE" ( means Financial Independence, Retire Early) - you can look it up on line to get the backstory on what is is all about. too much to get into here. And it is available to all ages who want to retire early,

However in nutshell it is about; how to cut costs after working, how to invest for the long term. buying used instead of new, etc, etc.... in general how to reduce your lifestyle to allow for an early retirement at 30, 40,...etc.

As you might suspect these have nothing to do with corporate funding to enable these folks to opt out of the workforce at a very, very early age. but rather these are all funded and planned out at the individual level.

SAP is a great company to work for but they are not offering "free lunch" ( other than what we get in the canteen -:)... for 100,000 employees, This we have to get ourselves or wait till we get to the proper program age,

Lets face it. The sad reality is that they want to get rid of the expensive "oldies" and replace them with lower paid younger workers.

I grasp the concept of age discrimination, but I don't like it.

Wow! Some people just do not grasp the concept!

VERP should be offered to all ages. Otherwise, it is age discrimination! Nobody is cool with racial discrimination, but age discrimination is totally fine!?

@5kxl+1rpe876y

Taking out "legally, then yes it would make sense to offer a Voluntary Early "Retirement" Plan to everybody irrespective of age. IF it was customary that people in their 20's, 30's, 40's, etc... are normally "retiring" at these ages. but I do not know of that many who are retiring at such ages.

"If it there was no age discrimination, then the voluntary offer would be given to all ages. Does that make sense?"

Not legally

Yes they are voluntary, but the company is age discriminating who is given the voluntary offer. If it there was no age discrimination, then the voluntary offer would be given to all ages. Does that make sense?

"How are age based retirement offers not age discrimination. What world do we live in?"

Because they are voluntary.

How are age based retirement offers not age discrimination. What world do we live in?

At 2 weeks per year, then it is about half of what the VERP folks are getting. Most likely those who will be getting laid off don't have the amount of time with SAP that those retiring do, so 2 weeks per year won't cover much for them.

Looking at previous threads, it looks like the 2023 layoff was 2 weeks per year with the company, plus some amount of Cobra coverage. Likely will be something similar.

Will have to wait to see if the layoff packages are similar at all to the VERP packages.

However I think in the next round and all subsequent rounds the layoff packages will get less and less generous - this may be the "last' of the ones you would have wished later on you would have received.

I was offered VERP, but I would rather stay on. It does concern me that they'll probably wait until after the April 1 deadline to do layoffs, since at that point, VERP will be off the table for anyone affected, and at least in my case, that would be a big loss if I'm exiting.

If you're a fan of Star Trek TOS, you may remember Captain Dunsel.

Why is age discrimination OK?

A few in my location are struggling as to whether to take the VERP. Every retirement advice they see in the US, tells to wait as long as you can before collecting Social Security, this way you can collect the maximum amount. This would bring it to 70 years old. But individuals should at least wait till full retirement age which is 66.

So, for people in US unless you are already above at least 65, you want to continue working. Even if you have 20 plus years of service, the severance package doesn't come close to making up the difference by retiring early.

Also, even if you were able to get another job in your mid 60's, it won't pay anywhere near what people are making now at SAP.

This is why I think people are reluctant to take the VERP and leave SAP at this point in their career.

Employees in the US who are eligible for VERP (59.5 years old) are not very excited about the VERP deal because they still need healthcare until age 65 when Medicare becomes available.
Unless you have a spouse with a family medical plan from their job, you are out of luck once Cobra deal expires.

Good luck finding a new job after age 60 that pays well for the next several years.
Ageism is real folks!

I do think there are individuals already known from Day 1 as to being laid off. Most likely these are the most expensive ones in the highest cost locations. Which basically means T3 and above in US.

However I do think they also have a target number they are expecting to take the VERP and if it's less than what they expect, they are prepared to increase the numbers of layoffs to make up the difference. Here I know of several who have the option to take the VERP, but these are just now 60 years of age and they say they are not prepared to retire and do not think they will go for VERP. they want to get more of savings account before they retire and feel like they want to work at least another 5 years or more.

I don’t believe the number of people accepting the VERP is given much consideration. I understand from several managers that lists, with names, already exist and have for several weeks.

Keep sending these questions to TH!
She will engage in meaningful dialogue in her attempt to break down silos.

I suspect that another reason why the Board put such a long interval between layoff announcement and actual layoff was that they were hoping some number of employees would take jobs with other companies and just quit SAP thereby eliminating the need to pay any severance compensation.

Do not worry they are always thinking ahead of us

The two months also serves as lead time for getting your resume ready and starting a job search before you may lose your job. Have you used your time wisely or have you sat around just waiting to see if you lost your job?

Sure, it's obvious that they will wait to see how many take the VERP and then figure out how many will be laid off. In US there is no obligation to have to keep anyone after being informed - if they wanted they could have you turn in your badge at the end of the layoff discussion.

The fact that they announce 8000 will be let go and then let everyone hang for 2 months before informing those who will be cut shows how little regard the "new SAP" has for it's people.

Let this be a learning lesson for all.

Gone are the days when SAP took care of it's people. Now we work for a cutthroat operation where you mean nothing. Go ahead and make a pledge to everyone that our "new normal is work from anywhere" and then for no reason at all pull the rug out and tell everyone that on April 1, everybody is back in the office.... it's a totally different place.

the number of employees accepting VERP will decide the headcount that involuntarily laid off. Hence the delay.

Sorry to break it to you. SAP is not concerned about anyone’s anxiety. Get your resume updated and prepare.

Thread regarding SAP layoffs

....It's now March....

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