#morale

Yesterday’s memo saying “effective Tuesday, 1,800 people will be laid off” hit me hard because of the timing and the lack of clarity.

Why announce something like that on a Thursday and then expect everyone to carry on as usual until Tuesday? The uncertainty is exhausting. It affects morale, focus, and the trust we have in leadership. And to do this right before the holidays feels especially disheartening. We work here. We contribute. We care. We deserve to be treated with respect and compassion.

I truly believe this could have been handled differently. Private conversations with impacted team members, or at least a clearer timeline, would have shown care and transparency. Providing support for those waiting and acknowledging what this means for real people and their families would have gone a long way.

To everyone still showing up and doing their best right now: you matter. Your work matters. This moment is difficult, but you are showing strength and professionalism that leadership should be proud of.

There is a lot of uncertainty about which departments will be impacted, and I honestly do not know what will happen. Many are wondering if the Service Delivery Enablement umbrella, including TES Operations, Resource and Ops Enablement, Workforce Management, Project Management, Global Business Integrations, and Quality, are safe. Much of this work is being shifted to TII, but there are already challenges with execution that are not being discussed openly. TII is being given a pass because they are more cost-effective on paper, yet the true cost is being felt by the people who built the systems, processes, and culture that keep this company running. It is painful to watch valuable knowledge and commitment being replaced by cost-saving metrics.

We deserve better communication, empathy, and honesty. And for now, all we can do is continue to support each other and take pride in how we show up in the middle of so much uncertainty.

a decade+ of bad calls have wrecked the org. period...

Merch is an utter mess. It used to be elite - now it is junk. sooo hard to see how they recruit.

The brass tanked the stock valuation with suic_idal blunders.

Perhaps, I'm emotionally immature or just not used to toxic work culture.

Fido manager seem to dump last min work items on you and react in a way they own you.

And worse part, they let someone who fricking can't even understand anything remotely technical to present your hard work.

In what way is this healthy??? They make you do all the dirty work while someone less deserving steals all the credit with no appreciation for your slogging.

I’ve been here just over 10 years since graduating college, and in that time I’ve seen it all. The broken promises, the bad decisions, and the constant spin from leadership. Through it all, I stayed because I truly like my job, the work I do, and the people I work with. I take pride in what I do and I’m good at it.

But this five-day RTO has crossed the line. If it doesn’t change before next year, I’ll be gone. And I’m not alone. So many of us who’ve stuck through every mess and every round of “transformation” are already looking elsewhere. It makes no sense to stay when other companies offer better pay, better benefits, and the flexibility we need to actually live our lives.

It’s time to face reality. The experienced people are leaving, the older generation is retiring, and the younger workforce won’t tolerate this outdated model. Keep pushing this policy and you’ll be left with empty offices and a hollow company.

RTO needs to be rolled back before it’s too late. The message is clear, even if leadership refuses to hear it.

But we all know none of them will be affected. You all know who I'm talking about. People who barely do anything but are really good at a-s kissing and yes manning. I'm sure every team has at least one of them, and they've been here forever despite contributing the bare minimum. And they'll still be here after this round is done, while some great employees will be gone. Sad but true.

I doubt the higher ups would announce more layoffs so close to the holidays. They probably want to avoid the negative press that would come with it.

I say this with love to all my fellow brethern. I think it has become quite apparent that omnissa has no interest in its staff or its customers and there are a lot of reasons which many have covered but we serfs must look at the facts. The management said the books are in great shape but nobody that I know got 100PC of their bonus. They are clearly lying. The products are worse now and have not evolved. They dont have enough staff and they refuse to hire more, opting to create more management. Product managers are terrible and have been there for years feeding from the troughs. Staff are now leaving including myself so its only going to get a lot worse. There has been clear open corruption and clear violation of law. There is no integrity, morality or humanity and frankly the place is being run into the ground like a third world sweat shop. Management and the shhep who feed from their teets are going nowhere and KKR is clearly a crack pot organisation that likes throwing money down the drain. Its time to move on folks. It would take millions of dollars to bring this company back to relevance again. All ourcompetors have their own self hosted offerings on their own cloud infra and we dont adding extra costs for customers. Our products have no USP to draw in customers and frankly engineering are a complete disaster with bugs galore, putting sticky plasters on their disastrous code which normally regresses by the next version because there is little to no qa done. The company complies with Indian standards which as we all know are really low. My advise is to another job before you become another casualty of Ben and shankars circus act. Next year they are going to try and off load this car crash, pull the rug and run with their dividends. You will be the last thing on their minds, not that you were ever there in the first place.

