I myself find it totally unprofessional and rather seedy how Wells Fargo is going about the layoff business. Going on the media touting about all the headcount cuts for months while team members are nervous, wondering about their livelihood and being scared. What a c-apshoot organization. I have 16 years in and and am retiring. So happy this company will be left in the dust. While I am not responsible for anyone's layoff, I am very sorry everyone is having to endure this c-ap. I wish all of you better jobs with better companies after your tenure with this company. Blessings to everyone.
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@pln, did you get a package?
@dhh, so agree!!
"@pln+16XiQaJG" All 4 and 5's? You manager was an id–t. No one should be exceeding expectations year in and year out. If you are the bar is set to low.
@awy Thank you. So true.
Employees should stand up for themselves and require more of our senior leadership and board. They are making the big bucks. Make then earn it. Ask the tough questions. Where are they? What style of leadership are we dealing with here? I have no idea. Charlie Scharf has been at the helm for 11 months and we have barely heard a word from him. I would like to make $36 million and hide in the shadows while doing the dirty work. Be a man, get in front of the people you are responsible for leading and be straightforward.
@fwl+16XiQaJG - you must work in HR or in an executive's office. You think morale is good because no one knows if the positions in their department are going to be there? You think it creates stability to be vague? This only protects the company, and does nothing for the mental and emotional health of the employee. If management announced - we're laying off 40% of the risk staff over the next 18 months, whom does that help? It gives the employee time to find an exit, vs. guessing if they have a job or not. Otherwise, corporate is making sure someone is sitting in the chair before they rip it out from under them when they are no longer needed.
The world is not black and white. There is an entire range of gray in which they could be communicating what they can, and explaining logically that they are not able to communicate all the facts and why.
I will give Wells Fargo credit where they are due. They have done a nice job so far with the WFH. They pulled it together quickly and have kept it in place while necessary.
Regarding how they are handling layoffs, it is best for our leadership to be vague: not best for you. I can’t imagine for the life of me how you can be ok with yourself for standing up for them.
So you want them to announce the lines of business that will be cut and the number of people that are going to be cut? If you think morale is bad now woof. Could you imagine people asking their manager every week about lay-off information? The best way to do it is to be vague. Everyone in the company knows layoffs are coming. If it’s too much then you can go otherwise just gotta wait it out.
“Re-orged”, moved our team under someone we’d never worked for who had an existing team of little friends already ... 15% reduction required, so he cuts more than 15% saying that should save the jobs of those who remain. Only there 6 years, feeling confident (still loyal) with all 5’s except for two 4’s on mid-year and year-end reviews ... BOOM! Selected! This is where the story begins. Brought into a last minute call, first words out of the mouth of a lead I’d never worked for, never spoken to, had no idea who I was ... “I don’t know who’s on this call or whole missing.” Oh, smooth. “For those of you on this call, this serves as your 60-day notice.” ... professional, I think NOT! The guy didn’t even know who he just fired! Worst day of my career, even counting the day, early in my career when I went through what they called a RIF Reductions In Force. Bottom line, you cannot responsibly claim to hire only the Best and Brightest, tell them repeatedly that they exceed all expectations; and, then decide they are fireable!
The “But everyone else is doing it ....” rationalization also doesn’t make it right.
The more people rationalize poor behavior, the more it becomes a culture of poor behavior.
The point is not about announcing layoffs before the actual job cuts. The point is about Wells not bothering to show their employees respect by communicating with them directly thereafter. CFO made the announcement over 3 months ago at an Investors Conference and leadership has been radio silent since.
From the announcement through the cuts, the information should flow through the organization via established channels in hours if it’s a small company , or days, if it is a large company. If it draws out for multiple weeks, it generates anxiety for all: managers, their reports and the leadership. Not only is it cruel, but it brings productivity to a trickle.
The “But everyone else is doing it...” argument doesn’t hold any water.
WF could have said a timeline on when departments would find out what cuts would be happening. Instead you have everyone freaking out. It does seem like rookies are running it. We had a call with our department leader. Instead of her addressing the issues we are facing, she brought in another leader, let them talk for 30 minutes about nothing, and then she asked that leader if she likes cats or dogs to keep it light. It completely missed the mark and lacked leadership. There were many topics she could have discussed as a leader. She decided to avoid it instead. The comment she said was they were looking at cost savings and doing things like attrition. Great. What’s happening? When? Want to talk about substance instead of asking someone what type of animal they’d be?
Oh come on. Corporate America has been announcing job cuts ahead of the cuts for decades.
Would you rather them give a heads up that 25% are going over the next couple of years or just boom and surprise after surprise. We now know the target so we can plan accordingly.
I’ve been on the no warning whatsoever path twice. Gone today here’s your 4 weeks of severance and Good luck.
With Less than 5 years of tenure it’s better to have the notice so you can start the hunt and hopefully find something before the hammer drops. 2 to 10 weeks of severance isn’t going to be enough. I know we get the 60 day notice but in this economic environment I think it will take much longer than usual to find a new job.
@ptb: uhhh...that’s called backing up your argument with facts.
Some of posts on board from media; they are collecting data for their stories, to have the best one
@OP+16XiQaJG, yea it is unprofessional how the company is handling it, sort of like rookies.
TBH, the execs may not have a clue what they are doing. Do whats best for you and take advantage of this time.
Responsible accountable CEOs issue an All-Hands announcement directly to their employees once they’ve gone public. For example:
On the same day that Nike announced dismal earnings, CEO John Donahoe sent an email to employees warning them that layoffs are coming.
“We will soon be forced to make some difficult choices that will likely result in a net reduction of jobs,” said the email sent late Thursday, according to Complex Magazine.
@msq: respect your input. In another way, though, that’s like throwing a a compliment to Stumpf and his posse for being strategic enough to ignore the fraud at the bank for so many years while they personally profited from the inflated stock price with their stock options. Just because our leaders can be jerks doesn’t mean they should be.
At least the aren’t shoving that fake and insulting “Culture of Caring” baloney down our gullets anymore. That’s something.
How are layoffs otherwise handled? It's always the case where a large company will signal layoffs first through an announcement to the media.
Well In a way it’s being transparent and strategic. Fire a warning shot. Hope people leave. Don’t have to pay severance. This isn’t Charlie and his posse’s first rodeo people