Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

Having sat in the meetings with tech leaders at Dillon’s now Saul’s table, some of you are getting the strategy. They have factored in that 30% or so of the impacted folks will opt out of relo. This way they can keep morale higher by not calling it layoffs. They want to be able to say , people were offered jobs in new locations but opted to not take the banks offer. It’s a PR ploy plain and simple. It’s HR’s continued smoke and mirror games.
What breaks this for them is if everyone opted for the relo then it’s an O c-ap they called our hand type of scenario that will lead to layoffs or other actions.

Maybe the want people to move to NY to catch the virus To reduce staff levels too And costs?

"The move to NYC is actually an ingenious way to achieve cost savings. Those that refuse will self terminate and receive no severance. Scharf is devilish, but np very smart."

All replacement positions will come at a premium in the NYC area... Taking care of all the development /pac 2000 & SDE & Secure Coding overhead for App System Engineer will scare away any developers at the current pay scale.

With SDE Elements/Threadfix/Secure Code/PAC 2000/SWCA requirements, AGILE is a joke... Too much overhead to release source on the 2 week sprint schedule. Also, how does AGILE correct past abuses with the bank?

I was an employee of Wells Fargo for two contracts and then being brought on as an FTE. I decided to leave Wells Fargo as I did not want to relocate to the Charlotte area. I AM SO GLAD I DID, MECKLENBURG COUNTY HAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF COVID-19 OCCURRENCES THAN ANY OF THE OTHER 100 COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA. I could not believe what I heard in my last team meeting before I left. The discussion was focused on the profile of job descriptions being offered by the new Technology Organization. I was told you had to pick one job role ASAP! They were Scrum Master, Product Owner, or Agile Team Manager. We were told that an email was to be sent out and you set a date to meet with an Agile Leader and perform a skill assessment. Based on the results of your skill assessment a recommendation would be made for which of the three roles you would be suited for. Then it was emphasized that ASAP get the training and you would have to apply to the Technology Office for a job. We were also told everyone would not get hired, thus you would be out of a job, I.e. forced attrition. One final point that I found really ridiculous as I asked the question was the training for these roles INDUSTRY STANDARD? The answer was no and you would not receive a certificate for completing the training. It was also made clear that Wells Fargo would not pay for an any outside training where you could get a valid Industry Standard Certificate to put on your resume. The new Technology Leadership thinks that Agile is going to be the miracle cure for Wells Fargo’s inabilities to get accurate data to the Federal Government within the required time lines. Several veteran employees know this approach will not work. It will help with some of the issues at Wells Fargo but not all. And in my opinion it will slow down the process for correcting the Compliance Issues. The reason for this is several employees of Wells Fargo will leave and their knowledge and experience at Wells Fargo goes with them.
Several employees with Wells Fargo that I have had the pleasure to work with think Saul and his regime from his previous company are the wrong solution for Wells Fargo. I guess if failure to deliver is the result then it will probably be blamed on Covid-19 not the strategy. I wish all the best to Wells Fargo and the colleagues I had the pleasure to work with.

The move to NYC is actually an ingenious way to achieve cost savings. Those that refuse will self terminate and receive no severance. Scharf is devilish, but np very smart.

Relocation started before Scharf and if the bank needs to show less salary/building expense on the books, this move to NYC is the complete opposite to achieve cost savings.

It’s Scharf. - he lives in NYC. the world revolves around him.
& it’s a means to get rid of headcount.

For some coworkers where the new 'location' is NY metro, the cost of living is somewhere around double. This makes it nearly impossible to justify the move for traffic, sky high property taxes, for the same salary and benefits (plus not knowing how long your position is safe). They can hire top talent there at a premium not to mention very expensive office space. So, what is real reason they want to spend more by relocating to NYC? Makes little sense, if the location strategy, (layoffs) purpose is to ultimately save money.

I do not disagree with the various reasons why some commentators are advising to accept or reject the relocation offer, but from a business strategy viewpoint – it is in your best interest to accept the relocation offer – regardless of your actual intent.

