Thread regarding Intel Corp. layoffs

To be fair to BK and the management

Saving Intel is not a trivial task. The best they could come up with is IOT,5G,cloud. although I am skeptical this new vision will save the company, but I can't come up with a better alternative. Yes layoff sucks, and yes employees are angry, yes the management have room for improvement, but what choice does they have. I mean really..

It's going to take a miracle for the company to transform from PC to another business. Doing nothing is not an option, All Intel is doing is fighting for survival, not to be forgotten like Nokia, Kodak, DEC and the likes.

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| 2079 views | | 14 replies (last May 29, 2016) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+HCygFb2

14 replies (most recent on top)

Best. Comments. Ever.

Under BK's leadership Intel has had the wrong strategic focus and has struggled operationally. Fine. Nothing that hard work and getting closer to customers, labs and the market (not talking to some as*hat from Bain) can't solve.

The real tragedy is that, under BK's leadership, the resilient, HONEST, uber-competitive, paranoid of external rivals, work-till-you-fall-over-because-you-believe-in-Intel culture has died. It's now insular and detached from the real world, fake/made-up numbers-driven, deeply and back-stabbingly political.

And that was before the arbitrary, capricious mass-layoffs...

Business strategy is temporary. Culture is forever.

Wonder how HP died? We seem to have benchmarked it.

I'd bet Bain consults for them too...

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Post ID: @1bmv+HCygFb2

Is that you Mrs. BK?

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Post ID: @ihq+HCygFb2

Why should we be fair to BK he wasn't to me.

I was asked to cheat physics and did so.

He is asked to lead the company and says IoT and 3d what a joke.

If anyone should be ISP it is the guy who thinks drones, game shows and IoT and memory will save the company

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Post ID: @hmo+HCygFb2

Fire all the people who spend 90% of their time on Microsoft outlook. We don't need email samurai's. We need experienced, hardworking engineers and technicians to keep churning out good products. Stop conducting reality shows. It's a nuisance and no other sane company does this. Instead invest money in high schools and colleges to come up with new research ideas for Intel.

IOT and 5G is again another short term thing. We don't have a breakthrough product which can provide us the market leader position as we did with x86. Who is working on finding on the next big thing ? Or have they already been sent home ???

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Post ID: @kwc+HCygFb2

If you guys know the crap that goes on IOT then you won't really buy BK's argument. Selling a x86 chip to someone who installs computers at gas station display unit is now counted as IOT. The way I see it we are repurposing some of the old x86 chips and relabeling their sales as IOT. Don't hold your on breath on this one to save the company ....

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Post ID: @czb+HCygFb2

@gwj hit it on the head.

Please don't forget, BK was appointed as CEO because of his vision of tablets and mobility. With ACT we're scrapping that entire vision and resetting. While I like somebody who can identify a mistake and correct it, we're just a few years out from him proclaiming that and becoming CEO based on it, and now we hear it's all wrong?

Let's see if the board can follow in BK's footsteps and correct their mistake. I won't hold my breath.

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Post ID: @kaf+HCygFb2

Is that you Aicha?

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Post ID: @zaj+HCygFb2

I don't understand something very basic.

BK was responsible for leading this ship for a few years now, things went wrong and that is OK, sh-- happens . But as a leader he should take responsibility and go home first. If he is not a person that knows how to take responsibility for failures, he does not deserve to work at Intel at all.

Where is this company's board of directors? What kind of culture is that?

Besides that:

1.latest steps are making this company a bad place to work as engineers now focus on politics, focal and not work.

  1. The mid range managers I've seen in Intel are the worst of the 4 companies I've worked for before Intel . Disconnected from actual work and engineers needs from them. Politicians doing courses teaching them how to talk nicely. Not around when needed.

That is why I think I made a mistake coming to Intel, I wish my grade was lower to get vsp. I don't believe this company has a future.

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Post ID: @lei+HCygFb2

It's not he layoff itself

It is the lack of RESPECT.

We aren't a A+ employees, your in this position for a reason.

We were called losers. Instead of just saying the skill sets weren't in high demand they insulted us.

"A+ company and need A+ people"

That's a load of crap. When the economy is thriving it's difficult to get A+ people, they want to work at other more dynamic companies (A+).

Let's face it, this is a get rid of the old, expensive employees. And if we were that bad at what we do we should have been ranked harder.

Intel told us to move sideways and not moving up was going to be difficult.

But Intel can do what they want.

If the stock goes to $50 I won't give a crap.

It will be interesting who's going to be left after this scorched earth policy.

If vsp and erp are being threatened, some departments will lose a lot of experience and work

Oh well I guess 2 greenhorns =1 experienced person. At that's least that's what the salary numbers say, doesn't that work with experience and competence (sarcasm) ?

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Post ID: @lqz+HCygFb2

OP FYI: Nokia was deliberately destroyed by Microsoft; Stephen Elop worst CEO ever. Nokia is not struggling for the same reasons as the other companies mentioned. Recent news hints at them being back in smartphone business in '17, but obviously not in previous dominant position.

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Post ID: @syh+HCygFb2

All good point and to quite a few let go, Intel was a big part of their life and they have helped build it to become what it is today.

All the acquisitions that led to nowhere and misfires should have been the MCM's report card. If they're not cutting the mustard for transforming the company and made bad decisions in the past, they too should be let go since they're not doing the job they were paid big bucks to do.

Realistically Intel needs fresh blood with new ideas of how to steer the company in a right direction

The employees should be given the opportunity to rate the directors' performance too.

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Post ID: @hkn+HCygFb2

Having a leader who lacks any vision for Intel's future is #1 on my list. I agree with the 2 prior comments but if this one thing changed it would make all those others much more bearable. For example, Apple being led by Steve Jobs actually had many of these other problems, but they were successful because Jobs drove the company forward to achieve his vision of success.

Where I disagree with the OP is the difficulty in coming up with future focus areas aside from today's.

Easy focus #1: quantum computing. Quantum Computing is to Data Center disruption as Iphone/tablet is to PC disruption. This is the next big risk and there are already working machines from DWave

Easy focus #2: robots (ie self driving cars etc, not just piece parts to feed into other companies). IRBT has the vacuum cleaner and is a $1B company. Apple and others are focused on cars.

Easy focus #3: virtual reality. Processing and graphics rule this world - it should be a slam dunk for Intel, but very little true focus here today.

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Post ID: @och+HCygFb2

Fully agree with both the OP and @gwj. I would add the following to the list:

  • Multi-million $ hiring, retention and promo bonuses to executives in the middle of it all (including escape clauses that create a huge lack of accountability at the top level, check Murthy's contract if you want an example).

  • Lack of transparency and straightforward communication from MCM and HR

  • Lack of timely communication on BU specific cuts (co-location,efficiency), ie. 60 days of uncertainty causing huge loss of productivity and devastating morale hit on employees

Any others?

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Post ID: @gfg+HCygFb2

Most people are not pissed at the idea of layoffs. What pisses people off (myself included) are:

  • Stupid/arbitrary criteria

  • Perp walk

  • This was a transparent way to get rid of "expensive" employees, had nothing to do with performance

  • Nobody at the leadership level lost their jobs

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Post ID: @gwj+HCygFb2

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