When's the last time that happened?

Oh man, are they in for a rude awakening.

We’re a full year into mandatory 5-day RTO and what exactly has it accomplished? The stock is tanking, morale is gone, and the “culture” they promised doesn’t exist.

Wasn’t RTO supposed to be part of some grand plan to save the company? To drive performance? To lift the stock? Because all I see is decline across every metric that matters.

So yeah, maybe it was just another lie. I’m done here. I thought I could stick it out but I can’t do this another year for this dog of a company. Best of luck to all!

This is the second tech AMA where you are only allowed to discuss "AI". Why not let the meeting serve its original purpose? Let associates ask what they are wondering about. Sure, ask AI questions, but people should be encouraged to ask what they want. What a tone deaf joke given the state of morale.

Is anyone else feeling vibes from their old and newly hired “younger” coworkers suggesting that they should be retiring soon? Yes I was offered VERP but I’m nowhere near retirement age. Now that I am clearly the oldest person in my group, the atmosphere feels off and it's making me uncomfortable. I’m starting to wonder if I made a mistake not taking it

Our team just lost one of its best to these layoffs. I honestly thought anyone else would have been let go before him. He-l, I thought I’d be gone before he was. None of this makes any sense. Why would any company choose to let go of some of its best people? Where’s the logic in that?

Client success teammates received an email from Shelley today confirming that return to office 5 days a week applies to us as well. You can understand how taken aback we were considering we only have 2 months to adjust to this new norm. Not sure how they think the entire department will fit in all of the hubs 5 days a week with the space constraints. The worst part is that TM’s hired during and after Covid that lived hours away were told if they lived 50 miles or more they would be fully remote while the rest of us returned to work. Those of us that have been with the company for years that are showing up week after week are making all the sacrifices. How is that fair? Here’s the kicker: when it was Suntrust prior to Covid, we were on a 3 day work week so hybrid was never new to us it was always the norm. Do they not realize that the only thing keeping us here was the work flexibility? With that out the door there is nothing keeping us from jumping ship and looking for something closer with more money. Teammates take a stand together. We need to learn to stick up for ourselves and collectively say “no!” They need us. They can’t fire us all.

Payoffs this month in legal and strategy dept aka “SEAL” this month after their new CLSO is slashing jobs left and right. Horrible morale for those who stayed. The way the layoffs are handled is stone cold and heartless.

Why does he hate the upstream so much when they make the money. Many of the underhanded tactics are focused on making the profitable upstream like the low cost / low margin downstream. Did he hate Liam so much that he is f us now Liam retired. He has handcuffed any upstreamer that can challenge him. Can upstream ever come back or we on the downward spiral now forever

Constant reduction in talent, structural cost reductions, feedback like we are going to squeeze until something breaks. How can we maximize shareholder value for the long term when we are just focused on the drive to the bottom.

This company is pure garbage. I've never witnessed such a debacle in my life. Everything about it is toxic, the commercials, the service, the agents, the cr-p workforce and leadership. I talked to a customer recently that said the same thing and said it appears we are only interested advertising stupid commercials, putting our name on stadiums, stupid Bateman commercials, and paying Patrick Mahomes more money. She said after 30 years with SF she is moving all of their policies because we have become like every other company and could care less about the customer and its employees. She said that she could tell everyone she spoke to sounded absolutely miserable and hated their jobs. She had heard MT got a $24 million dollar bonus while she is getting a 17% rate hike. I couldn't say a word but she couldn't have been more right! Place is a sh-t hole!

