Yesterday I ran into two guys with long and accomplished careers at Intel who took the early retirement offer.
These are both guys who have extremely specialized skill, extensive external networks and will be impossible to replace.
Both were fed up and saw the writing on the wall.
Any other painful early retirements?
The reason I say what I said. I have been on many of the execution teams in my career moving work or outsourcing work. Every time engineers believe they are special and are the only ones that can do what they do. I have alway seen the new teams become successful at doing the and sometimes even much better or more efficient. Yes there are some specialized areas but much of the time that specialized work is phased out for newer technology or is phased out completely. People find a way to get things done. Are products inferior to previous products? Did they lose the rigorous engineering behind earlier products. It depends on what you are trying to do. Sell a product that will be replaced in 2-3 years or sell a product that you want to last 20 years?
It will be better to accept that people have to look out for themselves and we are just useful for a time. Nothing lasts forever.
I hate to tell you but everyone is replaceable and engineers are a commodity in this day and age. 15 years ago a different story. Engineer = 100K commodity at least for now. That number is about to shrink to less than 6 figures.
Intel under current management will be replaced. it's too late and no one good in their right mind would join a sinking ship.
Yes - skills are possible to replace. People with deep relationships with customers and with high level external decision-makers can't be replaced.
Steve Jobs was impossible to replace. Andy Grove was impossible to replace. People have unique skills and are not cogs in a machine. It's the cogs-in-machine thinking that will make Intel as a company POSSIBLE TO REPLACE!
No one is impossible to replace. It is very important to understand this fact as early as possible in your career.
at the end of the day the "company" is your manager and your immediate co-workers. It does not matter how much hard work you have done for many years and how much success you have added into the bottom line.
We want to believe that the "company" is like a living entity of some sort that know how much sacrifices you have put into it but at the end that is not true.. At the end, it is all about your relationship with your manager and the ones close by to either continue your employability or terminate it right away..
I have been at Intel for over 21 years, I have had 40+ managers, I have worked in over 27 different teams across 4 orgs and few sites , I have been promoted over 7 times, I have over 5 DRA's, 100's of SRA's/etc, and few patents. I am still here because on this round of layoffs I have a good managent team that look after their employees but next re-org I am not be that blessed and all my accomplishments will not matter if I have bad managent..
I wish you guys retiring the best on your future en-devours and may God bring you guys joy and many many years of happiness and good health ahead along with your loves ones!!! If you were one of my good managers and/or beloved co-workers, thank you for the opportunities and for the great times as you will be missed and you will always have a especial place my heart.. thank you!!!
"Not a fun environment to work in if you have to continuously look over your shoulder."
I thought having fun was removed from the corporate values several years ago. Check your badge. Mine was taken two weeks ago.
My last day is early June after 32 years.. Looking forward to early retirement and also having regrets.. I see the writing on the wall, but will find something else part time to fill the void.. It's been like a second family to me and very painful to see the company come to this.
Amazing, isn't it that such tried and truly dedicated warriors can just be tossed out with the daily trash. There was once a day when companies respected and encouraged family values. These latest tactics have led to an aura of distrust. Not a fun environment to work in if you have to continuously look over your shoulder.