Ready and knew it was my time (age 59) to be laidoff Q3 2014. I enjoyed going to company meetings and being the person to ask if I could volunteer to be laid off. Great fun embarrassing the upper management.
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Tell your manager NOW that you volunteer. There is still time. BUT don't expect an answer for a good few weeks/months. The manager isn't allowed to say anything but they would much rather get rid of someone that wants to leave than someone that doesn't want to.
"The future of Cisco. The growth of our customers. The lives of people around the world. They’re all connected. Because the Internet of Everything is here. And everything starts with you." Just hype I guess
Why is it too late? Let me give you a peek into the workings of an LR.
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About a 3 months in advance you start to see the warning signs. Backfills don't get approved, OpEx gets slashed, budget pressure ramps up. Some examples of budget pressure ramping up, travel freezes, capital requests at or below previous levels are asked to be pushed out to next quarter. This is them starting to see what their minimal OpEx level is to establish a baseline.
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About 2-3 months in advance, someone usually at the director level, sometimes at the manager level sometimes at the VP level, gets asked to start preparing data, this could be as obvious as a ranking of all employees against a specific set of criteria. or as subtle as put together a list of what everyone is working on and their role.
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About 1 month in advance this list is set. That list then goes through scrutiny by the lawyers, HR, etc. to make sure that it is legally defensible. Have we disproportionately targeted any individuals in protected categories in groups that are not being entirely eliminated. For example if you have a team of 10, 2 people being laid off and you target two GL 10s in a protected category leaving 4 GL10s not in a protected category and 2 GL 8s not in a protected category, expect HR to tell you to change the list. This is analyzed at various levels,
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2 weeks before the layoff, the lists are finalized and all of the data needed starts to get generated, they start preparing the packets (electronically), start training HR, preparing the manager materials etc.
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1 week to a few days before they give the manager training. Here's what you can say, here's what you can't say. Read from your script. Don't deviate, don't engage in any discussion.
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1-2 days managers are told to schedule time with those employees impacted especially if they are remote, or frequently don't work in the office. Managers are also given access to the packets for those impacted employees to review them.
This year if the timelines being bandied about are correct there may be some changes to the last few steps. We are expecting them to tell Wall Street in the Earnings Meeting and do layoffs the next day.
So the reason it is too late is the list is already set. You are on it or you are not. Changing it at this date would be very difficult. About the only shot would be if they already have a problem they have to fix because the lawyers have chimed in saying you may be in a bad position and need to change a person on the list.
I fully expect to get hit this time. Having had to be on the other side of this more times than I care to remember, I'm actually looking forward to it in some ways. I'm not looking forward to looking for a new job on the wrong side of 40, but I am hoping I'll find something where I never again have to sit across the desk from someone, who just had a baby, bought a new house, or had health problems in their family in the past year, and tell them that due to "business decisions, Cisco has decided to eliminate a number of positions in the company, that your position is one of those impacted and that effective immediately your job duties are ended. Here is your packet of information, and you have 2 weeks to find another position within Cisco. If you have any questions about this you can contact this HR person."
The worst part for me is that I've almost (but not quite) become immune to it. The first few times I had to do it, I literally sat in my office and cried afterward. The last time, I just went on to my next meeting with a pit in my stomach.
So I'll wish you all the best of luck. Whether that means you get lucky and are impacted or get lucky and are not, is a subjective decision only you can make.
I did "volunteer" and had a talk with my manager, he couldn't confirm how this will go down, I guess I'll have to wait for the 18th to find out
Why is it too late to volunteer for this round?
Cisco for years was the 'ultimate company' to work for.... Finally, I did... first as a contractor, then as a blue badge. I've worked with great teammates, and a few who were not team focused and inhibited growth. Some of these folks still remain - why, I don't know. I was drinking from the firehose as a contractor, not privvy to the politics. As years went by, my observation skills and being on the receiving end of others sharing increased. Here's my observation: Cisco has been systematically culling its strongest talent b/c of grade levels and age. THAT'S A FACT, JACK. The morale is at its worst. THAT'S A FACT, JACK. Top management is really, really good at all hands fluff. Once Chuck took the reins, cuts (LRs) began immediately... but yet... even TODAY... there is NO master plan.
I've actually had numerous people over the years that have "volunteered" to take the LR package. Trust me no manager or director enjoys telling people they've been laid off. The only exception being when you can tell them when you know they wanted to leave anyway. Officially it can't be done. Unofficially it's done all the time. People that "volunteered" saved the job of other people on their team. Too late for this round but if you make it through this round and want a package next year just make sure your manager knows that if he/she needs to make a decision you won't be upset at all if you're on the list.
Me3
You can sort of "volunteer".... it depends how comfortable you are bringing up this sort of thing with the higher-ups (and I don't mean your first line manager). It's certainly possible to suggest to a director this sort of thing. It might work; it might not. If it doesn't you probably don't have much of a future in whatever BU you happen to reside.
Interesting. What a joke!!
This thread escalated quicly
That's because Cisco works on those ratings. We are sponsors of many 'contests' (best place for working mothers, etc.) and we actively manage Glassdoor engagement - we pay for that access. That's why you see all this on layoff.com only while managed sites will give you a rosy picture.
Look at IBM for example, in my mind that's the worst company to work for, they do not even have free coffee in their offices, I mean, f-in jiffy lube has free coffee for their mechanics... Anyhow, IBM has stellar ratings on Glassdoor and in all this 'best place' surveys...
It's funny to me that so many people are unhappy at Cisco but yet they still get rated as one of the best companies to work for..... the things that make you go "hhmmmmm...."
Me too!
I would add myself to that list too!