We’re all worried, and for good reasons. Everyone’s throwing around random numbers and dates, and it’s making things worse. Being snarky because someone’s anxious about their job isn’t helping anyone. Most of us are in the same boat - stressed about debt, bills, and the worrying lack of opportunities out there.

Survey; are they any GT teams left that feel supported and content with their leaders, VP’s and above? Or is that a thing of the past?

Those who avoid being laid off might be considered lucky, but think about it. These layoffs will be huge. Teams will be losing multiple people. Who'll be doing the work they used to do going forward, since it certainly not going to disappear? People are about to have their workloads double and their pay remain the same.

For the past five years at least it's been one bad thing after another. Why can't something good happen, for once? Why is it always layoffs and lost benefits and other similar cr-p? I really, really hate this place.

Anyone who truly cares about their work and their job, anyone who has an inherent desire to show up and do the best they can, anyone who has the beloved “Protestant work ethic,” will end up in a mad house.

The way to win is to simply stop caring. Nod enthusiastically as your boss pretends to care about you. Smile to anyone above you. Offload as much work as you can to other departments you know are also overworked and undertrained and won’t do the job correctly. Stop caring about the people you support, the company, or even your own perspective of being a hard worker that does what is right. Put 20% effort in at all times. Enthusiastically go along with whatever new initiative is that you absolutely know will fail, in fact, be a cheerleader for it! Tell all your colleagues how great and amazing it is you will be rewarded.

Adopt the mask that you initially judged other people for. Outwardly be a yes man. Inwardly, stop giving a single shred of attention to your job beyond what it takes to not get fired. Going above and beyond will do nothing for your career.

Being absolutely mediocre but pretending to be a sycophant will get you promotions and awards. Caring means you might actually try and solve problems or bring attention to leadership about why things don’t work. They do not want that. Being worried about your own quality of work and the people you support means you might express your workload is untenable and you need help, they don’t want that. So remove the human element completely. You are a salesman, not just for clients, but for every person you work with. Promise them the moon and deliver a brick of concrete, and tell them how much work and pride you put into it. To get to where they are, they also know to play the game, and will nod and pat you on the back and tell you what a good boy you are. And maybe even give you an award for it!

Schwab cares about appearances over absolutely everything else. Through the clients eyes means: make sure the client doesn’t see all of the absolute tu-ds that you deliver to them. Dress it up prettily. Tell them the diminished service and products and attention they get is actually for their benefit. And do the same for every single person you work with and for.

I’m greatly disappointment in this company for sending an email encouraging employees to sign up for their annual benefits knowing most won’t be here in 2026. It feels incredibly insensitive and tone deaf. I understand that this is business, but we are also human and that should come with some sort of empathy.

From a former Marathon employee who experienced the anxiety last year, I know how hard it is. The impression given was Conoco is a good company trying to do right by people but the operating model needs significant change to stay competitive. This is a difficult process and it won’t happen overnight.

Hang tough and know there is a bright future ahead for you in this industry or another!

If you’re not in the inner circle, your ideas get crushed before they even leave your mouth. They protect each other at all costs and make it impossible for anything new or useful to actually get done. I'm about ready to walk away because this has become unbearable.

This place is full of people who would su-k up to a potted plant if it meant a promotion. They can’t do the work, they don’t care about anyone else but themselves, but somehow they’re moving up while those of us who are doing the actual work get ignored. Make it make sense.

But that never happens, because they don’t give a damn about the employees or how any of this affects us.

until Nike returns to growth and business feels good again? Not sure how much longer I can take this stress.

And they’re doing this by allowing manager discretion with missed hours. Several folks on my team were pulled into a special session to reiterate the new rules last week. As we scanned the room, we quickly realized a common theme: we all have kids.

Meanwhile, coworkers who come in late due to doctor or dentist appointments or counseling or physical therapy are allowed to skirt the 8 hour rule. It’s clear that parents have been singled out as the low hanging fruit during this recent crackdown.

I’m finding it hard not to be resentful of those around me who aren’t being held to the same standard, and I’m beginning to think that’s Just how WF wants it.

