Thread regarding Charles Schwab Corp. layoffs

@269 The desperation of Schwab leadership is obvious. The strategy is to do everything for everybody. They tried to get a slice of the 530A accounts. Then they invest heavily in recruiting teens. Now they plan to dribble in crypto, and to try to be the #1 choice for UHNW clients?

It is all over the floor and will end with miserable service for all.

@1a8 nope clients have a choice I see shares moved to MS & Goldman every day.no way we gonna force any UHNW clients stay at Schwab lol! Schwab needs to stop “emulating” / being a copycat of what others do - blackrock is suffering because their strategy is private equity investments for UHNW individuals and now they’re over leveraged ! Don’t dabble in areas we can’t compete nor would want to compete! We don’t have the reputation nor do we want that reputation!? Whole reason I joined is Main Street vs Wall Street. Income inequality at all time high and Schwab chasing the new shiny money maker without discipline or foresight. The pendulum will swing again or it may break but don’t hedge in a NYC Wall Street model right before a bubble is about to burst and private equity market is tapped and its counterpart “the repo market” are getting propped up by treasury right when the bond market itself is crashing. It’s like saying hey look they’re jumping off the cliff let’s get in line and see if we can do it bigger and better.

Just stop, stick to the principles and wait out the impending storm. UHNW clients don’t want Schwab they want the big names because they have the international reach and who is left to service the US middle class in a responsible way without putting a gambling app in your face?

Also is any of this on Polymarket? Lol

@2zt Not sure they did or that it matters. Lone Tree was discussed as a SF replacement. Phoenix hadn't been since PDC. Neither Peak or SM can compete with LT or Westlake in terms of campus buildout or presence.

@1a8 You missed Phoenix in between San Fran and Denver.

Our wealth offer honestly su-ks. Do we honestly think schwab will hire competent MDs in both business and tech? They need to pay 3x for nyc talent and 2x for all advisors . The leaders drank the kool-aid on Aladdin wealth and nothing tangible was delivered after 4 years and 10s of millions in spend. Any other place there would have been repercussions

LMAO. Did you really talk about your lawn care service being cancelled! If that’s not a typical overpaid, clueless Schwabbie comment I don’t know what is lol. Wow way to sacrifice. Do you think you’ll be okay? I hope you survived the summer mowing the lawn your self in the heat. See you on the next episode of Schwabbies take Dallas!

@1vk California detractors are trying to convince themselves. You’re absolutely right. We see the same thing with Mamdani in New York - he’s threatening corporate and special interests, so everything is terrible in Manhattan. The wealthy will leave in droves! Except that didn’t happen either. CA is so much better than Texas or Florida. Not without problems. Many due to conservative policies decades ago that saddled the current generation with pensions and debt so someone in 1980 could live on the American River without paying for the total cost.

@1vr Wow, a half hour drive just to fuel up your car? I knew Texas was sparse but I had no idea. I was thinking about reloing to Austin a few years ago. So glad I didn't. I wouldn't be able to handle that.

@1vr

The real Westlake story. Perot land. 30 years of fights. Look up Circle T Ranch and Westlake 1997. The town balked. Locals weren't impressed. So it became a sales pitch to financials. Move Dallas banks to the sticks. Move NYC, Schwab and Charlotte in. At one time every bank was supposedly going to be in a cow pasture north of FTW. Now it's new Schwab buildings on a fake lake with land claiming ranching tax status. And the old HQ clock, which was the backdrop for downtown San Francisco news reports, is weirdly attached to 211 far from the financial district.

Schwab is a mostly virtual company with no bank branches and most customers never stepping into an office. But we force employees into a building so they can have virtual meetings after driving an hour to find parking in a wonky parking structure.

Good times. Lame so called leadership.

Texas is just another in a long list of fads for corporate relocations. 20 years ago it was Charlotte North Carolina. Everybody said that was the next big thing for banking and finance. When's the last time you heard anything about Charlotte? Everytime these companies get seduced by the low cost of doing business in one of these southern states they move back in a few years. I have nothing against the south but the economy there is 98% agriculture. People who grow up on the farm don't have the background and experience to be in finance. That means they have to convince people from NY, Chicago, and San Francisco to move. Few people are going to give up the convenience of city living to move to Texas where the nearest gas station is a 20-30 minute drive and those who are willing to move there aren't exactly cream of the crop.

