Thread regarding NetApp layoffs

NetApp is getting looted, as they realized everything they offer is better done through bespoke AI.

Everything they do SAAS-wise is unnecessary and overly complicated, in an age where everything becomes more and more customized.

Even their approach to the AI interface is weighed down heavily by a management-heavy interface that shows they don’t even understand the point of why it is a good tool.

Their days are numbered, and they know it. Gotta get that exit liquidity as high as possible.

So sad, NetApp UK was once a thriving office and a great place to be. The leadership team simply do not believe in us. They've just hired a new SE director externally when we had someone in the UK who is way more capable of doing that role. Such a shame. I guess it's time to get a sick note for 6 months

@24k 100%

It’s one BIG pressure cooker. Not surprised at all that people are leaving or not coping..

@12k I'm not surprised at the acceptance of racism. Several partner meetings occurred where racist and s-xist slurs were used; when this was escalated it was always a case of the deal taking precedence over morals with it all being swept under the carpet.

And if there were questions regarding the US management style and practices then your card was marked.

Another one bites the dust…
Two more exceptionally talented women left NetApp UKI last week, bringing the total to four in just a matter of months, alongside a further two currently absent due to stress or put on pips

One cannot help but wonder what has changed over the past year.
Of course, people move on. Careers evolve, priorities change and new opportunities arise.

But when a business sees a noticeable number of highly talented, experienced and respected women leaving within such a concentrated period, it would seem rather sensible to pause and consider whether this is simply coincidence… or perhaps indicative of something rather more fundamental.

Talent rarely disappears overnight. More often, the environment around it changes.

A curious pattern, to say the least.

@12j Yeah, I’m glad he’s gone too. He never once actually had a partner meeting, yet he was always quick to judge the people he didn’t favour. The guy was obviously racist. He gave the Asian lads such a hard time, despite them doing absolutely everything they could.

He would also boss some of the partners around and, at the end of every month, ask the channel team to chase partner reps for deals, often insisting they speak to reps he claimed “knew” the answers, when clearly they didn’t. If he genuinely had the senior relationships he claimed to have, why couldn’t he just approach their manager directly? It really showed that he didn’t have the senior-level relationships he made out like he did, and that his boss protected him for far too long.

To be honest, I’m glad that one of the Channel Directors is no longer with the company. His behaviour was, in my experience, openly discriminatory, and he could be extremely rude, arrogant and bullying, particularly towards colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds.

It was difficult to understand how that behaviour was tolerated for so long. Bullying, intimidation and treating people with disrespect have no place in a professional environment, especially from someone in a leadership position.

Regardless of someone’s position or seniority, basic respect, professionalism and treating people fairly should be non-negotiable. Arrogance and bullying may create fear, but they don’t create strong teams or successful businesses.

NetApp has really lost its touch.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with hiring someone from India to lead the UK business. People move around the world all the time to run businesses and take on senior leadership roles. There are plenty of examples of people moving from the UK to other countries to do exactly that.

The issue isn’t where someone comes from. The issue is assuming that the way people work in one market is automatically the same in another. It isn’t.

The UK sales environment is very different. Some people spend a huge amount of time updating SFDC and creating the appearance of activity, while others are out there actually getting things done — meeting customers, working with partners, building relationships, creating opportunities and driving the business forward.

What is frustrating is that, far too often, it seems to be the people who are genuinely putting in the hard work and delivering for customers and partners who end up being penalised, overlooked or even made redundant.

Those are the people who should be recognised and retained. If NetApp wants to fix the UK business, it needs to look beyond the activity that is easy to measure in SFDC and focus on the people who are actually making things happen in the market.

@10g well, we all knew that the manchester mafia would be the next UK leader, clearly that did not happen.

NetApp is sc--wed. Not winning new customers and sustaining ourselves from price increases. When components balance out the revenue will drop. The UK seem to think bringing someone in to lead from India is a great idea - never lived in the UK and therefore doesn’t know the culture or customers - a CEO decision. Could we not find a UK leader? Instead we fire people like Grant Caley with huge experience and knowledge. The place is a joke with no real innovation now.

I fully agree. There are people who left almost eight months ago and still haven’t been replaced. They were genuinely amazing people to work with and some of the nicest people you could ever meet. One of them moved to a competitor and is absolutely thriving, which says a lot.

It’s really sad to see the state of NetApp in the UK. I’ve always said that one bad stakeholder can have a huge impact on an organisation, but when you start losing great people and aren’t replacing them, it becomes a much bigger issue.

What’s even more disappointing is that, at times, diversity can feel like nothing more than a tick-box exercise, while blatant racism still exists and isn’t always challenged in the way it should be. You can have all the right policies and statements in place, but they mean very little if people don’t feel genuinely valued, respected and treated equally.

There are some incredibly talented and decent people in the organisation, which makes it even more frustrating to see the direction things have taken.

Some really good folk have just upped and left the business with nothing else even lined up. What does that tell you?

And now they’re struggling to replace them. People seem keen enough until they actually meet the UK leadership and see what’s going on, then suddenly they’re not so keen.

You’ve got to ask yourself why decent people would rather walk away with no job to go to than stay there. Says a lot if you ask me.

Could not agree more…