This guy is the best CEO since McKnight. 3M is humming along under his brilliant leadership. Huge earnings. Morale higher than ever. Lazy people are leaving. What's not to love here. Now get back to work you quiet quitting clowns.

Seeing more important people leaving every week. Even our senior management seems to be making plans of their own to bail. Hope it can last until the first of the year when hiring picks up so that I can leave too

Morale is in the toilet, it takes teams 10x as long to build anything meaningful in tech. No good requirements from business to even build anything. We continue to invest in things that are failing or aren't even thought through. It's just been a bunch of 32 plus managers trying to meet their goals to get big bonuses by being yes men and not innovating anything, laying people off to pretend to have profitability. Now we are seeing the fallout from these decisions. Optum used to be a company I was proud to say I worked for. But I have little faith, even my own manager is having a hard time getting us motivated. Fear will only motivate the masses for so long. Then people stop caring. The Indians are not gonna put up with this either, Optum is one of the lower paying employers in India too and they all know it. What IS the long term plan guys? Do you all think past the next earnings report? Because these decisions are not made by a company who is seeking long term financial gains. Good strong companies treat their employees like gold, not trash. The job market will change, the Indians will go to Humana or some other healthcare company that treats them with respect, and the Americans will be done with you. My advice? Invest in your long term employees. Especially considering that many of us have so much domain expertise that will put your systems in harm's way if you lose us.

BNY Mellon employees are voicing deep concerns about layoffs, offshoring, and leadership transparency. Sentiment ranges from frustration and distrust to resignation and strategic exit planning.

Below are current results of the Top 15 employee concerns, associated employee sentiments and reactions to leadership responses. These are actual results (with a hint of humor) based on current internet discussions and reports from multiple sources.

Top 15 Concerns & Sentiment Breakdown:

1. Offshoring to Pune, India
   📉 Employee Sentiment: Betrayal, anxiety, and the creeping suspicion that their job just got a one-way ticket to another time zone. Frustration, betrayal, fear of redundancy.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “Global talent optimization.” Translation: cheaper labor, dismissive of U.S. talent, fewer complaints, and better PowerPoint formatting. Cost-driven, efficiency-focused; perceived as dismissive of U.S. talent.

2. Forced Ranking & Performance-Based Exits
   📉 Employee Sentiment: Hunger Games meets HR. Everyone’s a “low performer” eventually. Anxiety, distrust in fairness.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “Driving a high-performance culture.” Also, a great way to trim headcount without calling it a layoff. Justified as "performance culture"; seen as opaque and arbitrary.

3. Closure of Wilmington & Other U.S. Sites
   📉 Employee Sentiment: Shock, grief, and a sudden interest in Zillow listings in Delaware. Anger, helplessness, lack of relocation support.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “Strategic footprint realignment.” Bonus points for announcing it via Teams chat at 4:59 PM on a Friday. Framed as strategic consolidation; perceived as abrupt and lacking empathy.

4. AI-Driven Role Elimination
   📉 Employee Sentiment: “I trained the bot that replaced me.” Skepticism, fear of being replaced.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “Innovation at scale.” Also, the AI doesn’t ask for raises or take mental health days. Promoted as innovation; seen as lacking in human impact planning.

5. Unequal Salary Increases
   📉 Employee Sentiment: Analysts got a 20% bump. VPs got a “thank you” and a free meditation app. Frustration, betrayal, perceived favoritism.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “Market-aligned compensation strategy.” Also, “We’ll circle back on that.” Leadership disconnected from frontline realities.

6. Lack of Transparency in Layoff Criteria
   📉 Employee Sentiment: Rumors, paranoia, and Teams channels named 'Who’s-Next. Distrust, rumors, emotional exhaustion.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “We can’t comment on individual cases.” Also, “Please refer to the FAQ we updated 3 minutes ago.” Avoids specifics; messaging seen as evasive and legally sanitized.

