Lay-offs are an inevitable consequence of market economics, but let’s be clear: the lay-offs at WFC have less to do with competitive forces and are much more a consequence of poor leadership. The result is that many will end up paying for the sins of a few.
The truth of our situation is that the thousands of people who will lose their jobs are having to bear the responsibility for the fraud and greed carried out by our irresponsible senior leadership. The fault has been with management, not the employees.
I work with experienced and knowledgeable people in my department. These are people who have given much of their heart and soul towards their work, trying to serve our customers with outdated technology and the ever-changing whims of a privileged out-of-touch C-Suite. We have mature team players and up-and-coming younger contributors who all work together for the good of the organization. Laying off 1 in 4 employees on our department of 100 means that people who do not deserve to go are going to get handed their walking papers. And a lot of knowledge will be walking out the door with them.
For the most part, I don’t see employees who need to raise their level of performance. I see employees who deserve better leadership.