#morale

Has anyone heard anything concrete about more layoffs coming?

If someone is telling you not to talk to those of us who were laid off because you might “catch” whatever we have, please ignore that advice.

We’re not contagious. We’re just people who got caught in a business decision.

Getting laid off is socially strange. Suddenly people who were friendly colleagues start treating you like you have a disease they don’t want to catch. They were work acquaintances, not real friends, and layoffs expose that pretty quickly.

Here’s the thing: your loyalty and tenure aren’t going to save you if your number comes up. The people who distance themselves might be on the other side of this tomorrow. The ones who step up and stay human through this? Those are your real friends - remember who they are.

If you’re being told to avoid us, ask yourself what that says about the culture you’re working in right now.

I have been here for more than ten years and it feels like nothing has changed. No appreciation, no respect, and the same toxic setup year after year. People who care end up burned out, while bad behavior gets ignored. If anyone is thinking of joining, look somewhere that values its people.

Placing engineers—especially those expected to think deeply, design complex systems, and solve nuanced problems—in a call center-style environment is typically a recipe for reduced productivity, poor morale, and suboptimal work quality. Here's a breakdown of what you might expect:
🔇 1. Disruption of Deep Work
Engineering requires focus. Complex problem-solving, debugging, architecture decisions, and coding often need extended periods of uninterrupted concentration (aka “deep work”).
In a call center-like environment—loud, crowded, constant interruptions—engineers will struggle to reach that mental state.
Expect more errors, slower progress, and lower code quality.
😤 2. Morale and Retention Issues
Engineers typically value autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
A call center setup implies surveillance, noise, lack of control over the environment, and potentially even micromanagement.
Result? Burnout, disengagement, and eventually attrition. You may lose your best talent first.
🧠 3. Shallow Thinking Becomes the Norm
When you're in a reactive environment—like one focused on pings and constant chatter—people naturally start thinking short-term.
Instead of proactive design and long-term systems thinking, engineers will fall into reactive, band-aid solutions.
📉 4. Decline in Innovation
Innovation thrives in environments where people have space to experiment, reflect, and collaborate thoughtfully.
The call center model is built for throughput, not thoughtfulness.
Expect fewer new ideas, missed architectural risks, and weaker long-term planning.
🤝 5. Poor Collaboration
Ironically, while open or call center-style setups are often justified as “promoting collaboration,” in reality:
They often increase distractions rather than useful conversations.
Real collaboration requires intentional, focused communication, not random drive-by chats or overheard meetings.

🛠️ Putting engineers in a call center environment is like asking a concert pianist to practice in a food court. Sure, they might play something—but it won’t be their best work, and they probably won’t stick around.

Isn’t it or shouldn’t it be illegal to force managers to rank employees and making sure at least one or more are below a meets? Between layoffs and firings departments got rid of low performers now only to leave the existing employees to pick up the departed employees work and now some to be hit with a not meets. and if managers don’t do this then they get the not meets.

Something seriously needs to give. We get they want to get rid of tenured skilled knowledgeable and possibly higher paid employees so they can bring in lower paid college grads but do they seriously not realize the risk they are opening themselves to? It’s a matter of time before the regs hit again and this time it’s bc of the lessening of controls and people working that have no idea what a control even is let alone fix a problem. Then they will want to bring back all the knowledge that the let go.

The people who run this company are AMAZING! Thank you Mike, Srini and Deeanne! We Love you! ❤️ ❤️❤️

The people "leading" this company are some of the worst people I have ever worked with in my entire career.

Sometimes I look around and realize this place has turned into a waiting room for people hoping to reach retirement before the next round of cuts. The younger ones are already planning their exits and who can blame them? The middle group is stuck trying to decide if it’s worth holding on or if it’s finally time to jump ship before things get even worse.

Meanwhile, the executives keep cashing in and talking about strategic realignment while the rest of us carry the weight and worry about the next reorg. They’ll be fine no matter what happens. The rest of us are just line items on a spreadsheet waiting to be erased.

