Thread regarding Verizon Communications Inc. layoffs

Open your eyes and ask questions. The work is being sent offshore.

Fallout from chatbots are already incrementally being routed to our SPC partners in Hyderabad. Doubtful a role that doesn't rely on the dulcet tones of a native English speaker is in any way secure.

“Volume is definitely there and no outsourced agent can do what we do.”

Are you saying that because you are the smartest most well trained person on the planet or because you have access to things people who are outsourced can’t.

They can give access to anything to outsourced people and there is always smarter people, people who can be trained endlessly, increases to up front help before chat. All those similarities in the chats that get to you will eventually become a process. Your job if you do it well is to eliminate your job.

Chatting can be done from anywhere by anything no voice needed no in person needed.

"We get invalid transfers from Tier 1 reps all the time who are incapable of doing even the most basic Tier 1 troubleshooting steps."

Ever think you are getting the overflow tier 1 dump calls and that tmp is getting all the real tier 2 calls? That should keep your confident "whistling the dark" up at night, buddy.

Regarding 401k vesting - in the event of a lay-off you become fully vested automatically. That is what they have done in the past. Good luck to you and your family.

Been here over 18 yrs, if you think this company cares one iota about you or your family you are sorely mistaken. You are a number, on a sheet of paper, .....any job this company can outsource they will, any way they can show profit to investors, they will. Jobs will continue to be cut, no one is safe.

Rolling Meadows is the last new Call Center location that Verizon Wireless will ever open corporately, and even that’s a loose definition since it’s really a relocation of the former Elgin, IL call center (much like how ironically, Columbia, SC was moved out to the suburbs a little under a decade ago, in Elgin, SC).

There will be no new corporate call centers in the US for VZW, and as we’ve seen over the past decade, unless there’s a convincing tax abatement reason to keep a center open or relocate it within the state to maintain or offset the tax rates, Verizon will close it without prejudice.

Does anyone from Illinois know why Elgin was moved down the Tollway to Rolling Meadows, and not simply shut down like Lincoln or Mankato?

if you take family leave be prepared to be layed off. That's what vzw does. They say its for other reasons but they hate it when you take family leave.

Continue school. Enjoy you wedding and your new family. Do not make major financial decisions now or in the near future, do not purchase a home. Try to ride thinks out, but seek new opportunities while you are working. Do not trust your management or HR, always remember they do not care about the employees, only their career and the company's bottom line for there share of a bonus and incentive. Best wishes from someone who was Riff'd and tried to ride things out, but did not get that opportunity.

Nothing is safe. Chatbots will eliminate your position sooner or later if offshoring doesn’t. Stay current in your skills

It's stressful. I've been vigilant about building a contingency plan. I have several months worth of expenses in savings, I'm passively looking at other opportunities, but it's difficult to find comparable benefits, especially the tuition assistance. Ideally I want her and I to make it to the three year mark at least, as that would bring us both to be fully vested in our 401k and my degree will be complete at that point.

"Volume is definitely there and no outsourced agent can do what we do. "

Literally what every outsourced worker has said before their job was eliminated. Please do not think this way, ESPECIALLY in a customer support function.

You are sadly mistaken if you don't think your job can be outsourced. Vz just outsourced over 2500 technical IT jobs to an Indian company. These job were responsible for some very critical systems. They will not get the same level of support as they did under Vz employees. A major outage will be very painful. Do you think the company cares? Nope. They care about financials and numbers on a spreadsheet. And that's exactly what you are. Remember, NO one is irreplaceable. Even the CEO. Work on getting that degree finished.

For those asking, tech chat is just what the title suggests. We so tech support via chat with customers logged in at My Verizon, both through the app and the website. Volume is definitely there and no outsourced agent can do what we do. We get invalid transfers from Tier 1 reps all the time who are incapable of doing even the most basic Tier 1 troubleshooting steps. That's the hope I have for our center, along with a BFO and social media presence here. We're also the flagship center for the new texting feature where customers can text with us for support.

I took the severance package as a 14+ year employee at a vzw call ctr that was closed. I would say that ultimately NO VZW customer service job is safe. Verizon is slashing all jobs that can be outsourced. Ride vz as ling as you it works for you. I think Verizon Wireless will go strictly to a prepaid model.

Look at the website under "plans." Prepaid is being heavily marketed on the post pay site. Even 3 years ago you had put prepaid in the url bar to even find prepaid info; it was a "if you really have no post pay option....yeah, sure, we have prepaid."

And look how closely aligned the pricing is between prepaid and post pay. Soon they will be one price, imo.

At one call ctr, so many people chose hba that they effectively upped the ante to LEAVE with a Verizon corporate enhanced severance package + 3 months on payroll after closing the center. "Out of the goodness of their hearts I am told.

Check out articles on fierce.com. Verizon sees a future without dealing with pesky individual customers. They want to make money by providing tech infrastructure to big business. I don't know how given that they are k--ling off fleet, connect, media, telematics -- every single non cellphone branch of biz vz started in the last 5 or 6 years is getting slashed/shutdown! What that leaves is 5g which will not subsidize 100k workers.

Do the math, and use the company in the way that best positions you for your future elsewhere.

My only advice is don't take on more debt that you can safely handle out of your savings for at least 6 months (preferably longer). Hopefully your degree is almost complete and you can start looking for a job in your new field. I don't think your current job at Vz will be safe long term. JMO

I’m not sure what Tech Chat is, but if it is a call center that customers call into then past experiences show that the calls can be re-directed at any time to any location Verizon chooses.

I don’t think any call center jobs are “safe” especially on the wireless side.

Start a Union, get a no lay-off clause, get a force transfer clause, and you too can work another 29 years at Vz and then have the company pay you to leave. Oh wait... you wanted a serious answer not an answer from days gone by.

Well in that case, keep doing what you’re doing, don’t get over your head and see where this ship takes you.

What is tech chat? Never heard of it so hard to comment