Lots of IT people cut in Columbus
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Who else here is now looking for a new job? Once I land a new position, I'm not even giving two weeks. I'll give 24 hours out of respect to my supervisor and I'm gone. AEP would let me go in a heartbeat. They deserve the same from me.
Let’s keep it positive. We finally paid the sec $19 million to settle the householder case, so there are no longer potential sec settlements hanging out there!
Gallup "93% of employees in remote-capable jobs prefer to work remotely at least some of the week." For those employees who sit at a computer to work all day long (not just IT), what is the company gaining by making its employees unhappy? Why return to 5 days a week instead of remote employees becoming hybrid? Prior to the pandemic, some departments allowed WFH on Fridays. Also, people took more sick/mental health days. And how many sallaried employees work an hour or two more everyday just because they don't have to commute, don't have to leave work on time/early because everything from doctors to kids' schools are closer to home than work and a 20 minute drive home is doubled or trippled during rush hour? Work-life balance. Having a window open in the spring versus a stuffy old building with sealed windows is healthier. Having your cat or dog nearby for stress relief. You control the temperature (hello hot flashes!), you have a standing desk at home. PowerPoint presentations using MS Teams is a wonderful WFH tool! The old rich retired male executives cannot change, grow...their way or the highway...
I think the reason IT isn't coming back is they don't want everyone to see how many were cut. We all kind of know.. But Floors that are only 1/4 full or has 4x the teams on it that it used to would be a wake up call.
Carving out IT says so much, speaks louder than the RTO announcement itself. I get it that some functions are offshore, but why can’t the rest of the IT group come in office? If this is truly about collaboration, aren’t they the people that need to be in office with everyone else?
They really underestimate the effect of RTO. There are a significant amount of people with significant knowledge that will just retire. I’m not at retirement age but fully prepared to walk out the day after ICP and with nothing else lined up. But maybe that’s what they want
Not sure what pushed up the timeline but as others have said, this had been the worst kept secret for some time. I overheard a few fellow old-timers saying today that they hoped Bill knew what he was doing and it that it seemed this decision was recently made.
This decision was not was made recently and anyone that tells you otherwise is uninformed or a kool-aid drinker. Happened months ago. Hard to believe the CEO thought he could keep the lid on it this long. This rollout has been nothing short of an abject failure at the very top of the organization. Brutal.
When were they ACTUALLY planning to announce this RTO? Seems like a timeline was pushed up by the Reddit posts today…..
Therace and her managers must feel they are untouchable. Everyone is coming back in except for IT and a few other smaller groups. They've cut IT to the bone with all of the outsourcing, they can't afford to lose anymore state side. The guys in India are not up to the task to keep the lights on, even after 4 yrs, they're still barely able to keep up.
This RTO may break the camel's back if and when IT has to go back. There will be a lot of people that will leave, retire, quit, give up and resign to the fact they have to start the grind all over again. The added expense of Columbus taking 2.5% of my pay for nothing in return, cost of gas, insurance higher, wear and tear on the car. You name it, everything goes up except for the pay. I'll bet we get 2.5% avg pay raise this year but it won't keep up with inflation that's been higher for the past 4 years.
Thanks Bill (sarcasm)
Unionize.
I think it's safe to say that Bill and everyone at the top anticipated overwhelming negative reaction to this decision, and it's something that they are prepared for. You don't make an announcement like this just to fold at the first sign of unrest. They're ready for the employee dissatisfaction and anger.
Stop crying big babies, oh and welcome back to work, the rest of us have been here keeping the lights and infrastructure working while you were gone.
I’d almost be willing to go in - and throw a party while doing it - if we could roll back the co-sourcing.
Also, why is it that grocery store workers are savvy enough to unionized but IT shops are not. We certainly have the tech skills to do this. What is wrong with us?
The weight of negative public opinion is like a rising tsunami, if it continues unabated the corporate board, major shareholders and hedge fund raiders are going to realize that no amount of wealth or political campaign financing can save you from the consequences of your sins against a virtuous society. Members of the Virginia General Assembly are so concerned they are considering a bill to freeze APCO electric rates for 2 years.
In addition to all the other mess, AEP left 17000 people without power on the coldest night of the year due to poor infrastructure. The public is angry. The employees are furious about many things. Applause to the poor guys that had to go out in -10 wind chills and restore power, but it should have been ready for that load. It was no secret that subzero cold was coming. Now we have confirmed proof of leadership lying to employees. In my annual review of the company (I wish), to use a quote, "I'm very disappointed."
Psh. Unreal.
Personal context on why this move is so devastating. For me. A few years ago, my ailing sister moved into my home. Her options were either a longterm facility, or to live with someone who could help to care for her throughout the day.
Working remotely, then hybrid has allowed me to make her breakfast before I start working, take her to the bathroom a few times during the day when she needed, and check in on her. A caregiver supports her the other days I’m in office.
I’ve also been able to avoid after school costs for my child two days a week, which amounts to about $500 in savings a month. She just comes home and quietly does her homework while I plug away at work, or she helps her aunt out if needed. This entire time, I’ve done my job and done it very well. My team doesn’t even know my personal circumstances which is an indicator of how successful I’ve been at managing this wonderfully challenging life of mine.
So now, I’m out of the $500 for childcare , and I have the choice of spending more than I make each month to pay for daily in-home care for my sibling, or to put her into a facility. I’m devastated that AEP did this. This cannot be the company I’ve given so many years to. I feel like this is no longer the AEP we built.