I know the usual peeps on here will say it is your fault for staying, but it does make me angry and sad how the EC and senior leaders show no humanity to employees. They may have tough business decisions (yeah, yeah, I know as a result of their stupidity) to make but they can’t be decent or kind at all. Basic stuff like asking how people are, 1-1 sessions, managers remembering your kids name, at the start of a conversation or meeting asking what people have been doing (before launching into their script) bla bla bla ….. it just normal human behavour. You do this with your neighbours at home so why can’t they manage it at work ??? Very sad 😞

It’s been a literal bloodbath, with little to no official information, and people are reporting layoffs basically everywhere. The US seems to have been hit especially hard. This tells me we’ve been in worse shape than anyone thought, and that this round is just the beginning of more chaos. If the rumored numbers are true, there’s no coming back from this to anything even remotely resembling BD as we knew it.

It feels like every few months someone else is being shown the door, and it’s taking a real toll on what’s left of the team. We lose skilled people faster than we can train new ones, and the work keeps getting shuffled around until no one really owns anything. Morale is at rock bottom because nobody knows if they’ll be next, and that kind of fear makes it impossible to do your best work. What’s worse is watching all that experience walk out the door straight into our competitors. If leadership doesn’t stop treating layoffs like a fix-all, there won’t be much of a company left to rebuild.

I have been here long enough to see how much things have changed, and it is hard not to miss what Oracle used to be. I still try to find reasons to stay, but each year it gets tougher to feel proud of the work. I keep hoping leadership will turn things around, yet the same issues keep showing up. Maybe it is me holding on to what was, but I am not ready to give up just yet.

I don’t want your Loyalty.

They don’t do anything with the results anyway.

Imagine how bad the Q3 results are. I was pi---d and I'm not happy to be in these cuts and scrambling for work, but I am happy to be out of that toxic mess. Please let us know who were cut what a mess the next town hall or the earnings call is.
Soulless pricks in this leadership team that has buried a 120 year old company. What a bunch of complete losers.

We are hearing inside whispers that some on the board, executive committee, and rank and file are starting to lose confidence in "T" Brown Duckett. She came in 2021 on a DEI high with lots of fanfare to replace Roger Ferguson who was snake bit at the end by mounting scandals and lawsuits. Now, with outflows at record highs, massive over spend by the Frisco experiment, and mounting legal and PR challenges, some are contending that Duckett step aside so that a turnaround artist can take charge of the helmless sinking ship to right it's course. We are hearing decisions will be made in the next 18 months on a possible sea change of direction.

RTO is just one of them. I hate this company and my job. If there were any real opportunities out there right now, I’d be out the door in a second. As things stand, we’re all just at the mercy of swelling corporate greed.

I can’t wait to be one of the “chosen ones” in the upcoming cuts. But I’m truly sorry for my younger colleagues, especially those carrying heavier burdens than most and now facing the possibility of losing their jobs. It’s brutal out there right now, and for the sake of the many good and decent people I’ve met here over the years, I really hope things improve soon. When they do, never tie your entire career or self-worth to one company. Your true value is yours alone, not defined by corporate expectations.

In Penny's Page dated 10/13/25 it talked about the concept of Ikigai. For those who do not waste their time reading Penny's garbage anymore Ikigai is the intersection of doing what you love, doing what the world needs, getting paid for what you are doing, and doing what you are great at. Penny has either forced people into the unemployment line or has demoted people who once obtained Ikigai. Let's review this for a second. Those people no longer do what they love as they are either unemployed or are now working for a firm and leaders they do not trust and no longer love. The ones who have been laid off are no longer doing what the world needs. The ones who have been demoted are still doing what the world needs as they are still serving their clients who they love despite the failed leadership. The people who Penny has laid off are no longer getting paid for what they do. The demoted people are no longer being paid what they deserve for doing what they do. The people Penny laid off are no longer doing what they had become great at after years of perfecting their craft. Many of the demoted associates have been placed on teams without any direction as to what their function will be due to poor restructuring leadership. I find it laughable how Penny's Page is talking about Ikigai when Penny is doing anything but promoting Ikigai. I also noticed company cheerleader (that is all she is good for), JK, was on the panel talking about this false concept at Edward Jones. The article also brings up that if you feel like you are too small to make a difference you have not spent a night with a mosquito. Well, that is absolutely true. The mosquito is the most deadly animal on earth to humans. At Edward Jones Penny is the mosquito.

