Can somebody please help me out? I've heard there's a possibility of layoffs before the end of the year and I joined a little over six months ago. I'm petrified that I might be affected and I'm not even sure if I'd be eligible for severance. Is there a place where I can find this info without having to ask my manager?
8 replies (most recent on top)
severance is 2 to 6 weeks depending how long youve worked here. been here 20 years? heres 6 weeks...good luck ahole. all so C levels can fly around the world in 1st class.
Someone mentioned SDWAN being the NBT when Riverbed went public (2006). Not quite, Riverbed dominated WANOPT market, and Riverbed stock did great for a while, ESPP @ ~$8/share at IPO, options less than that. Look at historical share prices to see how that worked out.
SDWAN was the NBT when going private (2015), and we made the huge mistake of buying Ocedo instead of building on SH to create SDWAN appliance. Not quite the mistake of merging with OPNET, that was the beginning of a long and winding end.
Best thing that ever happened in my career was getting hired at Riverbed , second best thing was getting laid off, I just which I was laid off in 2015 and not 2023. Or had gotten off my a-s and moved on back in 2015. I had forgotten what ESPP, RSUs, and bonuses felt like … feels good :)
The main message is this: have no loyalty to Riverbed because Riverbed has no loyalty to you. Not only will they cut you loose the moment it’s temporarily more convenient, you are being managed by amoral shills who will lie to you with a smile until the axe falls. That’s true of a lot of companies, sure, but Riverbed’s history of the last few years of revolving ownership has cleared out anyone at the VP level or higher who ever had any real commitment to doing good work. It’s all fiefdoms and EBITDA from here to the horizon.
Let’s put it this way: None of the people running Riverbed expect this to be their last job; neither should you.
Your first mistake is coming to work for this company. Keep your eyes peeled for the next opportunity because when the riding gets rough, PE and sleazy management will kick you to the curb. The smart thing to do is milk it for all its worth while looking for the next best thing. I've survived more RIFs here than I care to admit, so listen when I say you won't receive any severance.
Riverbed is in a WORLD of hurt and has been for quite some time. I don't believe the author of this question is fear mongering. To the contrary, I believe employees are being gaslit by anyone that says the company is investing in its future and has money to spend. DD moved the offices to make it closer for himself to get to work every day. Package it as new, shiny offices or even an attempt to save on lease/rent $ but it's only about DD.
DD has one goal; have some kind of exit so he and the top brass can make their own $$$ regardless of how much further the company is driven into the ground. Riverbed has lost so much value that the company is not even worth a billion dollars.
The underperformance of RB has nothing to do with the election or the tech industry and everything to do with all that has gone wrong at RB for the last several years. I would run as fast as I can away from this train wreck.
Most recently, I know first hand of someone in sales that had been with the company for seven years. They were "laid off" the first day of Q3. Severance? They got nothing...zero.
You are fear mongering!
Translation: Stop writing bad things about Riverbed publicly.
If you joined 6 months ago then you should easily be able to find your signed contract in your private email. 6 months is never going to be great in any org or region, especially if you are 3 months over a probationary period, unless you are a senior exec with special contract terms.
Translation: Expect to be easily fireable if you're new at Riverbed.
I wouldn't focus too much on rumours. Layoffs are continuous in this climate and across the tech industry.
Translation: You could be laid off.
The US election and wars are throwing mass uncertainty which I'm not seeing many US tech CEO's have the ba--s to acknowledge or provide insight.
Translation: Every CEO of every bad public company has cited these reasons for company underperformance, so its not bad that Riverbed does too!
During any form of layoffs, certain regions or product focus groups will always be at risk more than others based on Q1, Q2, Q3 numbers. This is expected and part of any sales org.
Translation: If you're in sales, expect to get canned.
On a positive note, I’m hearing rumours of quite the opposite to layoffs.
Look at the massive investments into a new CRO, shiny new offices, gartner, events, product dev, media etc.
Translation: Look at all the expenses management will use to justify spending your salary once you're gone.
It’s not perfect but stay positive.
Translation: The situation is bad, but don't spend time job hunting elsewhere, keep working.
Every single person here knows Riverbed is not a well performing company. They went public at at time when SDWAN was the hot new tech, stock didn't do too well, they went private, and then one PE firm after another has bought it, only to sell it to another a few months later. You don't have to believe me, just check their history on Google. It has seen a revolving door of CEOs and senior leadership. It has gone through many layoffs and has been in decline for over a decade.
I think any smart person would look at that and be rightfully, in your words, a bit petrified. Riverbed is not Microsoft or Google where you can think "I'll do really good work and build a stable career", it's just a place to earn a paycheck and you can easily be canned any quarter the company does slightly worse than expected. Once that happens, they'll fire you out of nowhere, the remaining people will call you dead wood on forums such as these, and you will be sitting where I am, an ex-Riverbed employee with 2x pay who wishes I had left sooner.
You are fear mongering!
If you joined 6 months ago then you should easily be able to find your signed contract in your private email. 6 months is never going to be great in any org or region, especially if you are 3 months over a probationary period, unless you are a senior exec with special contract terms.
I wouldn't focus too much on rumours. Layoffs are continuous in this climate and across the tech industry. The US election and wars are throwing mass uncertainty which I'm not seeing many US tech CEO's have the ba--s to acknowledge or provide insight.
During any form of layoffs, certain regions or product focus groups will always be at risk more than others based on Q1, Q2, Q3 numbers. This is expected and part of any sales org.
On a positive note, I’m hearing rumours of quite the opposite to layoffs.
Look at the massive investments into a new CRO, shiny new offices, gartner, events, product dev, media etc.
It’s not perfect but stay positive, always be learning, support others and speak up constructively.