Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

Packages and Layoffs

Packages are being offered to SOME (not all) people who satisfy the "Rule of 60". If your age plus your years of service adds up to 60, you MIGHT be getting a package.

Being offered to a SMALL number of people. This is very limited in scope, and is being done for the purposes of generating metrics, so that if they later offer packages to larger numbers of people then management will have a better idea of what percentage of those people will accept the package or not.

"We don't want to offer a package to 40 thousand people and risk having 40 thousand accept it".

"We are looking at the numbers coming in". This is for numbers of people (either accepting or rejecting) resulting from the Rule of 60 packages and are extrapolating what the results would be for a "greater offering" for different populations. They have a chart that shows this, but data is not complete so this is preliminary.

"Generational differences are anticipated". (Different percentages of Millenials vs Boomers pertaining to percentages of people who will voluntarily resign, versus waiting for a package, versus accepting a package).

"Voluntary turnover is expected to spike beginning in early Q4, after RTO (Return to Office), and will be biased towards more junior employees".

"We may be able to meet our headcount numbers without having to do further layoffs or offer any packages". If we don't make our headcount numbers after RTO, then the data from the limited offerings (the packages to the Rule of 60 people) will be used to fine tune what a broader offering would be.

"All staffing decisions are being looked at through a DE&I lens". That is an exact quote from a leader in HR. There is discussion over NOT offering packages to certain people who otherwise would be eligible, so as to not artificially generate turnover among certain catagories. This is for the purposes of moving the DE&I metrics in a favorable direction. "We need to move the needle" was another quote.

Employee Retention Bonuses to selected employees are on the table. This too is being looked at "through a DE&I lens" in the interest of moving the metrics in a more favorable direction (or NOT moving the needle in the wrong direction as one lady said).

A comment which got some uncomfortable laughter was, "we need to make sure we don't offer both a Package AND a Retention Bonus to the same individuals".

There is more I could say, but I am not going to provide enough details to out my identity. This has been talked about in enough meetings, and others can corraborate this. It is enough to just say I don't plan on working here much longer, and I know what it's like to live under the constant threat of getting a layoff.

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| 4263 views | | 24 replies (last June 29, 2021) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1b3LoEtt

24 replies (most recent on top)

Very insightful. There have been some sudden retirements lately...

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Post ID: @xory+1b3LoEtt

We will be returning to the office hubs starting in September. I think this will be the bigger factor for staying or leaving Wells Fargo. Especially for groups like mine that have been mostly remote workers prior to the pandemic. Based on the information from OP, any large scale implementation of this package program won't happen until 2022, and only if necessary.

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Post ID: @2eco+1b3LoEtt

Post ID: @2wrc+1b3LoEtt

I posted the comment that they were responding to and it seems to have been somewhat over analysed.

In my specific case, I came to WF through an acquisition a few years back and basically think working in tech, for WF, is close to being the worst job I've ever had. As part of moving to WF I got continuity of service so if I got laid off, I'd get 60 days plus 12 months of severance and I'm in a position to call the whole thing early retirement and get out of the way so the young folks can get on with the business of changing the world one microservice at a time or whatever it is that they seem to think they're so much better at than I am :)

My point was that, assuming the bennies were comparable, I'd take a package and save the bank from calling it a layoff. Six of one, half dozen of the other as it applies to me personally.

The thing about IT being cyclical usually refers to budgets. If you haven't used it up by November, it gets frozen and you don't have new money to spend until near the end of Q1 the following year so hiring usually stops late in the year and doesn't restart until around bonus time the following year when new budgets are approved and people start moving around. Not sure if that's still the case with outsourcing and all but that's how it used to be.

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Post ID: @2cac+1b3LoEtt

Post ID: @1qzv+1b3LoEtt

This is a nonsensical post in the extreme. People are not going to pick and choose to stay or accept a package based on time of year. People are going to make this decision based upon age, means, health and their love or hate relationship with Wells. Even more ridiculous is your assertion that tech jobs are cyclical throughout the year. Tech is 24 by 7 every day of the year. Tech hasn’t been cyclical since the first computers in the 50’s.

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Post ID: @2wrc+1b3LoEtt

@1jns+1b3LoEtt

I absolutely would be. More work is the least of my concerns.

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Post ID: @2ivm+1b3LoEtt

@2xhg. No you don’t. Well, if you met that rule, that is. Easier to find a job at 25 than 55.

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Post ID: @2tiu+1b3LoEtt

Thanks for the heads up OP.

Darn I wish I met that 60 rule.

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Post ID: @2hxg+1b3LoEtt

The E in DE&I is for equity, not equality. Also, why invoke MLK?

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Post ID: @2gaf+1b3LoEtt

Who did the OP quote in his write-up?

