Thread regarding CDW layoffs

@tk Yes, but successful AMs—and even the old ISA roles, which are no longer a role here, another horrible decision as discussed in other threads—have been a target of middle and upper management for years. That’s a big reason compensation plans seem to get reworked constantly, with the end result often being less earning potential for the people who are actually producing.

There’s definitely a mindset in some parts of leadership that says, “I have an MBA” or “I’m higher up in the organization, so I should be making more than a salesperson.” But compensation shouldn’t be about title, hierarchy, or credentials. If someone is generating significant revenue and GP for the company, their compensation should reflect the value they’re producing. So they hire "consultants" to come in to hide behind, ahem, I mean justify, the pay cuts. Jealousy is an ugly thing.

@ry
The sellers bring in the money with the help of their "team" which are the ISA's, specialists, and backbone.

That's literally it...no one else adds much value

This is the kind of mindset that creates a disconnect between upper management and the people actually generating the business. There seems to be an assumption that because some top-performing frontline sellers make more than certain levels of management, their compensation must somehow be excessive.

“I also do question when we have some top sellers pulling in $2M+ a year. Even $1M as an Account Manager is crazy money and speaks to the imbalance CDW setup years ago.”

But compensation numbers without context are meaningless. What are those top AMs producing in annual revenue and GP? How profitable are their books of business for CDW?

Show me those numbers first. Then we can have a legitimate conversation about whether their compensation is excessive or whether they’re simply being paid extremely well because they generate an extraordinary amount of value for the company.

@pg
The everyday coworker would love the scraps of the higher compensated.

Back 15-20 years ago...AM's were hired and were given zero accounts and had to learn the game by cold calling and getting hung up on. Now new hires get curated books that management creates by taking from those that already paid dues. Now if this was a one time occurrence, ok...but repeatedly coming back and asking for more and more sends a sign.

The timing of layoffs and the proliferation of intern posts on LinkedIn by CDW itself and then followed by dozens plus posts of senior college students announcing accepted roles was also something I personally haven't witnessed before.

As Christmas bonuses were turned to Holiday bonuses and then were cut due to under performance...the Execs still get bonuses however that info is not posted and is only known about via anonymous sources posting here as we all know they'd be targeted and included in the next round of layoffs.

CDW being a "shell of itself", I believe could be argued but anyone in the sales process can see that leadership has placed numerous obstacles and increased the res tape that slows down what CDW was built on. He-l...one of our sayings was "CDW...The Right Technology, Right Away"

Customers notice things from their side too. Increased reassigns and having to retrain their CDW AM on how their account likes to do business. The incorrect info on ETA's and inventory and shortened RMA process.

Customers are losing more value than they arw gaining and that can't be argued.

Leadership however likes to not admit mistakes and doubles down acting like if they layoff enough tenured coworkers or at least those that criticize...the rest will forget and you'll be left with a more subservient workforce.

Just saying...with the draw and ideas like a further draw/gate for services...sellers are getting paid less and less on what they produce. Never thought I'd see VP's and Directors leaving their cushy jobs after 15-20 years but LinkedIn announcements don't lie. As they graciously leave by thanking CDW so the door is always open for potential return but it's not good enough for them to stay anymore after decades....that should tell everyone exactly the state of things.

I just want shares to hit go back up to $200 but I'd be even happy to get out at $150 at this point. So many other companies doing well I'd like to park my money into.

@nc
Yes, gaslighting. I can add exaggerating and being misinformed to the list too if you want. CDW is far from perfect and also is not headed in the right direction in my opinion. We have too many consultants and too many new Senior Leaders (SVPs and higher) all at once. But I also want to be fair on where their strengths and weaknesses are and what is really happening.

Your very first statement was "So the company isn't a shell of itself replacing tenured AM's with years long relationships with interns". Think about what you wrote. Do you really think any existing Sellers are being replaced with interns? No, you are just trying to either sound funny or make an exaggerated statement to get attention. CDW's changes have and will continue to cause some veterans to leave. When they leave, some less tenured sellers will get some of those accounts. In some cases, the less tenured people have still been here 10+ years, some only 5, some only 3, etc. None are interns.
By the way - I hate paycuts and restructured comp plans. I also do question when we have some top sellers pulling in $2M+ a year. Even $1M as an Account Manager is crazy money and speaks to the imbalance CDW setup years ago.

You then asked "So, everyone's pay hasn't severely declined along with slashing of some benefits while leadership hasn't had anything cut." Every leader has their compensation tied to CDW performance at some level. So, when others are making less, so are they. If you forget the top 5 Executives you can read about online and just look at the VPs, Directors, etc. throughout the company (must be 200+ now) they have all taken major pay cuts via CDW's underperformance and tanking stock. I am not asking you to shed a tear for them, but to act like they are all getting major paydays while you make less is just an uniformed opinion.

I will end on one thing we agree on. Some of the social media stuff is cringe.

@kw
"Gas lighting"?

So the company isn't a shell of itself replacing tenured AM's with years long relationships with interns. So leadership isn't cutting losses on the Sirius acquisition by laying off engineers and techs but at the same time hiring dozens if not 100's of tech in India. So everyone's pay hasn't severely declined along with slashing of some benefits while leadership hasn't had anything cut.

I like how the same clueless leaders like to parade themselves on social media at offsite events that they arw pouring money into year after year but the stock still tanked from $260 to $130 (with a $1 Billion share buyback propping the cost so it's not $100 or lower).

$1 billion ÷ 15,000 coworkers = $ 66,666.67

I think everyone would rather get a $65k bonus for sticking around while leadership literally slows down everyone's work while they take the stage at offsite events.

I should've realized most leaders out there arw undeserving of their titles way earlier in my career...then i wouldn't be as jaded as I am now.

This post is just gas lighting. There are not recent office closings. Ones that did int he past year (maybe there were 2?) were small, rarely used, and has a lease come up we did not renew.
The post is meant to sound like we are shuttering doors. We are not.

Close all the doors. This company is cooked.

They closed two offices a few months ago… is that what you’re asking?