If this was truly about productivity I think he would/should have given specific examples. It was very light on the details. Just a bunch of vague language about "stakeholder value" and "tremendous opportunity."
If our productivity was really so bad I want to know how. In what ways have we failed? Did everyone fail equally? How was it being measured? Tell us.
ICP payout is March 14th. Start interviewing now and beat all the lazy ones that will wait till later to start. Get your $ and vote with your feet. IT people are mostly sc--wed but there is still a great hiring market for engineers and construction people.
I would highly suggest that everyone reading this comment, go to GlassDoor and leave your honest rating and feedback on the current state of AEP. This is no where near the same company from 10 years ago and that should be reflected on their overall rating.
Technology will soon follow. It's not a bad thing. Half of my coworkers in tech have quiet quit but are too lazy to leave.
I think he's just jumping on the bandwagon. There's a lot of news right now about big companies going back to full in-office and I think a lot of executive leadership feel like this is their chance to reign WFH back in and re-establish control over their employees.
Quite honestly, Bill strikes me as an airhead. The email was pathetic. Just a flurry of buzzwords. I wonder if he even has the self-awareness to feel ashamed at sending something like that out.
The irony is that Bill himself is technically remote. Of course he has access to a private jet and car service at the company’s expense.
It is really strange because AEP pays below market for most of its white collar positions. The hybrid / remote perk is actually a damn good draw for talent to take a lower salary.
This goes to show that leadership at big orgs is not forward thinking. Every org is running lean. This can’t be to encourage resignations because we already have a ton of openings out. What is Bill’s real purpose here? Pressure from the board? Political signaling?
Mr. Berkshire Hathaway himself has finally brought down the hammer on the lazy employees of AEP who do nothing but take away money from our precious shareholders.
Remote workers get a pass, but that’s only for now. I expect that will be to encourage resignations in the fall if O&M is under control. I’d expect us all to be back in office by Summer 2026
Bill just sent out an email confirming 5 days a week in-office beginning June 1st.
He says we need this because of performance issues.
The IT guys in India are conveniently not required to be in-office and will continue enjoying the benefits of WFH.
It's interesting that they want full RTO but they make all these exceptions for certain people who have already been granted full remote. I guess you were either at the right place, right time to get these benefits or else they are gone for ever. They'll say we need RTO to "foster collaboration" or something like that while simultaneously creating a class structure where some employees are given special privileges that others can't have.
Return to office for anyone within 50 miles of an office is required beginning June 1. To use Bill’s language… I’m disappointed by this. This was not the employment agreement that I accepted. Our lives have been built around this way of working. They will get less out of me because I’ll now have to spend a few hours a day in the car… go out for lunch…etc etc. this is old school 90’s leadership style. Definitely not progressive.
“Also some organizations pushed back and are remaining hybrid and remote.”
Does anyone know which organizations???
I was in a meeting a few months ago with director level management and he was adamant that remote employees would not lose their privileges. Then again Bill said he had no intention of changing the hybrid schedule so who knows. I guess they can just do whatever they want. They're the ones who really bring the "star power" to AEP, we are just the lowly grubs who do the actual work.
How long until the "Ask Bill" articles stop being posted?
don’t know when rto will be announced but heard it will go into effect on June 1
For the people in the know concerning RTO- any idea when they will officially announce it?
APCO and PSO management agreed that hybrid would go to the office full time. Does this mean the remote workers in those OpCo's are going back in the office too? Also some organizations pushed back and are remaining hybrid and remote.
Can confirm RTO. An absolute disgrace. Everyone fawned over Bill because he pretended to be a straight up and honest guy. While he straight up LIED to our faces. Bill and HR have been plotting this RTO for months.
My leader told me about it yesterday but it was an open secret at the highest levels of the org for some time. And Bill flat out lied and said he had no issue with the 3 days in office model several times, ON CAMERA. The entire time, he was actively planning an end to the remote and hybrid model. Bill is demanding you give your entire week to AEP in return for…demotions and the workload of multiple people since they refuse to fill open roles in many areas. Oh, and another layoff is coming later this year in operations.
Name ONE thing Bill has done to improve the day to day experience for employees. Seriously, name one. He’s taken our titles, refused to fill extremely important vacancies, and now he’s asking you to give 45-50 hours of your physical hours to AEP. As if the work you did before wasn’t good enough.
It’s time to jump ship and find an organization that values YOU, and understands that you also have a family and/or personal life that you care about. Work doesn’t define you. It’s just your job, not something need to sacrifice your spouse, your kids, your health etc for. Those days are over. Since AEP has no respect for that under Bill’s leadership, it’s simply time to leave.
No better way to lay off for zero cost then end WFH. Is that official or just a rumor still?
If they do RTO I'm gone.
WFH was the last advantage this place had.
Starting to look more and more like Bill was brought in to be the hatchet man.
Work from home ends June 1.
I can see more and more non-IT Dept heading back in the next 2-4 months. IT may be back after everyone else. Most of the IT mgmt is out of state or outsourced. Hard to ask local folks to come back when the manager is still at home. When they can replace those managers that are out of state, IT will be up next. Personally I don't care, I'm leaving soon so really it doesn't matter to me. I think it will just depend on how many people are told to come in but then leave the company instead of coming back in.