Thread regarding Northwestern Mutual layoffs

New crime stats were just released and Downtown, specifically the East side, has the most car thefts in the entire city. Yes this is exactly where NM headquarters is located. The MPD website has a map for those that don't believe it. Wake up folks.

@pybu+1pifLwxO There are critical business areas like the trading desk where for business continuity purposes a certain number of people are WFH typically on a rotating basis. It’s been that way for the past 15 years or so and hasn’t changed regardless of overall company-wide work in the office policies.

The precaution changed again within the last year to force everyone back into the office and not work at home. We are back to where we started with needing two campuses for the reasons previously mentioned.

@pwbt+1pifLwxO As a point of clarity, the motivation for Franklin was to have a backup location for PEOPLE, not data centers (albeit it was also used for data center backup instead of the out of state IBM warmsite). After 9/11 it was realized all employees were concentrated in one location, the downtown campus. Franklin allowed for the splitting up of business critical functions across 2 locations. This precaution has changed over the past decade with employees now working remotely instead of all being downtown.

The closing of Franklin is sounding much bigger alarms than the safety concerns Downtown although we all agree it is a very unsafe place. The closing of Franklin appears to indicate the company is not optimistic about future growth. The story about it being a backup location is complete BS. The company has used out-of-state backup locations for decades. Leadership from many years ago purchased Franklin to support a GROWING business. Downtown offers little to no expansion for growing business needs. Franklin provided the capacity for 3 additional buildings and parking on top of the 2 already built. It is clear from this foolish and nearsighted decision that the company does not see itself growing in the future. Employees should be very concerned about this negative outlook.

No one wants the Franklin campus and they know it. Corporations are downsizing their footprints or eliminating them altogether. The assessed value of $82M will keep any would-be investors away. The housing market is oversaturated and the cost to borrow with interest rates so high would make any housing project unfeasible. The expense to retrofit would far outweigh any returns. No educational institution would want it for the same reason. Most higher education institutions are selling their real estate and going online. NM has rocked the boat with local government so they would not want the campus for a school either. Add this as another failure to JES's legacy.

Franklin campus will be formally sold. That's the larger game plan once downtown campus build out nears completion. The Franklin property should be appealing to both commercial and residential developers. Rumor that it could make for a good satellite college / university / vocational school facility. Rumor also that the existing buildings could be torn down and the property re-zoned to residential. We shall see.

Fair enough, New North is a bad idea and everyone knows it. You have a few years left in Franklin, hopefully you’ll find that being downtown isn’t too terrible once they force the move.

We like Franklin campus and would like to continue working here.

So you want them to abandon the Milwaukee campus because something bad might happen? What’s your plan? What should they do allay your fears?

With all the proof you presented you still won't convince them Milwaukee is unsafe. These are the same people that think SARE, DEI, and Bidenomics are great for us all.

The Franklin and NYC campuses do not have officers. Why not? The answer is there isn't a need.

Every suburban high school football game has police officer presence. As does Lambeau Field and Am Fam Field. Is that because those are dangerous places to be and we should just watch games from home?

You’re really suggesting that you’re afraid to go to the downtown campus because our security is supplemented by MPD officers that the company pays to be onsite?

The 3 police officers at the downtown campus are just there as glorified crossing guards to help employees cross the street? Time to take off the rose colored glasses and open your eyes.

FACT: Monday’s incident with the postal worker happened almost half way between Downtown and Franklin campuses. So the downtown workers and the Franklin workers were basically at the same level of risk of being impacted. Yes, the city has problems, but the city is big and not every location is the danger that your narrative keeps pushing.

FACT: Another postal worker was as--ulted in the "safe city" of Milwaukee today. Ironic considering the protests yesterday over worker safety.

NM headquarters are located in downtown Milwaukee. Most jobs are located in downtown Milwaukee. Either show up to work in downtown Milwaukee or look for another place of employment. I am SD with roughly 25 people who report to me. None of them have a problem with the fact that their jobs are located in downtown Milwaukee. And if any of them did, we'd address it responsibly via engagement with HR. And ideate solutions, like walking from the parking garage to the building with a pre-established buddy. Having security guard walk you to your vehicle after 5 PM on weekdays. Etc. But make no mistake, my team is expected to work downtown several days a week as part of an enhanced hybrid approach. And they fall in line. As I would expect them to because this is a highly professional and talented team with many high achievers.

