Former NetApp employee here. This is just sad. I left over a year ago and I remember the constant fear of layoffs ruining my productivity while I was there. I feel for those who were impacted. Time to move on rather than staying there until it’s too late.
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Look, I was at NetApp pre SolidFire acquisition and was there several years post acquisition (I left on my own over 3 years ago). Welcome to tech sector, you have to be quick to make decisions, pivot when needed, and not regret decisions made. Like many startups, the acquisition is not coincidental. To agree to an acquisition means you were at a point where it was the best option. Countless startups have disappeared because they held out too long. SolidFire would not have existed much beyond NetApp’s acquisition. Many employees made a lot of money as a result of the acquisition. HCI has always been a challenge to realize and NetApp took a shot by acquiring SolidFire It didn’t pan out. NetApp is not a NGO, it is a business. Just like you and I, it makes investments and some pan out, some don’t. Move on. If you want guarantees, go work for the public sector. Oh wait, that has no guarantees as well.
Treating employees as expendable is a truly bad quality of this leadership team and it’s extremely sad. 1-2 years ago, they were throwing money at SoldiFire/HCI, aggressively hiring while telling candidates that this was the future and everything looks bright. As little as 6 months later for some, the flow of money got cut off and there wasn’t even a budget for t-shirts. Soon after that, over 100 people who had been promised work on an important and valuable product were thrown to the street.
These experiments and rapid changes in direction have derailed the lives of hundreds of people. It takes sociopathic tendencies to be successful as a high level executive. That paired with poor decision making skills is a very dangerous combination.
Actually, I worked for Netapp over a decade. While true the culture has somewhat changed. I do understand their need to continue making changes. I left on my own accord for personal reasons which had nothing to do with my work environment. I would still return if the opportunity came up again. If you do your best and keep your eyes on your work and not listen to rumors. It alleviates the anxieties. Why worry about things you can't control? And even if you were to lose your job they do have a fair compensation package. The best thing you can do is to build your skill set where it will be relevant to the current work environment. In other words. Is the job I'm doing useful to other companies? Am I a valuable asset? If so, you shouldn't needlessly worry. You will land another job.
I agree- why’s he not being held accountable - It’s been long enough - transformation was suppose to take a year -‘it’s been 3 or 4??!!
Lol
It is time to move on. This company treats employees as expendables. Leadership has become conditioned to see layoffs as normal business practice - a get-out-of-jail card every time bad decisions are made. Why is the CEO not a part of this "realignment"? Last year was bad and his name should have been top of the list. All those all-hands where he brought up accountability. In the end, he wasn't man enough to walk the walk. It is time to get away from all this toxicity. This company does not have a heart - just greedy,clueless leaders and employees suffering for their f—ups.