Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

LR stands for Logan's Run

JC chose CR as his successor. That’s the problem

He might be Republican (I suspect so), but that doesn’t mean anything these days. The old left v right thing just doesn’t work any more. The bigger divide these days is elite v prole and woke v Nazi.

The only thing he can be transparent about is his Left Wing Socialist Opinions and his false notion that is somehow compelled to push his opinions on the employees. I am not, and never have been racist, and don't need any liberal to condescend to me as though I am.

I hate to break it to you, but CR has been interviewed multiple times and stated that he is a Republican and that he's a "capitalist". He's certainly not a liberal.

But you are right in that CR is not doing the job that JC did as CEO. Then again, everyone was so happy to get rid of JC. All I read the few years before his retirement was how bad a job he was doing and that it was time for him to go. Well, he's gone now and look where we are. The grass is always greener on the other side. I'm just hoping that I can survive CR's tenure.

vote

hey guys, let me be fair. Chuck is not alone, nor his ELT team. They are just representatives of nowadays elites. Look at Modi did to his people and how Indian elites love their country when they had conflicts with China. China Alibaba bought the business from an Indian techie, and now this buzz is so big. But when India was invaded, this young elite stood with India not China. Unlike many elites even Indian elites here in our country.

I got LR'd in 2016 after 22 years with the company exactly six months after my 65th birthday. The year before I received the biggest bonus ever and was frequently told how well I was performing. Trying to get another job at 65 is impossible, even at a reduced salary. Companies don't hire senior citizens unless you want to be a greeter at Home Depot.

I'm retired now. I still own some stock but I'm thinking of selling it since the prospects of decent gains are zilch and the dividends are marginal at 3.5% on average. I was in the business for 45 years and don't remember a single company that successfully redefined itself which is what Cisco is trying to do.

Follow the advice of a previous poster. If you are making a good salary, save as much as you can. I was a grade 12 and maxed out my 401K and ESPP contributions every year. I'm glad I did.

@abn+16xHmAQP

You are spot on. After I was LR'd I ended up running a medium sized enterprise with lots of Cisco gear. I dig Cisco especially 9500 and Nexus and tried to do big pitch to refresh our soon EOL stuff with Cisco. After some major heat with a few firewall meltdowns, the powers to be above me pushed for other vendors. I was skeptical but now the mainstay enterprise switch purchase decision is definitely going super cheap. If you can back up the VM and know how to move it around, it matters less and less where it lives. Wish Cisco the best but when things can be done much less expensive elsewhere, that is pretty much where the IT budget controlling entities for an enterprise will steer the ship on refresh.

the butt sniffing that was going on in that meeting made me cringe - literally - did those crack sniffing people REALLY think that anyone was looking at their comments and writing down their names to place on the salvage employee list?

Transparency? Really?

If Chuck and Fran were transparent, they would have told some uncomfortable truths, and that is: The company is Management Heavy, and every manager spends all their time managing above them, and not focused on enabling their people to do a better and a more efficient job. The layoffs/ER packages should have been targeted at the pathetic Management first.

Next, Chuck should have told you that he missed the Cloud Opportunity, that bus left the station..... and Cisco's sitting on the bench at the bus station, waving bye bye.

Our Campus routing and switching product lines that are our bread and butter are shrinking rapidly - and will continue to shrink due to COVID and the efficiencies of Telecommuting. ZOOM thundered onto the scene when COVID hit and completely exploited our WEBEX business because we didn't manage to evolve WEBEX, reduce complexity and price and make it compelling.

Our Security story is convoluted and made up of different solutions stitched together. We completely destroyed customer opinions of Cisco with our awful and confusing implementations of subscriptions, e.g DNA, and our licensing is nothing short of an operational catastrophic abortion (DOA) for our customers and our Employees (on this one point, Chuck should be taken out back and whooped but the BoD doesn't yet understand what a major mess let loose on the world this was) . This ALL happened under Chuck's watch. Chuck is to blame, and owns none of it. The only thing he can be transparent about is his Left Wing Socialist Opinions and his false notion that is somehow compelled to push his opinions on the employees. I am not, and never have been racist, and don't need any liberal to condescend to me as though I am. Anyone with a shred of humility understands that they have no charter to dump this rhetoric on the employees. Chuck cannot hold a candle to John Chambers. The BoD gave a a 16 year old, pimple faced id–t the keys toDad's Ferrari. Chuck will be gone soon. Count on it.... he screwed up Cisco - and those in true power know it.

Look, Cisco doesn't care about you. Wake up butt sniffers.

H1b stays while Citizens are let go. Too bad

nti+16xHmAQP You make a great point about swallowing pride.
I am 59 , took LR last year, live in a depressed part of the country- make 70% less but DO NOT miss any of the BS!

There are no wage cuts.who starts these rumours? He said they would offer a 4 day week with 4 day pay...I.e. 20% cut. Thats not a cut its benefit.

Yes, those cheapest. This package is much worse than...

In the new organisation which LC is leading, there are pulling all stops to find the next big technology innovation (atleast 6-7 incubation projects) which Cisco can generate revenue upon within a year or two. We even have a product management whose sole job is to study the go-to-market strategy for some new ideas.

Oh, guess where the idea should originate from? The engineering talent pool. We better come up with those ideas, or else the layoff fairy will curse upon us it would seem.

We're expected to literally save this company from going underground. Lol, good luck with that LC!

The US has very few labor laws. Companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, etc have spent $Bs in lobbying to make it so. We have unions in some industries to protect workers. The unions negotiate salaries and everything. The way companies have gotten around it is those that are not part of the union get better wages/salary and benefits. When the union workers see that, they start to leave the union. Once unions are gone, the companies then hold even greater power. It is a cheap investment to get things the way they want.

For US workers thought that want something, you should have prepared. The inflated salaries should have been saved. Instead, you spent on bigger house, 7-series instead of 3-series, joined country clubs instead of hitting the local course. You could never see out the windows of your Gravy Train and it is now ending. Be thankful you are getting something. As you enter the job market again, you can reflect on life choices. I was laid off a year ago. Initial shock was terrifying, but the sense of relief is peace. I luckily found employment in a few months. Those exiting now are going to have a far more difficult time and near impossible if you are 50+. You are going to have to swallow some pride. For me, I took a 20% pay cut but the benefits far surpassed it and provide a true opportunity to retire which my former employer couldn't

@sqv+16xHmAQP
What do you mean no LR and 20% pay cut is happening in EMEAR? I am also in EMEAR and we do expect LR.

Both LR and Cut

LR is global. Exit date may depend on local laws, but it is a thing. We had a meeting here in EMEAR, not LR and 20% pay cut are happening here

true

@sez+16xHmAQP, obviously you are not American and have the protections of employment in your country. As an FYI, the US is an "at will" employment and they can fire you for any reason such I do not like the color of your tie, as long it is not based on race color, religion, s-x, etc.

Unfortunately, the company can not do the same to most of the rest of the world because of local laws. So what happens is that we Americans get laid off and the smaller number left carry your sorry asses to make money. :)

We saved your butts in WW I, WW II and the cold war, show some respect !!

You should be grateful you get anything at all. They could just fire your lazy a– with nothing. No doubt you're American. You all seem to expect some previledge for doing nothing.

It wasn't clear to me what date you are out if you take the "enhanced package". It seemed to be October 22nd, but the internal documents say 30 days or 45 days depending on age. I guess you have until Oct 22nd to decide?

The bootlickers were out in full force for that meeting. Unreal.