Well, the proposed 5,000 cuts by end of year seems to be end of fiscal year. Tuesday morning mandatory meeting, even if you are on vacation. Gallows humor abounds. What a change from the company I hired into in 1982. I wonder if I'm part of the expensive "fat" this time...
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Well, if your manager calls you tomorrow morning at 7:45 (like mine did on June 19), you can pretty much be assured it isn't to announce your bonus. (Best phone call I've had from HPE in a very long time btw, life is great!). Since CE's are a very large expense, I suspect they will take the brunt of the field layoffs. The change in compensation is also a very interesting issue that Meg brought up in the below link. Some of the best people i've ever met were let go before me, and some still there, and managers that aren't qualified to manage a McDonalds.
Who said it is aimed at customer engineers....pretty general statement....the field can be sales, pre sales,etc
Check out the ominous comment on field compensation changes... I am guessing we are going to be laid off in favor of contractors.
http://m.crn.com/slide-shows/data-center/300093601/hpe-ceo-meg-whitman-on-upcoming-changes-to-field-compensation-the-impact-of-dell-on-hpes-vmware-relationship-and-why-hardware-still-matters-in-the-software-defined-era.htm
HPE have been very keen on channel partners doing more in the CE Break/Fix environment. CE work now tends to be simplistic (replace HDD) or at the other end of the spectrum.
I suspect HPE will concentrate on remote diagnosis (India), supply chain (prenium markup parts) and the more technical end of onsite work. The lower skilled CE will be outsourced to channel.
CE = Customer Engineer
Pointnext Management has a pretty big savings to make. They will most probably focus on the CE role.
The comment form @PJqIVkZ-tav is probably very close to reality.
Option 2 might be the preferred one, however that will depend how cheaper a contractor service will be. If the difference is less that 10 -12 %, I don't think there will be serious layoff in the field organization.
We will probably find out in the next two weeks.
Good luck.
You mentioned service for 3par; so who is to do the servicing then?
OP here. Some of the comments seem to come from low mgt. My comments were just stating what appears to be coming. If you look at the site home page, it says to post rumors. Saying I should be fired for being with HP so long is very interesting. I wonder if that commentor ever expects to hold a job for 35 years.
My sources, News reports of "at least 5,000 layoffs by the end of the year".
An email re: all service employees required to meeting on 10/17 (that is what has happened after every previous WFR).
Killing the messenger re: HPE won't sell a single product.
@PJqIVkZ-tav, I hope you get fired. This kind of thinking is exactly what is bringing HPE down. Go away and never come back.
Hey @PJqIVkZ-tav,
F--- OFF!
You have no idea why the OP's situation is and you have no right to judge. Again, in case your blind or stupid....
F--- OFF!
If you've really been there since 1982 and are pushing 60 and still haven't saved for retirement despite all the stock options, salary raises of the 1990s, and the pension you've been grandfathered, I'd lay you off tomorrow on principle. The fact you hang out on this site to whine about someone moving your cheese if pathetic. Get on with your life before you die (literally, in your case).
Prediction #1: we all get spun off as a services organization
Prediction #2: we all get canned in place of contractors
From what I observed when I was still with the company last March (yes, I was a CE), I am going to go with prediction #2. There are two classes of CEs at HPE. One that takes care of the customer's problems in person at the customer's site and the others that maintain internal HPE systems.
What would happen with the internal CEs I would not try to predict, but for the field CEs my guess would be that the company will attempt to outsource all of the CEs them bring them back as contractors with lesser pay and no benefits. This was discussed in an all hands meeting after the first subject that the area manager brought up at the all CE dog and pony show: "We need to discuss our aging workforce."
What's your souce that customer engineers are going to get hit hard
Prediction #1: we all get spun off as a services organization
Prediction #2: we all get canned in place of contractors
CE is Customer Engineer (also FE for Field Engineer ala Compaq merger). Basically, a field service engineer that interfaces with customers for product failures i.e. proliants, storage, 3pars, networking.
Or, Consumer Electronics... Show... IT'S ALL A SHOW...
Computer/Electronics... something like "Computer Electronics Show" (yeah, "SHOW") (C.E.S.) that's held annually in LAS VEGAS... should you "dare" to attend...
IT'S "ALL A SHOW..." folks... step right up!
Remind me what CE stands for