#employeerelations

VSP accepted for 8/27/2027 - what the heck?!

Anyone else still waiting to get your VSP verdict ?

It pains me to say this as I think AI is the eventual ruination of the western/global economy as we know it, and the replacement will be a cold and emotionless standard which will ki-l human innovation/motivation and cause prolonged malaise.

However, if you want to continue your employment with Cigna (at least in the near term), you need to be embracing the AI tools provided to you. Bonus points if your mgr can report that you have generated some breakthrough with the use of AI.

Usage is being tracked and scores tabulated.

AI adoption (or not) will drive the next couple rounds of layoffs.

CM here. Last day is December 11th 2026 due to work needs

All company meeting ELT says 70000 ppl company so 12000 layoff ?

last day is 9/4 and I'm a service coordinator

Seperations dates have been pushed out!! I bet none of us will ever see this money.

My VSP application was accepted, what happens now?
• Please notify your people leader of your VSP application acceptance and work together to plan for a successful transition of your responsibilities. Centene will proactively notify your people leader of your acceptance by July 31; therefore, we encourage you to connect with your people leader in advance of this notification

I wonder what she is seeing that makes her want to abandon ship?

there are five extended separation dates according to the updated FAQ:

• December 2026
• March 2027
• May 2027
• August 2027
• November 2027

the FAQ details how extended separation dates would impact severance benefits... but being asked to stay until November 2027 is just wild AF to me. my limit is December 2026 and that's pushing it, 'cause I'm over it.

Recent layoffs at ESPN have highlighted significant issues in how the company communicates with its employees. Several prominent figures reportedly learned of their terminations through indirect channels, such as social media or news reports, rather than directly from management. This lack of controlled communication has led to a breakdown in trust and raised questions about leadership's execution of these difficult decisions. The article emphasizes that while layoffs are a necessary business function, the process of delivering the news should be handled with professionalism and respect. This incident serves as a cautionary tale for all organizations on the importance of managing sensitive information effectively.

https://barrettmedia.com/2026/07/27/espn-layoffs-what-managers-should-learn/

I met with a high level and well connected employee recently to try get some answers about my ultimate potential. This person works with D&S for my job family in succession planning. I was very honest about how I don’t see a future with ExxonMobil. The person tried hard to basically convince me that the pension is worth sticking it out for since I have put in two decades with the company already and am in my forties. The person then went on to describe how in the not too distant future there won’t be any employees at EMHC left other than those who are still needed to mentor the BTC. The person made statements like you are old enough and close enough to retirement that you can make it. My takeaway was the future for old people is to train India to take all the jobs. The future for young people is to be fired. I suggest young people wise up and leave before you are fired and that old people decide if this is the future you want to be a part of. I do not.

People leader just got an e-mail saying notifications will come out in waves throughout the day

Big Tech companies are increasingly considering voluntary buyouts as a more humane approach to workforce reductions. Google employees are advocating for these offers to be a standard first step before layoffs. Microsoft has already implemented a voluntary retirement program with significant uptake. While buyouts can be less damaging to morale, they offer less predictability than traditional layoffs. The shift reflects the growing maturity of tech companies and their aging workforces.

https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-considering-voluntary-buyouts-2026-7

Los Angeles Unified School District approved significant staff pay raises despite receiving a letter from the Los Angeles County Office of Education warning of severe budget concerns. The district proceeded with the raises, which will cost approximately $1.2 billion annually, just days after the warning. This decision has led to projections of a $3.6 billion negative reserve balance by 2029. Consequently, the district's own projections indicate the elimination of nearly 6,000 positions over two school years. Parents and advocacy groups have criticized the district's management and decision-making process.