JES and others will never admit crime is a problem because their SARE and DEI initiatives are what created the problem in the first place.

FACT: You work for an employer with their headquarters in an urban setting. Work somewhere else if are afraid of downtown Milwaukee.

FACT: In the 2022 FBI report "Experts advise you to walk with a friend on the downtown streets rather than alone, thanks to the crime rate of 1,332 incidents per 100,000 residents. So, if you have to talk to a stranger, make sure it’s in a public place to avoid being bait for criminals. Overall crime in Milwaukee is up 22.6%, with violent crime up 15.6% and property crime up 26% from three years ago."

NM knows this and tries to downplay it. Maybe JES will start giving rides for concerned people in his armored car so the rest of us can feel safe too.

Welcome to another episode of "Lazy Underachieving White Bigot NM Lifers Looking for Any and All Excuse Not to Go to Work."

FACT: The postal workers are not afraid to deliver mail to the NM campus, the luxury condos and apartments that surround the NM campus, the neighborhood surrounding the NM campus or the 3rd Ward. I know because I have family at USPS.

FACT: Postal workers in Milwaukee were protesting this weekend not over wages, but their safety when working in the City of Milwaukee. The postal workers want more police protection when they are working and gave numerous examples of violence and unsafe conditions in the city.

JES doesn't care because he has armed bodyguards with him at all times. For the rest of you being forced to go downtown:

FACT: Milwaukee ranks within the top three for largest cities with the highest violent crime rate, according to a new report by SafeHome.org, which pulled from FBI data.
Amongst the largest cities, Milwaukee ranked third highest for mu---r, aggravated as--ult, and robbery.

NM invested millions to upgrade tech and the SSS was a money drain that had an ROI that did not match the spend. Company sales and investment results are record high under JES. Reduction in staff is not related to company performance. It’s about reigning in the tech bloat.

The Zore era made logical investments in technology and didn't chase imaginary tech startups that cost the company hundreds of millions for a defunct website. We also acquired the NYC money pit from that screwup. The SSS (Sample Spending Spree) didn't help either. All that gave us was a bunch of whiny woke members who further drained company bank accounts and continue to do so.

Zore was no savior. He and his predecessors underspent on tech and are part of the reason we had to expend considerable dollars in upgrading our tech stack during JES tenure.

@5qht+1pifLwxO DG said in the all hands yesterday that some people in ESD were let go. No word on specifics, which he said is because they want to give the people leaving privacy.

Security vans circling 24x7, 3 Milwaukee police officers on duty, rapid close door gates on the parking ramp, bars on the sides of the parking ramp, and a complete lockdown on the South building to name a few things. None of those things exist in Franklin. Why? Its safe.

Shooting across the street? Tell me more. Are you talking about the shooting at Elsa’s. Which is near by but not across the street. Or was there actually a shooting across the street? I didn’t hear about that.

There was a shooting in Germantown. There was a shooting in Franklin. There was a shooting in South Milwaukee. There was a shooting in Wauwatosa. There was even a shooting in Mequon. I still go to those places. I live downtown and am not afraid of walking to work at NM. If you are afraid of downtown, you may want to seek employment in the suburbs.

So the shooting across the street from NM was made up? The boarded-up windows from the bullets are fake? What alternate reality do you live in?

Stop the irrational, fear mongering about out of control crime in downtown Milwaukee. This is simply not true. The high crime areas are not those around the NM campus. Rather, more in the central city.

Which group(s) in Franklin? Any idea how many are affected?

...and more layoffs notified. This round in Franklin

DAILY BUSINESS LEAVING DOWNTOWN MILWAUKEE REPORT
10/30/23: The headquarters of Physicians Realty Trust is leaving Milwaukee and moving to Denver.

#MakeNMGreatAgain
#BringBackZoreIn2024

Zore was a great leader! Leadership means everything. JES is terrible with one sc--w up after another. Under JES they manipulate the money numbers to show off record dividends every year. If things are so great why layoffs? Why stop or reduce benefits? NM used to be a great company. Thanks JES. As long as a few top executives get their $$$.

JES has been nothing but a black eye in the company's history. The good thing about black eyes is they eventually heal. Zore and all of the prior leaders were phenomenal and we would not be in the terrible place we are if he was still around.