@1my I also heard about the New York rumors. They want to be able to compete with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan and you can't when your headquarters is on a piece of rural land in Texas and outside of Fort Worth no less. They like to say Dallas to make it like it's part of a major metro area but it' actually near Fort Worth. Dallas is no real city but it's a bustling metropolis compared to Fort Worth.

@1fw you people repeat this so often it is starting to sound like you are trying to convince yourself. Wow look at the size of that economy! Meanwhile in reality, of the nearly 40,000,000 people living in CA that figure is nothing but a number. You might as well appeal to the stunning GDP of America as it relates to all of our fortunes. Amazing, the vaporized middle class sure feels like it’s riding a rising tide!

@1j9 I know for a fact that leadership regrets moving the HQ to Westlake with Greg Abbott being referred to as a snake oil salesman at more than one EC meeting. I can also tell you on good authority that they are looking to leave Texas and move the HQ to New York, which makes complete sense. For years we've been trying to make a dent in wealth management to no avail. The reality is that UHNW clients and family offices don't see your firm as legitimate unless its based in NYC. As long as Schwab is outside NY they will never be seen as anything but a discount broker.

@1j9 Wow!

@1fw I’m not laughing about policy in CA and its effect on tech and business despite it still being the 4th largest economy. To be dismissive about what is going on is Pollyanish.

@1fd

Yeah! California is soooooo terrible. Everyone's leaving! It's only the FOURTH largest economy in the world. So sad.

We aren't laughing with you @1fd btw.

@1a8 The question is why did Schwab leave CA? Why is all of tech leaving CA? CA is a tech waste land due to bad policy.

Can we align on how a great company started going down

When it was all CA based there was innovative drive and folks were paid generally well. Good products came out. The tech org actually had doers.

The Denver started and it was OK for most part when the original leaders in CA still called the shots on strategy.

Then Texas came and expanded to then HQ. We sold our soul. All the original leaders were old now and didnt learn new tricks. Many retired and the new leaders that came in have no clue.

How to fix it?

Retail and RPS : need the RobinHood culture. Hire in CA and pay for talent. Start an innovation lab.

Asset mgmt: emulate Blackrock, expand in NY and invest in real talent and bring in good product and tech leaders.

Wealth: start all over. Need to work like a fintech

Advisor Services : we are too big and clients dont have a choice even if our tech su-ks

@a6 what a d-mb post. People I know found better roles and have advanced. Seem more balanced now?

Heads up — Schwab’s Total Rewards to employees is inconsistent… two people doing the same role are rewarded massively different.
Is this a good, positive trait? One to maybe address? The OP is grateful which is positive, however, there are very poor decisions being made related to employee total rewards and benefits that can spawn the current poor culture and negativity. Total Reward inconsistency is one of many poor decisions impacting the morale.

@a6 Nonsense. Just look on LinkedIn for two minutes to see that isn't true. Managers who are now CIO or CFO. Engineers who are writing books. Reps who are managing branches.

@kt

Going to represent my reports, many of whom would leave if not for our specific team or other circumstances. I'm grateful they trust me and are comfortable sharing.

About half the team is established: Kids in school. A house. Vacation home a few hours away. Keeps them in town. In that house. A job change is limited to a similar commute.

In a contracting market, they’d need time to apply, interview, accept and start again with PTO accrual and other benefits. There's lots of better jobs. Growth opportunities. Those who leave or are booted often get better positions and more pay. But there's a lot of friction.

The other half of my dedicated group is p1ssed. They see what the company could be and think they can fix it as a 58. I've told them that's fantasy. Doesn't matter. They could leave. No kids. Willing to rent the house or don't own one.

It isn't the layoffs either. It's how people are targeted. There's a big difference between the guy who does a job that's no longer needed and the guy who does his needed job but didn't smile big enough at the CTO. Similar difference when the tochas kisser is safe and the guy working 20 weekends a year isn't.

And the layoffs aren't cyclical. There hasn't been a downturn since the start of covid, but we dumped in recovery. Why? Merger. A big pool of those-on-the-list. News to accompany stock buybacks.

Headcount is pretty much level, just cheaper and less experienced. Projects are further behind. So we save on labor and lose opportunities while only succeeding because competitors are just as bad.

I don't understand why anyone who hates their job as much as the people who comment here would stay. I agree with the message of this post. Schwab is pretty darn good to its employees. Yes, cutbacks are sometimes necessary and staying at Schwab until retirement is probably not an option for anyone under 60. That's just the cyclical nature of business. While you're working here though, why not give it your all? At the very least you will learn stuff you can bring to your next job and have some good references to help you get that job.

