Everyone is at risk, although it would be insane to assume everyone is at equal risk. I'd expect more reasons than I list below, but these are the ones I saw when I was there.
Reasons people get picked off one by one:
- You just aren't meeting the job requirements - it seems obvious until you realize how many high level "engineers" are assigned low level bug fixing and therefore aren't actually allowed to meet those requirements
- You are meeting the job title requirements but raises move you out of the viable salary range for that level of work
- You aren't in favor of those with political power
- A manager decides they have an "in-group" and you aren't in it
Reasons people get picked off in whole groups:
- Your project is being cancelled
- You work at a lesser site on a project with teams at a primary site
- A political power play between teams where the winner keeps their own people to pick up the work of the losing team
- When projects reorganize they can package people for any of the reasons people get picked off one by one into a group and then let go of them as a group
Since the goal is typically a reduction in cost if you have a low rank and corresponding pay and you contribute above average on an important project with strong (politically speaking) management it's probably as good as it gets, but it's still no guarantee.
Don't underestimate the power of being under the wing of the powerful. Many people have sc--wed up costing Cisco fortunes and the punishment was a promotion,.
Bumped from @j4+1m6w4czph.