What is the source of his/her statements if they are not merely madeup?

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Post ID: @1wxq+1b3LoEtt

How soon will this be rolled out? Part of the big June layoff announcements hopefully?????

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Post ID: @1xxa+1b3LoEtt

I'll take the retention bonus package. Thanks.

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Post ID: @1cob+1b3LoEtt

Could WF be any worse?

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Post ID: @1jls+1b3LoEtt

The next question to then be answered is, who will be willing to stay being short staffed and the inevitable workload increase? A strong back has a finite load amount it can carry.

Management better be planning on what to do once the headcount goes lower than what they are targeting.

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Post ID: @1jns+1b3LoEtt

@1qzv+1b3LoEtt

To each their own, timing doesn't matter to me when "later" = more $. The 6 mo would be used to find another gig and double dip on pay, not vacation time, but that depends on the person I suppose. For a lot of people now vs later wouldn't be a very tough decision. If OP is correct, I hope tons of people accept these offers. If we can really get to the headcount # the board wants with voluntary departures rather than involuntary ones, I'm all for it. It'd be the best outcome for everyone.

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Post ID: @1fnf+1b3LoEtt

@1wun+1b3LoEtt another point to consider... I'm in the trenches doing productive work so if my first 2 levels of management have any input then I think they would steer a forced layoff toward a few others on the team rather than myself. Therefore, for me, waiting it out might be harder because I'm not likely to be in the first round using that approach. However, if they are making offers to the entire team thinking they know their metrics then I might see it as my one and only chance to get a package and move on. By skipping on the opportunity my path out would likely be resigning in the future to work for another company so why pass on a chance to double dip?

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Post ID: @1lsb+1b3LoEtt

@1wun+1b3LoEtt you are not thinking this through.
Say you've got six months of severance coming to you. Wouldn't you rather choose -which- six?
In Minnesota you would - April-September is a lot different from October-March. If you could plan for it, you could cruise around the world if you wanted to or hike the Appalachian Trail or whatever thing that is season-dependent.

Or maybe you want to sign up for severance sooner than later because you're in the final stages of an interview process elsewhere. Wouldn't you rather also get six months worth of money for nothing? I would.

Or maybe, like in tech, your business operates cyclically and people really do not want to hire in December but the recruiters come out in force by March. Better if you can choose what quarter you get let go in.

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Post ID: @1qzv+1b3LoEtt

DE & I is not about equality, it only exists to get woke cred... Equality of Opportunity should be desired, not Equality of Outcome... you cannot have both.

Equality of Outcome is based on skin color... does your skin color make you a better accountant or manager? We are practicing discrimination, something that MLK would not approve of.

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Post ID: @1aku+1b3LoEtt

The only worthwhile carrot, if you're under 65, is healthcare. Could be a game changer but we'll see I guess.

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Post ID: @1are+1b3LoEtt

Yeah, it almost certainly has to be a better severance than a regular layoff or just about everyone would simply wait it out and get paid for a while longer before getting a similar severance later anyway. What's the scoop OP, what carrot is dangled to encourage people to take it rather than waiting it out?

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Post ID: @1wun+1b3LoEtt

This is pretty interesting to say the least. I'd jump on it unless the math didn't work. If the standard offering is 60 days plus two weeks per year of service, I'd have to assume they'd offer something similar otherwise folks would just wait them out.

Any thoughts on what a package might look like?

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Post ID: @1izi+1b3LoEtt

Do you have any kind of timeframe for when they might plan on expanding that? My gut is telling me to expect a big June layoff and maybe dangling this carrot in September, but I have no evidence to support that.

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Post ID: @1vlz+1b3LoEtt

Ever notice that bigots that say things like "we have to move the needle" are white themselves and not lining up leave the company to move said needle? Funny how that works. Content of your character people, it's the only path to true justice in this world. You'll never solve bigotry with more bigotry. Violence begets violence.

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Post ID: @1nhn+1b3LoEtt

He/she is talking about what is essentially a voluntary layoff. If you've got 5 managers, and you want to get the number to 4, you offer some severance packages to specific individuals in the group and see if one will leave voluntarily.

In a way, this is a good thing. Much better to have volunteers rather than some faceless bean counting upper manager just selecting people. On the other hand institutionalized bigotry and the weaponizing of back to office is the opposite of what a business should be doing. If there's good reasons for working in office for some roles, fine, but if the OP is accurate with their information this RTO plan goes much further than that.

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Post ID: @1vfv+1b3LoEtt

What do you mean by, "Packages?" Is this something all together different then getting laid off, getting your 2 months plus X amount of weeks of pay based on amount of years worked?

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Post ID: @1wfv+1b3LoEtt

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