I have a feeling that announcing layoffs then making us wait and not saying when is intentional. They're creating a stressful atmosphere where everybody is constantly worried and some might even decide to quit if it goes on for too long. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid, but it feels intentional.

Don't forget everyone, its national bosses day. While employees are faced with WFRs, little to no raises, no promotions, evolving job responsibilitiesand last years RSU bonuses are worth considerably less than what they were issued at. Make sure to give your boss a thank you.

Fun time, but I sure won't miss Oracle and all its nonsense....

My most minor gripe that would make me 0.5% happier about being in the office 5x days a week is better coffee. Also, why are we nickel and diming employees for drip coffee from the cafe..

I’ve given my department too many chances and it’s starting to be foolish for me to stay and expect different.

Are there departments at the firm where if you ask a manager for help, they will actually be there to help not just blab on about the nonsense “I want to make sure you get the support you need” then being the biggest waste of time.

I thought about it and at first it made me mad that managers would always try to “put that back on you” but now i understand they just don’t know how to find the answers and aren’t willing to do any actual work.

Are there team out there where a manager will actually benefit the team and be there to offer guidance not just the fluff “support” that is a filler word for just ignoring you

How long do we have to endure MW and MN? Their presence is like a lingering infestation—impossible to shake. They've clearly lost the confidence of both the team and the supporters. At some point, leadership has to be held accountable. A head coach who deflects all blame onto the players while basking in media attention as if he's the savior is not a leader—he’s a liability.

If you're still giving 100% to Chevron, it's time to ask yourself: why?

Show yourself some respect and match their effort—which is basically zero. Some will say, “But I have a strong work ethic.” That’s admirable, but let’s be real: they don’t care about you.

Would a company that cares:

Slash mental health coverage during a mental health crisis?

Lie to its employees about the future?

Protect executive perks while laying off the people who actually do the work?

Call itself a “proud American company” while offshoring thousands of jobs to India?

No? Then stop pretending they deserve your loyalty. I’m on minimum viable effort until this so-called “leadership” is gone. They’ve earned nothing more.

This is the third time this week I got a bounce back email from someone who is no longer with the company is this the beginning of the end!? Tmc is brutal and moral is bad under her being president are people just quitting or getting let go? I already have been talking to friends who work at NB and Converse and the news about PNA is bad with wholesale accounts.

Let me preface this by saying that I understand and support that in the US everyone is free to look for a better opportunity.   I also support that the company needs to change in order to compete and drive value to the shareholders.  
Assuming an employee makes it to January and supports these ideals we haven't heard what that means to the employee.  The reality is more than a few must work for a living not just for their passion.  Right now, without any communication to that end, we are facing up to a 17% increase in health care costs (10% discount program removed and increased employee cost 7%) plus the additional cost of going to the office everyday.  When will you be able to communicate something in relation to the financial benefits of working faster and harder other than being lucky to work here? 

I hope everyone being laid off will land on their feet soon. And I truly hope this will be the last round of layoffs for a long time, because these cuts hurt not only employees but also our patients.

Once again the last to leave the office.
Staying late to pick up the slack for others.
Why do I do it? Why do I care?
No one notices. No one rewards.
Left behind and looked over.
Managers and VPs don’t shake my hand.
Do they even know I exist?
Feeling sad. Forgotten. Unappreciated.
If we are ExxonMobil what am I?
Not part of the club. Alone.

