Beginning in 2014 when Symantec announced it would split, planning began to cut costs each year out to 2018 which included downsizing layoffs. Combined with Symantec's quarter losses, those financial dynamics compounded Symantec's decision to downsize more so.
The Springfield Oregon campus is a call center, which is highly expendable due to its nature to quickly dispose and hire untrained employees in moments notice.
You are ignorant of anything outside of your cubicle walls or windows. If skill transfer trumps new hires, then please explain away India....
Symantec is in crisis survival mode and is tightening the belt (Long overdue), and it is far more cost effective to hire new, younger, sharper staff and train them than it is to maintain older, narrow focused and overpaid "Engineers". It is a pattern Symantec has employed year over year since the Veritas slump. Speaking of, what are they "Engineering" in a building that was designed as a Call Center from the ground up? I'm pretty sure the term is used loosely especially for staff that are focused on one product that, unfortunately, won't land them a job anywhere else in the industry.
With increased health care costs and lack of local opportunities peeps pretty unhappy about weakness of severance package offerings. Online storm on the horizon maybe.
Fairly inaccurate statement from "Silicon Valley Consultant". For one, the Springfield, OR campus is not a call center. Only about 10% of the employees in that center are devoted to phone support and services. The rest range from engineers to enterprise sales divisions. Anyone that thinks a "call center" agent for a premier US based security software company is easily replaced without considering training costs, attrition, and washout is not packing a very good degree....if even one at all. Transference of skilled and proven staff trumps training the unknown entity of the new hire everyday. If Symantec takes that route and goes with new hiring, expect their stock to get downgraded to sell as they struggle to regain footing instead of a seamless production transition.
The Lifelock acquisition, and subsequent restructuring of that absorption, coupled with the removal of job redundancy across the whole company, is what is driving this round of layoffs. Add to that Symantecs desire to be out of the real estate business and more about leasing property versus owning it, the Springfield site has been a target for 2 years.
Many employees will go remote with end dates around March 1st. Transfers internally will be offered, but relocation packages may or may not be on the table. Depends on how narrow and shortsighted Symantec plays this. If it costs me as much to train a new hire up to speed as it does to relocate a proven commodity, well....that choice is obvious. Better to buy what I already have in my hand.