Why do so many people come to this site to complain about being laid off? You don't even work for Cisco anymore. Why not man up admit c-ap happens and move on with your next opportunity? If Cisco truly is a bad place to work it's ironic how many people are upset they got laid off and want to come back.
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if you arent happy at cisco (or any job) you should leave..do not stay, do not pass go.
we do our best work when we are at our best emotionally and morally. if you are miserable in your dept then consider transferring elsewhere or leave. lr's are not based on performance, they are usually decided by politics and cost. if the brass decides your cost outweighs your value and you arent in the good old boys club, you will likely be part of the next lr. that is just how it is.
for technical ppl, what you should know is the longer you stay at csco, the more likely your skills will suffer. this will make it more difficult to find a job outside. its not hopeless, and many have suffered from ptsd, some dont even realize how bad things are until after they leave.
accept the lr. accept you were let go for reasons outside of your control. accept brushing up on your skills. accept the fact you will move onto a better place and make the same or more $$$. accept you will be a happier person and you are still capable of doing quality work. good luck.
How much should a Cisco AM II be making at 100% linearity?
I remember RL talking about Cisco having a $50B revenue target for fiscal 2008 at GSX, or whatever it was called then. It's fiscal 2020 and what is the revenue goal? Oh yes, flat over more than a decade. Think about that for a minute with the billions (and I do mean billions) spent on acquisitions in the interim. This company is dead.
Why do we come back?
To warn those that remain.
It was my turn to be sent packing after 14 years, that was a little more than two years ago now. The LR was very unexpected as I was singled out is a key leader in the team just a few weeks before. It hurt and it took several months to get over the shock actually, and then several more to fix my atrophied skills.
Once I did, I found a much better job - not in terms of pay (which it was at +40%), but in terms of respect. I'm no longer at a company the values my ability to s— up to my manager more than my ability to produce solid work.
So why do I come back? Because Cisco is a horrible place to work and I want to warn those that remain to get the eff out on your own terms. Get your skills up and get something it makes you excited to be alive.
I don't get back for people like the original poster of this thread - I have no doubt that Cisco is the best he can do. I come back for people like me who know deep down they're wasting their time here.
Most people posting here are still employed and realize the company is failing is many ways. There ARE occasional posts from former employees, most of which share their experiences before and after Cisco. Which I value.
Most of those posts are in reply to some complaint, speculation, or worry posted by a current employee.
I visit this site regularly and honestly don’t see a ton of former Cisco folks complaining in their posts.
In the last month, my business unit lost an exec who died suddenly leaving 2 small children to an SE who died by s–c-de! That should tell you everything!
Layoffs are sometimes a necessity due to a weak economy or major business inflection even with strong leadership at the helm. Typically this situation at the most happens once in 5 years. This protects the company and considers the long term well being of employees. This does not describe Cisco’s practices....
Cisco has chosen an unethical business practice of ongoing layoffs. This reflects lazy and poor leadership. It harms employee health and does not view employees as a stakeholder of the company. It only views them as an opex expense. It also focus on the wrong business metrics for a healthy technology company. Eg the poor growth of Cisco revenue compared to other technology companies.
Cisco needs a technology leader at the helm not some sales guy running the company like a vc or bank. “Knowing math” does not make one a technology visionary. However It can make you hyper focus on the wrong metrics though.
So yes I make it my business to ensure people considering Cisco as an employer know their practices. What difference does it make how long ago someone was laid off? What matters is how long Cisco has been executing this way.
I would have missed the train wreck of cloud , callmanager, spark dying. RTP becoming empty. San Jose cisco ghosting and selling all those buildings. Would have missed it if I stopped tuning into this channel.
It is weird how you say Cisco is free to run its business however it wants but people are not. They can come here or any forum and say exactly what they want to about Cisco
Because truth is out there ! We want to know the truth about what’s going on inside the company. It is also very popular with employees and ex-employees.
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
Are we not allowed to swear on an "anonymous" b–ch forum platform? Why is everyone censoring the clearly obvious swear word you are saying? It doesn't it make it any less serious just cause you put a dash in one letter
- Cisco does not owe you anything.
I disagree. All employers owe you the decency of treating you as a person, not a resource.
- Cisco is a business with the ultimate goal of making a profit.
- Nobody is putting a gun to your head to make you work at Cisco.
- Cisco can lay you off at anytime as long as the required notification is given.
- Cisco is not a union shop where layoffs are based on seniority.
- Working at Cisco is a privilege not a right.
All true.
I can understand those folks who got LR'ed about 6 months ago when they come to complain or vent off on this site. But for folks who got LR'ed in 2014 (or even 2 years ago), really??? You could not find another gig after all those years?
