Thread regarding Allstate Corp. layoffs

Whether your direct manager has any knowledge of the buybacks (most of them probably don't and probably can't be bothered to read a quarterly call) is not the point.

The point is to get people TALKING. To INFORM people. If enough people ask your manager, he/she then asks his/her manager.....with enough chatter, the Directors at the top of the food chain get nervous.

Why do you think they threw us a bone with the Juneteenth holiday?!

Folks, they KNOW the stock buybacks are a PR NIGHTMARE for them...

I doubt your manager would have any idea about stock buy backs.

You won't do nothing.....you'll just go about your day like everyone else.

I'm not for greedy corporations getting richer but let's be honest, is this your dream? Why are you here....why do they have you here.

This is the deal they setup with you and every single enterprise is playing the same game. The board members and executives are part of a group that rates them on how well they do for their shareholders.

Welcome to being publicly traded.

It's bigger than ALL...you won't do sh– so put-up or shut-up.

Former Esurance employees, now Allstate employees will likely be the first to be shown the door. And if you are a former Esurance employee, working in CA, it's almost guaranteed as Allstate as no claims offices in CA at all, only agents and appraisers for auto/home inspections.
I'm sure this information is being expressed in small chunks in the hopes that employee will leave and find other work so Allstate won't have to pay severance.

Folks, this is important:

Notice how "as an ALL employee" commenting below FAILS to mention the stock buybacks?!

Because he/she can't.

There is simply no justification for a company to be doing buybacks AND layoffs.

They can't justify it, and they will try and muddy the waters (like the "as an all employee" commented did) when it is brought up

As an ALL employee:

Ask your immediate supervisor to explain the rationale of Allstate's decision to re-authorize $3 billion in share buy-backs last month (May 2020) when that money could have been re-invested back into the company (i.e. for employee retention, advertising)..

These decisions were/are made in F Tower. Unless your supervisor works there or spends a lot of time there (if so has signed an NDA) no reason to ask this question as they don't know and you will only create more anxiety for them.

The cuts that are coming to ALL will be devastating, but they are necessary. 14 regions doing the same work 14 different ways. Completely unnecessary.
Agent turnover is out of hand, which creates a massive infrastructure for recruiting, training, on-boarding. ALL has finally figured out the consumer buys insurance on price. Remove the expense from the system and ALL can offer a competitive product which reduces agent turnover as they can make a living. No need to have thousands of recruiters when the agent business model works.

I will finish with this: a few years ago I was speaking with a senior level director and I said to him that ALL is really no different than your traditional Utah based MLM company; constant churn for new sellers who fail the company scoops the residuals (assigns them at 3% commission) that pay for the excessive # middle management that exists. He agreed.

Report to ABC 7 Chicago News:

Send email to wls.desk@abc.com

They will cover this in their news.

So when will the heads start to be chopped?

Many veteran employees have shared with me their willingness to accept a package if one was to be offered. I, too, would be more that happy to receive a package. Of course, as things go, those that want it most will not be impacted by this reduction.

So much for being in good hands. The head of legal, Susie Lees, put out a dumb memo that “everything gonna be alright.” For her it will be but to lay people off during a pandemic, when they know they cannot get another job, is unconscionable. No one is going to hire now and older employees will be in real trouble financially. How will the layoffs be done? No one knows. Seniority should count but will it.

P&C Specialist, a Financial Times publication is covering this story. Please send news tips, story idea to varada.bhat@ft.com

WGN NEWS TIPS & PRESS RELEASES: To email a press release, news tip or story idea to WGN News, send to desk@wgntv.com.

Let's see if the media follows through on the tips they have been provided...

Please send it to WGN News Chicago. They like to cover greedy Chicago based CEOs!!

Someone please leak this to the media!

How do you prove them wrong? Who has the nads to say anything to media or otherwise? We quietly sit and wait for the ax to strike. Unless we are liked well enough and are envisioned to serve a purpose moving forward. Time will tell

Anyone ever notice how buybacks are never really discussed? Wilson/Shapiro avoid the topic like the plague during townhall meetings.

Check the quarterly calls. When asked about buybacks, Wilson/Shapiro don't even bother giving a coherent answer ("well we have enough liquidity to return billions of dollars to the shareholders").

If they really wanted to maximize value for shareholders, they would increase the dividend and/or re-invest the money in the company, which would improve performance, grow profitability and recapture market share.

Share buybacks are don't do anything to improve the company and any gains in the share price are short-term, artificial and easily snuffed out by wall street (who can spot the BS a mile away)

Why do people think the share price cratered to $64 in March? Coronavirus was the start, but the rotten fundamentals (which were masked by the share buy-backs) made the stock susceptible to such a steep (and warranted) decline.

The upper-level executives simply cannot (nor will they ever, unless compelled to) justify authorizing billions of dollars in share buybacks while also laying off employees.

This is the kind of story that blows up in the national media because the public LOVES seeing greedy corporate executives get exposed for being the morally bankrupt ghouls they truly are.

Wilson and company must think their employees are unsophisticated FOOLS.

It's time to prove them wrong,