Los Angeles, California

https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/us-news/smoking-g-n-letter-reveals-lausd-ignored-dire-budget-warning-before-approving-huge-staff-pay-raises/

Pat McAfee responded to criticism linking his reported high salary to recent ESPN layoffs. He expressed sympathy for colleagues who lost their jobs, stating he hates seeing such events occur. McAfee acknowledged the difficult decisions corporations make and the negative narrative surrounding his contract. He emphasized his show's pride in its work and hopes to remain an asset to ESPN. The broadcaster also noted that NFL teams do not typically conduct layoffs like corporations do.

https://www.aol.com/articles/pat-mcafee-responds-rumors-blame-195712000.html

I quit five years ago and received and offer recently. I thought coming back to USAA would feel familiar in a good way. Instead, I walked into a building full of hopeless faces, a toxic atmosphere, and my first meeting was a layoff discussion. People I had worked with before were gone. The place I remembered didn't exist anymore. I handed in my resignation before my second month was up.

The only people I know who aren't job-hunting are the ones who can see the retirement finish line. They hate it, but they're hanging on. One colleague is less than six months away, he'd love to be laid off, get a paid summer and unemployment. I keep telling him they won't do him that favor. But I get it.

Now we're nothing but a joke. It breaks my heart to see how we're being systematically destroyed and there's nothing we can do to stop it.

Every new manager we get seems less qualified than the last. It's like they're hiring for incompetence.

Why would anyone in that group still give their all?

People work hard, stay loyal, and still get tossed aside when their skills aren't considered shiny enough. Exxon will take everything you've got and then put you on a manufactured PIP to get rid of you. Why would anyone stay at a place that treats its employees like disposable tools? I'm not waiting to be the next one.

Just a warning to people who might think, like I did, that getting a raise means they're planning to keep you around. That's not true. Four months after I got a raise, I was gone. I think it hit me even harder because I was so convinced I was safe. I just wanted to share this so people know where they really stand.

Long story short, employee sent complaint about their manager (ED) to HR. MD doesn't gaf. End of story.

The hardest part of being ISP'd was genuinely that I wouldn't get to see the people I got to know over a decade. I kept in touch with some that left on their own, pretty much all who I knew that also got ISP'd, and some that are still there. I know how they're doing, but I'm wondering how things turned out more generally. Maybe it'll be cathartic for us all?

I'll go first: I was in Tech and had been at Jones for coming up on 15 years. I tried really hard to stay and put in dozens of internal apps but at first I wouldn't apply to anything more than 2 pay grades under where I was. I still panicked and applied 3-4 levels down to some roles I actually had before under the same leaders I had when I was there but even then I didn't get any interviews at all. I had stellar reviews, great recommendations, thought I knew people, but got nowhere. I think leaders were instructed not to talk with ISP'ers... I couldn't even get my old leaders to respond to a "hi". I learned later that applications have to pass through HR before they ever see them, so I'm guessing the ones that knew me never actually saw my applications.

I didn't really apply to anything external at all, I was so sure I'd be staying... but it just didn't happen. I called multiple times to confirm if I reach my last day I'd still be able to see my open applications but then after my last day and a few days of mostly just shutting my brain off by sleeping, I logged in and none of the applications were there... I never heard anything about them again and when I called about it they just told me all of them were closed. Everyone on the phone was always really nice, and seemed like they were really upset that I was leaving or at least sad that Jones was doing this at all.

Well... I felt bad about it for a while, but now I realize applying externally earlier probably wouldn't have changed anything and I'm still looking for a new job. I'm applying just about anywhere local remote competitor or even Jones again but no luck. I keep a spreadsheet for my applications (anyone applying to jobs I really recommend it because you can keep track for unemployment benefits and keep notes about the company/role/if you can find the hiring manager's name to reach out to later/if you tried something new with your resume, anything helps! I also just like documentation and data, I mean... it was my job and I liked it lol) and I'm just about to cross the big 1000 applications. That's since August, so I average about 3 applications a day. I've only gotten 13 requests to interview but one cancelled and half of those I got at least a second interview with two of them getting to a fourth... About half of these never actually denied me, they just disappeared. The last one was about a month ago and they actually gave me an offer!! It was at half what I used to make but more than unemployment checks were and those ran out a while ago so I was jumping all over it!! Finally, something!! I accepted and we talked about start dates, then they never sent me any paperwork and after a few weeks I got a generic denial email from them...

