I am sure 99% of you here would agree with me on this one - we do not have enough people to do actual work! There is a ton of managers floating around pushing papers, approving, reviewing, doing nothing - but the folks who are doing real work are scarce (vmware is not the only company with this problem though). Let's see how smart they are now and how they navigate this one - if they cut into staff echelons things will come to a halt, I have no doubt about it.
At the same time, I know how 'politically' networked my manager is, so I am pretty sure she has nothing to fear about during the upcoming cuts. Anyhow, keep your skills polished, and be ready - most of us will be just fine when the layoffs come. Happy 2016 layoffs. Let the season of cuts begin...