7. Decline of Pittsburgh as a Growth Hub
   📉 Employee Sentiment: Nostalgia, resentment, and a sudden uptick in LinkedIn activity. Disappointment, strategic exit planning.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “Decentralized innovation.” Also, “We’re excited about our 3 strategic growth centers and lower cost, consolidated real estate holdings.” Quietly deprioritized; perceived as abandoning legacy locations.

8. Severance Inconsistencies & Unemployment Eligibility
   📉 Employee Sentiment: Confused, lawyer-curious, and Googling “constructive dismissal.” Confusion, fear of financial instability.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “We’re following all applicable laws.” Also, “We appreciate your service.” Legally cautious; seen as ethically indifferent and inconsistent.

9. Culture of Waiting for Retirement or the Next Cut
   📉 Employee Sentiment: Zombie mode. Badge in, badge out. Resignation, disengagement.
   🎩 Leadership Perception: “Voluntary attrition is a natural part of transformation.” Also, “We’re building a future-ready workforce.” Not directly addressed; perceived as passive acceptance of attrition.

10. Global Workforce Imbalance & Morale
    📉 Employee Sentiment: U.S. teams feel ghosted. Offshore teams feel ghostwritten. Fractured teams, resentment across regions.
    🎩 Leadership Perception: “One global team.” Except some teams are more 'global' than others. Framed as global optimization; seen as favoring offshore growth over U.S. retention.

11. Leadership Communication Style
    📉 Employee Sentiment: Corporate Mad Libs with a side of gaslighting. Cynicism, fatigue.
    🎩 Leadership Perception: “Transparent and empathetic.” Also, “We’re listening.” (But only to shareholder sentiment, not you.) Polished but vague; perceived as disconnected and overly scripted.

12. Strategic Ambiguity in Transformation Plans
    📉 Employee Sentiment: “What are we transforming into, exactly?” Confusion, lack of trust.
    🎩 Leadership Perception: “Agile, resilient, and future-focused.” Also, “That's a broken sprint and we may pick that up in our 2026 PI-3 planning.” Buzz-word heavy; seen as lacking clear direction or accountability.

13. Declining Internal Mobility
    📉 Employee Sentiment: “Apply internally” = “Apply to be ignored.” Hopelessness, stagnation.
    🎩 Leadership Perception: “We encourage career growth.” Just not here. Or now. Or for you. Not prioritized; perceived as undermining career development.

14. Performative Wellness Initiatives
    📉 Employee Sentiment: “I lost my job, but at least I got a free access to Spring Health's mindfulness self-help app.” Eye-rolling, sarcasm.
    🎩 Leadership Perception: “We care deeply about your well-being.” Especially when it doesn’t cost anything. Promoted heavily; viewed as superficial and misaligned with actual stressors.

15. Erosion of Institutional Loyalty
    📉 Employee Sentiment: “I used to bleed for BNY Mellon. Now I just bleed.” Exit planning, emotional detachment.
    🎩 Leadership Perception: “We’re evolving our culture.” Into what, no one knows. Possibly a chatbot. Not acknowledged; perceived as collateral damage of transformation strategy.

Summary Themes:

• Strategic Distrust: Employees feel decisions are driven by cost-cutting, not stewardship.
• Emotional Fatigue: Layoff cycles and vague transformation language have worn down morale.
• Leadership Disconnect: Senior leaders are viewed as detached, evasive, and overly polished.
• Exit Momentum: Younger and mid-career professionals are actively seeking roles elsewhere.

In summary, BNY Mellon's transformation strategy is widely perceived by employees as a cost-cutting campaign disguised in corporate jargon, marked by offshoring, opaque layoffs, and performative wellness. Leadership is seen as detached and scripted, while morale erodes under forced rankings, AI-driven exits, and strategic ambiguity.

What do you think? Please share in the comments.

Corporations are learning fast from each other how to sc--w employees over, and get rid of them on the cheap, or better yet, for free. Just watch the RTO conditions keep piling up until enough people quit because they can’t or won’t meet them. They don’t care that full RTO pushes the best out first, as people with strong resumes have options. But then again, when was the last time they cared about skill or competence?