I'm still applying like crazy to anything that fits and more thankful than ever for government assistance programs. P.S. is anyone else scared about the Medicaid changes?? I can't get ANY hours of work a month let alone 80! They let you include training and schooling in that so I'm exploring going for a second masters, keeping up the applications, and I'll either drop out if I find a job quickly or finish it really slowly if I manage to get pretty far in... I really don't want and can't afford more student loans though... I've thought about trades but I don't think my body can handle it... if it could I wouldn't be so scared of losing Medicaid. Thank God for Medicaid though!! They were so nice to me helping me sign up, and it's been the best and easiest insurance I've ever had! I've not missed any meds due to "prior authorization" approvals like I did with Anthem and haven't had to argue with anyone over whether something should be covered. By now I'd already have spent my whole deductible with Anthem but they've covered everything!

I always thought with my history I'd be tripping over offers... But I only have a 1% success rate of getting at least to the first interview. Trimester and annual reviews that "exceed expectations" and a reputation for being really good at what you do, don't help you at all externally... And you're not allowed to give direct references either, you can only give the generic line that confirms you worked there and are eligible for rehire... If you guys have any tricks that worked for you please let me know!! I tailor my resume for every application. I've tried removing the year from my degree and certifications, removing old jobs or roles, talking about accomplishments more than duties, I refused to embellish at first but I've come around on that... I've tried using AI a bunch of ways like hitting keywords and hiding instructions (none of the AI touched resumes ever did anything and I felt dirty trying that...) but also just trying to give advice on what to change and then rewriting it myself and I've spent hours with one doing interview prep to get a consistent "S" rating. One of my friends who was ISP'd too started a website business so I asked him to make me a little professional one and a couple interviews mentioned things that were only there so I feel like that helped a lot. I had to buy the domain for that so I registered a professional email address with my name too. I've tried messaging hiring managers and contacts, and trying to follow up on applications. I've tried showing up in person to talk with a manager and apply (It was really embarrassing, it felt like they were laughing at me for trying this) or just follow up on an application. Tried being honest in the little checkbox disclosure about disability, and "lying" by not checking it. I've gone to job fairs and even practiced my handshake (lol)... Maybe I'm invisible or there's a weird quirk in most systems that marks me NULL or something.

Anyway... hoping everyone else has had some better luck than I have. It'd be great if I was an outlier and you all did better, but if I'm not I don't know how anyone's getting by these days...

Trying to post this for the third time. Keeps getting taken down. Asking when DF will be replaced. For his efforts in losing talented team members and hundreds of millions in AUM, he was rewarded with the Chief Investment Officer role for the fifth largest bank in the US-you heard that right. Leadership, and I use that term loosely, has lost scads of talent and BILLIONS of assets under management. No one ever pays the price in PWM. When Minneapolis lost their most talented team members, and some of its most lucrative relationships-those managers remained in chair. There are never any repercussions, unless you point out the problems which are so glaringly obvious. The dirty kittle secret in PWM is that the thing driving sales is banking-primarily mortgages, which don't even count towards goals at any private death shop worth its salt. Those of us who have been in chair for a long time will muddle through. Younger members should run not walk to get out of here.

What happened to the other BU's that were sold off? Did all employees get laid off?
To be sold off seems like a good thing at this point, or is that just wishful thinking?

It won’t ever happen as they know they will have a mass exodus and left with the cr-p. Nice thought but nope won’t ever happen your reviews and the bean counters are the ones going to make the decision.

