Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

Why wouldn't you leave WF? The worst company in the world!

The bank all but eviscerated my entire career track with a “Chainsaw”, and while there were non-lateral career alternatives, there was no support from anyone in the community bank or corporate. I am with a much smaller outfit now, that pays better, recognizes talent and respects their colleagues. 10 out if 10, would move again.

I wrote my "accomplishments" for the year and it told the story. With all the crazy lack of training rollout on the new Change Management strategy much was frozen. Add in the reduced capital available for projects and things were just not moving. My accomplishments involved dozens of .ppt decks with no real change implemented. When I was told that this is how Agile and CM are supposed to roll out with everyone on their own for learning I realized very few actually knew what was supposed to happen. I wouldn't hire me with the accomplishments I wrote so left before trying to explain it to a new potential employer.

Because working in an inverse meritocracy eventually sucks your soul out, and I had to escape while I still had the self-awareness left to do what's best for me.

I have seen the most talented guy for the job get promoted at Wells. Three whole times in ten years.

Location location location.

I left because I had about a week’s worth of work over a one year period. No joke. Couldn’t take the boredom anymore.
I took a lateral move in skill, pay and benefits at a regional bank. The culture is SO MUCH BETTER. Love it.

The Location Non-Strategy. I do not live in a hub city and yet was consistently a top performer. SVB would rather have id--ts in hub cities than talented tech WFH. Let me ask you something, HR, what are you going to do with all this negative feedback?

No honest John here. But I truly did not partake in the criminal behavior. That was the biggest reason for leaving,

Rampant dishonesty, lying
Too much time spent bored, losing skills
Obvious management campaign to anger employees
Total disrespect for CEO and brigade of cronies

New job keeps me busy, have access to senior leaders, working on key projects in a growth company. Better benefits such as separate sick and vacation days, pay about the same. Proud of company, proud of my work.

Advice - if you think you should get out, you’re right. I stayed a full year too long. I come back here occasionally hoping to hear some nugget of comeuppance well deserved by so many in management.

There is a consistent message here which I wish management could see.

It would be beneficial if there was a truly anonymous survey that asked the right questions. Not: Do you have a best friend at work? Better questions: What could leadership do to improve your ability to do your job better? What do you think is the biggest risk to WFC not currently being addressed? What do you need to better serve the bank’s clients?

Of course, we would need leadership that cares about the answers to these questions.

So far the feedbacks are pretty consistent.

Unless you have been with the company for a long time (i.e. get a nice severance package) or close to retirement, there are really no good reasons to stay.

There are too many colleagues I know who too comfortable with their pay given the amount of work they had to do. It’s going to be a rude awakening when they get kicked to the curb.

I left for all the reasons below.

I have a much better job with much better pay.

There are problems, no job is perfect, but the attitude about the work and company is much, much different.

And that makes all the difference.

Upper management at Wells, at least in tech, is clueless about management AND about tech, and down the management chain are people who are afraid of upper management.

Management should be a partner, not your enemy.

Mangement sets the course, supplies what's needed, removes obstacles, and it should all be done in a consistent manner.

Wells management does none of those things and the only thing consistent is the constant rearranging of the deck chairs to justify their existence.

The place is toxic, has been for at least five years.

If you can get out, go, if the new job is bad oh well, try again, because Wells is not going to get any better.

it can't, not without starting from scratch.

I left after a decade of empty promises of promotions, constant accolades with zero 'real' recognition despite the fact I was consistently a top performer, and general apathy towards WFC.

I found a more senior role with a company with a much better reputation and culture. I make 25% higher salary and I LOVE the job and the role (and especially the team/culture).

My advice: write your own career story. I've watched many colleagues get displaced this year...most felt they were safe and were completely blindsided by the layoff.

Update your resume, apply for jobs, interview. Get out on your terms, not WFCs.

I was in a non-hub so I looked to see if there was anything better out there. There was.

Non-hub city, so my career was pretty much dead in the water here. But on top of that:

• Inept management- no consistency at the lower levels and total impotence at the higher levels to actually affect any obvious change that would make our work more efficient or meaningful (this was in FCI, within Risk)
• Total burnout as a result of the overwork and toxicity from the above mismanagement- mgmt could not plan for labor if their lives depended on it.
• Bad tech
• Looming layoffs
• Really can't stress enough the lack of consistency and planning, and it seems to be a problem endemic to the whole company given how frequently they kick the RTO can down the road a month at a time, or build in wiggle room to any decision so powertripping middle managers can run their fiefdoms how they want.
• No real hope for any of these problems to actually improve and no desire to even acknowledge them.

Now at a better paying fintech with 100% wfh, wildly better culture, and couldn't be happier. Although truthfully I never felt like I was being paid unfairly at WF, not counting the games they play with raises and internal hires.

Gee, the OP is a little posting from the HR Dept?

Backwards tech.
Some well intentioned but clueless managers.
Some just plain clueless managers.
Some very bad managers.
Saul. Not very inspiring. Sip.
Tired of waiting for possible layoff.
Years of endless crimes, with CEO's, etc., walking away with millions, gets to you.
Angry internal customers frustrated with the problems in tech.
Watching good people get let go while others....
Life's too short.

I’m in a non- hub city so cannot move further within the company so looked outside. I took a small pay cut but get to work 100% remote and with newer technology. I like my Wells manager but does not want to deal with layoffs, span and layer, or potential forced relocation that my manager and 2 up have no control over.

Money and promotion was not my primary factor to leave, but rather gaining new experience and parlay that to further opportunities down the road.

Corruption, lies and favoritism

Location strategy and could not let tech skills get even further behind. Yes, you can learn them on your own time and being able to demonstrate use in role (not just certificate) is needed

The list is long, but so is my Johnson.

1. Instability, constant changing of winds
2. Bureaucracy and complexity, makes it a Zoo
3. Don't like my boss or respect the leadership
4. Don't want my reputation aligned with theirs
5. Don't care to relocate or be asked to
6. Don't want to work in a Carnival
7. I'm worn out
8. My values don't align with almost everything here
9. I've done more than CJ Tolkin has in my time here and never got credit for it let alone a 7 figure salary. Tired of the hypocrisy and cronyism and elitist condescension from New York Hudson Yard.
10. The End

Hated my manager and the company culture. It just got too hard to continually hide my feelings. I made a lateral move to work with people I could respect. Never looked back, except to scan this site once in a while for entertainment.

1. Current Technology
2. More Money
3. Promotion

More money and stability. Plain and simple. Love working with my colleagues but everything else that came with it not worth it.

Is it HR conducting exit interviews after the fact? 😀

I jumped two levels, was stuck and this got me unstuck

More money. Pure and simple. I liked my boss at Wells but that was it.