Remember, rejecting the relocation offer will be a "victory" for Saul/Executives; they want a large number of voluntary quits –i.e., which is rejecting the relocation offer.

Again, it is best to delay, delay and keep the status quo (i.e., remain an employee). Most people want certainty – but your desire for certainty and guarantees are working against you in this situation.

Take a deep breath and wait until July 14. Let's see how this plays out – Kenny Rogers would tell ya - you gotta to know when to hold 'em, you gotta know when to fold. Now is the time to hold.

You won't be eligible for the 2020 bonus if you reject the package because you will not be employed on March 5th, 2021.

You must still be employed at the time of the bonus payout in order to receive it.

A possible strategy for high-earners would be to temporarily move to the new location (by renting a cheap apartment there), and living there until March 5th, 2021 and then quitting after you get your bonus. This of course depends on how large your bonus is going to be. For a few thousand dollars it won't be worth it. For a few 10's of thousands it would be.

Drag your tenure in your temporary city out until April 16th, 2021 for a chance at a "Profit Sharing" payout. That's obviously a gamble, but if you're just biding time until retirement, why not?

Most people on this thread really don’t know what they are talking about.

1. You have until July 15th to accept or reject relocation package.
2. If you accept you need to be in your new city by December 31st and be in the office.
3. If you reject you will receive 60 day separation notice one November 15th. You are then considered an employee until January 15th.
4. January 15th your package kicks in. 2 weeks for every year with the firm.

If you aren’t going to relocate, don’t accept the package, you are better off rejecting it and collecting your severance and your 2020 bonus. Hopefully you will find a job before your severance runs out.

WARN Act isn’t relevant here, those requirements have been well exceeded, this strategy isn’t a secret, and at least one reporter visits this site.

What is relevant is the pandemic. How bad does it get? How many people lose their lives? When does life return to normal? Does it ever?

Plenty of reasons to delay any decision making. If they don’t revisit their office space strategy, then it’s probably a good reason to get the heck out. Costs for this will probably lead to layoffs, salary cuts, incentives evaporating and more. Until there is a vaccine and a demonstrated treatment, keeping your distance will be life essential.

Wondering if you keep your salary if you relocate? Like moving from Cali to MN (a higher pay to a lower cost of living) or the opposite if you move from Ohio to MN do you get a raise? Curious. As that could be a strategy if they can lower your pay.

folks, these people are not dumb. they are playing games with various WARN Act Compliance things as well as tax strategies.

They know many people will not take the relocation and will instead take the package. This is not considered a layoff where they will have to do notifications to various state governments, etc.

Pick the best game strategy – accept the relocation offer - regardless of your actual intent.

Unless you have built up large severance (i.e., 8 years), best to play it out; best to remain full-time employee.

Phase One employees have not built dealt the greatest cards; use uncertainty to your advantage - don't commit to decision until July 15.

Moving doesn't necessarily have to mean you sell your home, move, and buy another one. I've known people who tested the waters by renting out their homes in their original locations and then renting small, cheaper places in their new cities. They didn't regret it. To a person they ended up moving back.

Think creatively. It's not all or nothing.

Am I missing sometihing? My understanding was that if you decline the relo package then you would get a severance package and could collect unemployment.

They're taunting the employee with no sever ca or unemployment thinking they won't take the package. So when the employee does they'll still lay them off. They're playing a vindictive but stupid games with employees.

Why would they pay $16k/head and then lay off rather than just laying off? (Miscalculation, or just to be the biggest jerks possible?)

There is risk in all directions.

Don't ever relocate unless you really want to. After they relocate you they'll lay you off I've seen it at other companies.

This must be a technology thing, haven’t heard about relocating in any other group.

I worked with people at another bank, who were laid off within months of relocation. They couldn't afford to buy their old homes back. Think before putting business ahead of your family and life. If it is the right decision for you and your family, do it, but think through the potential unknowns.