@je Are you still employed by Schwab with this feeling? You may want to call the EAP.

@k4 You know? How?.I think you f.o.s.

@fj I know for a fact that HR not only monitors this board but also posts and comments to get people to respond in a way that they reveal identifying details. Never mention your department or team. I wouldn't even mention what city I'm in. They will use that stuff to narrow down who you are.

Yeah, nice try, HR. Schwab is a soulless husk of a company which deserves to collapse under the weight of its own hubris and moral decay.

@bt Cuz I'm sure they have nothing better to do than go undercover on online message boards. You delusional.

Obvious bait is obvious.

There were employees who followed Schwab from California to Texas only to be forced out. Schwab cannot undo the toxic culture unless they get rid of the entire legacy management. It was a nightmare (and probably still is) when they were putting a lot of people on PIP in a ploy to force them out. Of course everyone saw through that. Now OP is down playing all the gaslighting and BS that was and still is going on at Schwab. Place needs to be shut down. There are way better money managers out there.

Is anyone d-mb enough to believe this post, and many of the comments, weren't written by Schwab HR or Communications? Do you id--ts actually think we'll see this and be like "gosh, when you put it that way I guess I am working for the best company in the world!

You're pathetic.

@b6 Yeah, no they aren't closing Austin. They literally just finished renovations on several floors. What are you smoking?

@aq Austin's not like the rest of Texas but they're closing that office at the end of the year. Westlake though is next to Fort Worth which might as well ne named Ku-Kux-Klanland.

@a7 Also recommend everyone participate in the employee stock purchase plan. Chuck used to always talk about the importance of being an owner. It also very much changes your perception of corporate decisions when you are a shareholder and it keeps you highly engaged in your work.

@aq I think it might be worse in Denver. There's MAGAs everywhere. I've seen lots of vehicles with Trump/Vance bumper stickers on campus.

The negativity really didn't exist before they opened Westlake and expanded hiring in Austin. Texas is full of xtian fundamentalists and white supremacists so it goes without saying that if you have a big chunk of your staff there they will be bitter and resentful given everything Schwab does for diversity and inclusion.

@a7 Outstanding book! I challenge any Schwabbie to read it and not come away truly believing that working at Schwab is an absolute honor and a privilege.

@OP 100% agree with you.

I’m very appreciative to work for a firm that wants to make sure employees always remember they’re disposable. “We care about you, but obviously we may need to get rid of you when it works better for us.” It really makes you feel valued.

Not sure if the purpose of this post is reputation management on behalf of leadership, or just evidence of someone who’s brainwashed and bad at analogies.

Except those top ratings aren’t in open surveys. They’re bought. By the company. Glint is also influenced should that be cited. In open surveys Schwab is a solid C. And for most employees it is a C. But most employees have no problem with $40,000,000,000,000 in federal debt or having vacation canceled last minute so you’ll forgive me if I discount them a little. There are three standards. Compared to a theoretical, compared to peers, compared to what the individual used to be. We use the last one for older people suffering dementia. We use peers for companies. And we use theoretical for when we see what could be and isn’t. Schwab was better in the past. A lot of the organism is diseased. Promotion by friendship. Driving out solid workers. Absurd policies like RTO. If you’re heads down and accepting as most are RTO doesn’t bother you. And you don’t care about promotions. Driven out of the company only concerns you when it is you. History shows this almost 100 years ago in Europe by the way. Not sure where you’re getting your data but pay isn’t above average and merit doesn’t keep up with inflation. We buy back stock rather than profit sharing with employees. The bonus devolved into an opaque system of surprise. 25 years ago people were having to quit because they had so much equity. Five years ago we wrapped the biggest industry merger while telecommuting. And now four days a week we pay for a commute and volunteer our time for zero increase in productivity or internal scoring. (Not going to get into the you commuted before covid argument, commutes are dramatically more expensive now, not incidental and we reference back to compared to theoretical and peers).

Is the bashing valid? I don’t see a lot of bashing. Dismiss venting and most posts are spot on assessments of real problems. Some are legal issues and not opinion. In that context, for an online forum, this venue is pretty spot on with legitimate concerns.

Now I need to sit on my seventh call of the day where I hear an M&M tell us something that could have been an email and we all clock out at 2.

Yhank you. Thank you. Your post is so on point. I would highly recommend everyone read Chuck's book "Invested". It will give you a whole new appeeciation for the man and the company he founded. They did a desk drop when it was published a few years ago so if you don't have a copy I am sure one of your coworkers does and will be happy to lend it to you