Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

You may have legal recourse depending on what your job duties actually are to maybe at least be paid for overtime.
Under the US fair labor standards act, a job must meet certain standards to be exempt from overtime pay. Att has been sued over this in the past.
My understanding is that basically in IT, you must be doing creative work to be exempt. Are you designing systems, writing code or determining department policy? Those types of duties would be exempt.
Or are you troubleshooting or implementating using standard procedures? Those types of duties legally should be paid overtime.
You can find more specifics on the standards on the department of labor website.
I think it's a shame that the public is not more informed about how this law works. So many aren't paid overtime where legally they should be.

I was let go at 45. Being middle aged in IT is horrible. All I’ve gotten are those sh– contract jobs. I’ve had 8 in less than 4 years! Yes, 8 in less than four years. In the last two years, I’ve had 3 jobs a year. I am constantly looking for work, always work for mean a–holes and always struggle to learn new processes, new procedures and be ready to move on to the next new job in a matter of a few months. In a few years, my mortgage will be paid off and I’m out. Or If I do stay, I’ll just be doing it for trip money and retirement. Not sure though if I’ll have the right attitude though to deal with all those rude butts we mere contractors have to deal with.

I have friends in fortune 500 companies and they all say there nothing like this going on Att is an exception as usual and will never stop letting people go.

SBC. Screwed By Cowboys

I've been with T for 35+ years, all in IT. I've definitely have seen better times and I wasn't even here during the 'good ole days' ! Try to come up with a couple of solutions to ease your OT and discuss them with your manager. And you sound like a person that is in need of a vacation to recharge. Try to be the SME in your area as that will help with your value to the organization. Regarding whether to seek a new job/employer is a personal decision. But remember, it is easier to look for a job when you already have a job. IT has been in the surplus/outsource/offshore/downsize/rightsize cross hairs for 35 years. In a recent town hall meeting they announced a $1.5bil workforce reduction so the cutting will continue and I feel for everyone that is not retirement eligible. I have an extensive network of friends who work for other Fortune 100 companies and it sounds like they too are going through similar issues within their IT organizations too. Oh, an don't believe it if your director says they had no input into the decision to surplus certain individuals.

Just remember, if Sr. management doesn't know you personally, you are nothing but an unwanted cost. You are not a human being, you are an impediment to their bonus payout. It's very easy for them to rationalize treating you (and your family) like a disposable napkin, you're only important to them to the extent that you meet their immediate needs.

I am in a similar situation. However, I set limits about what I can do and what I cannot do.I do not escalate, I just stop working when I feel that I must, for my own personal and physical health. If I am unable to meet a deadline, with my personal constraints in place, I inform my manager as such. As far as layoff/surpluses go, I don't think it makes much of a difference. In the last couple of surplus rounds, our director didn't even know who was going to be surplused or not. In other words, the director did not make any "recommendations", since he was also out of the loop. The same is true for recent reorgs as well. The director had no input into who went where. After the fact, there was a bit of horse trading going on, but the initial decision making process did not involve the input of the managers directly involved with the impacted personnel. That may sound like a crazy way to run a business, but that's been my experience with AT&T.

: @1nvt+15eJVZh8 “ How broke or poorly designed are our systems that they need that much nightly & weekend takedowns? Ridiculous waiting 2 or 3+ hours in the middle of the night on a callout for a system to come back up“
I’m guessing that you are an outside tech based on your response. Is your concern related to FORCE/EDGE (PMO and FMO), GCAS, WFA by chance? If you had any idea of the code complexity of these systems, you’d understand a little better. The nightly maintenance windows are there for a reason. While major update releases are scheduled weeks if not months in advance, production patching and minor updates are a near daily occurrence.

Compared to my friends in IT and Finance, you actually have it pretty good. I've been working weekends (SAT & SUN) for years now. It's mainly due to problem systems going into Financial systems that do not match up. It is job security because nobody else will be able to figure out the job as well as you. Unfortunately, the reality is the worse the job, the better the job security. It's pretty much the same everywhere. Hang in there!

Set an 8hr schedule and stick to it. What gets done gets done, don't push yourself or your health for things that are out of your control.

Alternatively see if you can work out a flexible schedule in which you can log off and on for late items but keeping your work day to 8hrs.

How broke or poorly designed are our systems that they need that much nightly & weekend takedowns? Ridiculous waiting 2 or 3+ hours in the middle of the night on a callout for a system to come back up.

You signed up for salary at a dishonest company.
I feel bad for you but they don't care.
Report it and you'll be gone.
You have no recourse except to refuse the hours and get canned or find another job.
T has no ethics, no loyalty and zero morals.

Tell them you can’t do the work and you have a life other than att cesspool. I would leave lot of other much better jobs out there.

I feel for you. I generally work 10-12 hour days and have been doing so for as long as I can remember. I took a job downgrade to get out of a toxic work environment 7 years ago. I can not remember the last time I took a lunch break. I also need my job T this time so continue to do what needs to be done. I am a little older than you in my mid-fifties with multiple technical/grad degrees. I do not listen to all the hype about all the great jobs out there. I have two friends FMP'd a few yrs ago and are still looking for a worthwhile position with a comparable decent salary. One graduated from M.I.T and is teaching part-time. The other from Carnegie Mellon, has a PHD and currently working some B.S. job at Amazon over an hour away. Age is definitely a discriminating factor as well as the fact that their careers were somewhat limited to Bell Labs and AT&T. I wish you the best of luck.

pixx on the axxkissers,do what you want and dont do what you dont want,if you get let go slip on the way out and sue.

"A good rule of thumb in decision making is, whenever you cannot decide what you should do, choose the action that represents a change, rather than continuing the status quo" Steven Levitt

If you don’t get surpluses take some vacation time.

let's see, AT&T perspective is "you should be glad to be employed.

WITH constant layoffs, you are AT RISK, You have no seniority, and 50+, both of these are liabilities.

Look for a job where you can find THE BALANCE YOU WANT.

IT IS POSSIBLE, I DID FIND A GREAT EMPLOYER, SO YOU CAN

This is the expectation of T mismanagement in my organization (NOC). Stated by mismanagement that salaried are expected to work 45 hours/week minimum and you best report at least 45 on your time system and best have way over that but no pay. Extra weekend / night work above this 45 min is BAU but they MIGHT provide you some flextime.

Code that you worked only 40 hours/week and you will be on the wacking list.

Of course if you are hourly, they don't want you work 1 minute past 5PM, and don't check your emails on your own time without authorized overtime, which they don't want at all.

Set your own work life balance. You should start applying for jobs with other companies. This gig probably won’t last and you’re unhappy.

Keep a low profile and just be thankful that you have a job.

and yet i have 20 years seniority on you, 4x IT degrees, and can't buy OT or a promotion. I am in IT services as well. quit b–ching and be glad you have a job.

The first thing you have to do is check your spelling and grammar before posting so that you look more professional.

I am in same/worse position as you, over a longer period of time and also in IT. The company and your org want you create value for them , but only you can be sure to create value for yourself. Obviously IT sometimes demands off-hour work for initiatives, but there more you give, the more they will take. There is no reward and no job security, no matter how much time you put in. Decide what sounds reasonable and start sticking to it. The company has decided to surplus key people and positions to ‘save money’. Don’t take up that slack because it’s only going to get worse. Would you prefer to keep working OT and weekends to (maybe) keep your job, or keep a reasonable balance and possibly get surplused?