I got LR'ed, actually it was called a Workforce Reduction or WFR, back in '11. I easily found another gig. Then I got a better offer to come back to Cisco where I got LR'd again. And I've found yet another gig. But I've also enjoyed having a year's pay (two severance packages) for no work sitting in my retirement funds. I'd even do it a third time just to get another half year's pay to pocket because I can find another gig.
I have been at Cisco for 17 years and the day I get LR'ed, I wont even look back. I will just say goodbye to all my teammates and friends and MOVE ON!!!
Sometimes you just want to see what's going on with the company that you invested so much time. You've been here for 17 yrs. Did you not put your heart and soul into the company back when it had a culture of "family" and not business profit? Don't you care what happens to it? I'm sure you've got quite the collection of stock, ESPP and RSU's, so you should have a vested interest in Cisco succeeding, and having a toxic work place environment where you can't attract AND RETAIN talent will result in the company failing to produce products and services that produce revenues which produce profits which drive stock prices.
Gone are the days where employees worked for companies their entire lives and retired from them. Now it's all about switching jobs to get a pay raise.
Layoff stress is real. Sometimes there are layoffs and you survive. Dimes you do not. Sometimes there are no layoffs. Sometimes there are stealth layoffs. But while some people may be able to ignore this, I find this twice-a-year waiting game quite stressful. Even if you survive, four months out of the year we go through this. No fun.
People don't get upset when they are laid off because of genuine fiscal / financial issues.
People do get upset when they are laid off because of poor leadership (looking out for themselves), poor planning, and work politics.
As much work there is in networking and information technology, you would like to think the company could avoid rolling layoffs.
When you least expect it, expect it. Until then, original poster I guess just keep burying your head in the sand and keep thinking you are immune.
Yeah, we come here for intelligence gathering about what's happening in our own or other BUs.
Well, work there long enough and you will inevitably get laid off. The magic formula McKinsey gave HR WILL get you.
Then see if you feel like venting about age discrimination or not.
Why do you come here ? Its important for folks to know how Cisco treats its people. If its business everybody understands. But when you make smart folks feel miserable who are trying to do their best for the company something is not right. Some loose health dealing with a toxic manager people joining need to know what not to do as to why a manager got toxic on them so they can survive. Its not about what time somebody was let go or how much money they gave thinking he will talk great about the company after moving on. I wish good luck to all the people who left or went through layoff.
Why come here to complain?
Because telling the truth at Cisco is forbidden. And will get you fired.
psst . The Emperor is wearing No Clothes"
Would like to add that SOME of us never agreed to work for Cisco – we worked for a small and wonderful company that Cisco purchased and – after telling us how nothing would change – destroyed. So some of us are rightly p-ss-d.
@12pzV5AL-1lsv, you never know how would you react to something until it actually happens to you. Besides, people have a right to read and react to whatever they want to without being judged for it. For me, it doesn’t matter if someone was LR’ed a year or two ago, I find all alumni input very useful. Their perspective makes me see things from another angle.
Looolz @ "Cisco is not your mother or father or relative"
- Cisco is not your mother or father or relative.
- Cisco does not owe you anything.
- Cisco is a business with the ultimate goal of making a profit.
- Nobody is putting a gun to your head to make you work at Cisco.
- Cisco can lay you off at anytime as long as the required notification is given.
- Cisco is not a union shop where layoffs are based on seniority.
- Working at Cisco is a privilege not a right.
I can understand those folks who got LR'ed about 6 months ago when they come to complain or vent off on this site. But for folks who got LR'ed in 2014 (or even 2 years ago), really???
You could not find another gig after all those years?
I have been at Cisco for 17 years and the day I get LR'ed, I wont even look back. I will just say goodbye to all my teammates and friends and MOVE ON!!!
misery loves company
Complain ? Nope !
Some people love watching trainwrecks !
Why do you come here asking stupid questions? Cisco ELT lies to it's employees and when they buy into the BS and then lose their jobs they are rightfully looking for answers.
Better question: who is so dedicated to s—ing up to Cisco that they post this kiss-a55 question on a Sunday?
Couldn't be the lying used car sales weasels in the ELT . Could it?
Perhaps some people believed the we are the Cisco family c-ap. We care about our employees... koolaid
I agree with the OP on this. I agreed to work at Cisco knowing it's LR history. If and when my time comes I'll own it like a man and move the F on. I like coming to this site as a way to see what's happening in the company thy the BS leadership team won't admit to. However, b–ching and complaining here after I am laid off ain't going to happen. I have better things to do.