It's just these two people (nothing against them, they're just doing their jobs) lecturing us for an hour about the "value" of SalesChat and how to use this trash.

My favorite part is all the participants are in collective, yet silent agreement that this is so damn d-mb that nobody is participating. Our breakout rooms are just 10 minutes of silence since all 4 of us can't be arsed to gaf about this garbage.

I can't believe they're still pushing this garbage tool on us.

Is anyone having meaningful discussions about the SPS results? With organizational leadership as low as it is, the LT response continues to be something along the lines of, “well we’re going through a reorg so that’s why we’re rated low.” That’s been the message since 2020. Does anyone have any thoughts around how to get the message to land when there is an actual bad leader at either a VP or EVP level? Trying to brainstorm and ask for advice on how other people have tried to explain it. The notion that the SPS is our voice is gone ever since they removed the free text fields.

1. Lay off the people who do a task.
2. Don’t assign anyone else to the task.
3. Be surprised when the task doesn’t get done.
4. Profit?

If any of you were around in 2015 (I think?) for the layoffs/merch transformation— what was it like? Was it devastating and terrible? Did morale plummet? I’m trying to brace myself for what’s to potentially come, and not just the mass layoff itself but the entire gravity of the situation. I’ve been at Target since 2018 but I’m still young, not married, don’t own a house, etc. If I lose my job I don’t know what the he-l I’m going to do or how I’ll achieve any of the goals I hoped I would in the next few years. I’m so scared.

Constantly new changes, every few weeks there’s another round of layoffs, now this RTO cr-p... You start to wonder if it’ll ever stop. Most of us are exhausted and anxious, and are just waiting for the next announcement. That can't be good for productivity, not at all.

Realistically, all of us who work for Xerox know layoffs are always a possibility, but it's still not something that's easy to digest when it actually happens. If it's any consolation, two coworkers left on their own in the last two months, both to new and better jobs, which means that the job market might not be as bad as most of us think. In any case, good luck!

It's hard to imagine any positive scenario for the worker now that Sycamore is in the driver's seat. Private Equity is brutal and anyone in bed with PE will go through multiple cycles of pain and tears. At this point we'll have to see how small of an org Sycamore wants as they are only interested in milking cash flow and paying off the loans they took to buy us (and they will do it with our own money). I think I know how this will play out, it's the same old playbook - get a loan, buy a company, pay off the loan with loans the acquired company takes & milk cashflow, improve cashflow by cutting cost and labor, spin off or sell the company. PE gets rich and everyone else gets fu---d.

How on earth does the CEO keep his job when he delivers this :
a catastrophic decline is stock price,
dividend cut to nothing,
declining revenues,
declining profit,
an acquisition of a loss making competitor,
staff morale at rock bottom, no pay rises for staff

and the only certainty is more redundancies.

How is this a ‘Re-invention’ ??????

As an employee, the optics of this look absolutely horrible. You tell us people are going to be fired, yet this turdass is traveling around doing no real tech work—just parroting buzzwords. Instead of flying this tu-d business class, why not use those funds to buy pizzas for local teams once a month, let them feel safe, raise questions, and then have turdass Shankar address those questions from a Zoom call? That would boost morale and actually make management look like they care.

Why is this humanoid marshmallow floating around? If the company is strapped for cash, why can’t Shankar run his self-important AMA over Zoom? Who approves this nonsense? Come on now, step up and start cutting back on unnecessary travel. Plenty of teams have members scattered across the globe who would love approval to meet their colleagues in person, instead of funding boy NoShank’s excursions to dine on international cuisine while sweating up his smelly behind. Synopsys, do better: stop slacking, cut back on needless costs, and focus on saving jobs instead of firing people. Wasting money on Shankar’s travel needs to stop, leadership must take charge, cut back on this waste, and show real accountability.

Is anybody else upset they were NOT laid off?