I know a lot of employees are rightfully frustrated with the stress-induced layoffs over the last few years. The truth is that management is honestly listening and trying to do its part to make things better. One of the behaviors that can cascade stress to the workforce is leaders temperament and mood changing in relation to commodity markets. It shouldn’t matter whether markets are high or low, we should continue to treat one another with dignity and respect. When leaders panic because markets change, it cascades stress to the rest of the workforce. We have to continue to remind ourselves that it is a marathon and not a sprint and the best way to reduce restlessness in the workforce is remaining calm irrespective of what the market does.

I skipped the last blow hard circlej--kAnyone care to give a short autopsy?

Hey fellow riders of the wonderful hellish stage coach. I had been feeling hopeful again where I had been applying for thousands of jobs and after countless rejections. I’m finally getting offers for jobs. I had been feeling so hopeless up until these last few weeks and I appreciate you guys here. Despite the horrible situation we are in, it feels somewhat somber to have some comrades in the trenches.

The executives in charge are the worst and the toxic environment they are making where there is mistrust, total chaos in the name of efficiency and total lack of professionalism from forced in office, biweekly layoffs of good people, peanut 2% raises and the refurbished POS laptops that they gave out. I’m wanting others to also feel hope and to hang on.

When you and your manager have an obviously broken working dynamic, when some people who dislike you influence your manager, when you’re deliberately given assignments designed to rank you , PIP communication itself is firm from day one and their body language shows zero positivity, when they hand you a long list of vague expectations, monitor every move, invade your privacy, and openly discuss your situation with others, and when they assign “coaches” to you just to build a case ... you’re being set up to fail.

But when a manager tells you it’s okay that you were ranked in a new CL and that you can work through it together, when expectations are clear, when documentation is minimal or none, when they protect your privacy, put you on visible projects, give you meaningful roles, and advocate for you .... they’re preparing to pass you.

How is IBM able to maintain such a consistent track record - This would also mean for every 4 people who get assigned a PIP, only 1 would fail and be terminated. With the increase in number of PIPs that are being assigned to avoid WARN notice and save on the severance packages, the number of employees who continue to grow at IBM should also increase. Is that happening?

We all know that FIS is working hard to get sold to other company.
When that eventually happens then Executives will get millions of dollars as bonuses.

Why to work such company where there are no growth prospects. The leadership is looking for own "get quick rich" route.

I was off my buddy try to say his manager mentioned that a EISP was being announced.Anyone hear any real info that was new

Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center has announced significant layoffs. These job reductions will impact numerous employees. The facility is also relocating patients. Community members are expressing concern over these changes. The full implications for care remain unclear.

Cape Girardeau, MO

https://www.kfvs12.com/video/2026/07/25/community-reacts-layoffs-patient-relocations-choate-mental-health-developmental-center/

The state of Illinois is implementing a plan to lay off employees and relocate patients from Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to reform care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Community members have expressed concerns about the economic impact of these changes on the local area. The facility has seen a significant decrease in its developmental disabilities population since 2023. Affected employees will be offered positions at other state-run facilities.

Anna, IL

https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/07/25/community-reacts-layoffs-patient-relocations-choate-mental-health-developmental-center/

H&M will be laying off 76 employees at its corporate office in New York City on September 4th. This decision is a part of a larger strategy to improve operational flexibility and efficiency within the company. The company acknowledged the significant impact of these changes on affected employees. H&M stated its commitment to providing support and resources during this transition period. This move reflects ongoing adjustments in the retail sector's corporate structures.

https://fashionista.com/2026/07/pirelli-calendar-2027-cast-concept-india

Does anyone actually know people who have left specifically because of RTO?
Are they waiting to put their notice in?

Everyone says they’re going to but I haven’t seen it. I’d be interested to know.

Where have people gone who have left the company?

Music technology firm inMusic has reportedly laid off approximately 100 employees from its subsidiary, Native Instruments. These alleged job cuts have impacted all departments within the company. Native Instruments has declined to comment on the situation. This follows inMusic's acquisition of Native Instruments earlier this year. The company had previously entered preliminary insolvency proceedings.

https://musictech.com/news/industry/why-did-inmusic-lay-off-100-employees-from-native-instruments/