For the last few days I kept asking myself why I kept checking this site daily, and why I kept reading about BK’s firing. After 20+ years at Intel, I took VSP in 2016. The reason I took VSP was because of the unfairness of ACT. Employees I’d coached into new roles, who were contributing and even thriving, gone. Peers who had toiled at all hours, traveled on no notice, got divorced even, all for Intel, we’re called deadwood and summarily fired. Let me break this down: Intel’s hypothesis was that the reason for failing to penetrate new markets lay within. The lack of direction, the lack of innovation, due to the “deadwood.” Wall St needed to be placated and instead of facing the lack of leadership, the sheer lack of vision (firework drones, really?), we were told there were expandable useless people among our ranks that must be dealt with first. All the while, the person that instituted this policy was banging an underling (or two), TMG was losing the process lead, and no progress (meaning profitable) was made on mobile. Yes, Intel needs to be right sized, but it first needs a vision of how to define the future of technology, which it did in the 90’s like no other company. This psycho babble about A players and C players was really about how pushy or sly your manager was during focal. The consequences have been devastating. I’m glad I’m out of there. Oh, and that VSP money, more than doubled !
12 replies (most recent on top)
OP, don’t make it sound like you threw yourself on your sword and sacrificed yourself for people affected by ACT.
That is BS!
You took a decent package just like others that VSP’d.
Some people affected by ACT were unjustly chosen and other were deadwood and you know it.
True the way they rolled ACT by filtering SSL rating, etc. was a chicken sh-- move.
I barely worked at Intel - I was ISP'd after working there barely a year because my manager gave me an S/SL4 for being "new to Intel" - but I have nothing but contempt for BK and all of his enablers.
I can only imagine how I'd feel if I had worked at Intel for a decade or more, sacrificed so much thinking that I was actually making a contribution...and then be discarded like a POS.
As it turns out, those of us who were ISP'd or VSP'd ended up better off than the others who have since been discarded without severance.
No one got divorced for Intel, they got divorced because they weren't good to their relationships- sounds like a bunch of idiots and you likely are one too.
An epic post - thank you OP
Sooooo true
This psycho babble about A players and C players was really about how pushy or sly your manager was during focal
~Class of 2016
Great post.
In some cases people like you were able to make a VSP, but in my case ACT with no compensation was a nightmare. Lessons were learned from that and the biggest one is no company on this world deserves your blind royalty.
The Intel's good times are remembered, now it's less than the shadow it used to be.
Great posts. Vindication is sweet. BK deserves everything he gets.
Sell your INTC stock folks; ain't no upside from here.
HR is just a shame of an operation. Supposed to help employees?!?!? Forget it. They are DEEP in the pockets of management. They have no interest in actually assisting people, just following marching orders from corporate to fire people, and then they also protect themselves from getting fired even though they contribute nothing to the product or business.
This is a great post. I had said for more than 12 years that Intel HR would play a very large part in the downfall of Intel and the employees and x-employees that look at the current situation would probably agree with this perspective. HR did the dirty work, the illegal firings in 2016, the cover-ups and fake HR investigations, etc... Yes, the senior leaders and Board are ultimately responsible for Intel but no other group can take as much responsibility for Intel's failures than HR, IMHO. Intel is really in for a serious "time of troubles" and there is no easy way to stop the situation now.
100% agree with you OP. I was ISP'd because I got successful but SL4 for taking medical leave, the first SL4 after 14 years. BK said layoff would be done with utmost respect, was it done that way? It was the most shameful, so humiliating, so insulting process. I basically had to give up lots of things financially and some family stuffs due to losing job. In the end, found a good job with much better work assignments, respects, much less stress. I visited this sites just several times, I could see those so mean people saying we are deadwoods, fats, low performers and keep insulting with just so dirty profane words. Maybe, insulting their once senior engineers from whom they learned how to do stuffs is their only way to survive. At first, I doubted that if those are really the Intel engineers who may once worked with me. Unfortunately, that is how Intel has been changed during BK's regime, no respect, back stabbing, no one is responsible, insulting senior engineers, etc. well, that is now the once a great company, Intel's culture - so pathetic.....
I still remember that I worked with my colleagues, team members with full pride, we all delivered stuffs on time, worked just perfect, enjoyed the works. Alas, those good days were gone the moment BK became a CEO. Kicking out so dedicated hard working , experienced engineers should not be the answer to cover up the company leadership's bad biz decisions and resulting losses. But it was BK's choice for his own money in his dirty pocket at the cost of 12000 employees and their family.
BK kept good revenue and good stock price? Well, revenue and profits should come from innovation, and endless R&D efforts - Samsung is very good at this, not from kicking out experienced engineers who are even willing to sacrifice their personal lives. You all know what he did.
Well, things go and come around. BK deserves more than this for all his misdeeds, lies, crimes - only place for him should be jail, finally the HELL, with all his gang members as well.
Those scumbxgs I mentioned above were not those I worked with, those dear good colleagues and friends were all gone the day I left the company with utmost humiliation.
In the end, I really could see Intel's true face. No one outside Intel would imagine what kind of ugly monster it is inside. I do not and will never buy any Intel products, starting from me and around.
Even after BK is gone, Intel reputation already became so dirty, and the company is just a full of shameless, arrogant maggots. Sorry for my dear old colleagues who may still work there but it seems there never will be graceful days again for Intel.
so well stated and shame on all those including HR that vapidly hired the samy younger skills as BK fired more experieced staff, even theough first half of 2018...
Beyond a $2B charge for ACT, we now see with 10nm miss that yes indeed, when creating random organizational chaos, the impact will follow. Engineers with decades of experience were walked, and now here is Intel, with 10nm stuck in a rut.
Sad to see a once great company like Intel lose its reputation.
I'm glad for you, and that you have invested your VSP well.
Take care.