Lots of IT people cut in Columbus
2667 replies (most recent on top)
Well, no new scuttlebutt is coming out. It seems maybe the demon known as AEP has been properly fed?
Therace and the offshore contractors should be eliminated, before even more damage has has done
Any bets on when Therace leaves for another victim, I meant company? This year? Before May of next year or will she ride it out until she's given the Julie treatment? My bet she'll wait until March 2025, collect the bonus and then leave by May
You may be right with TCS trying to sell their AI solutions to AEP but with the way the budget is, good luck. One month they have money, next month they don't. If I were to guess, I would say Microsoft would have the inside track if we were to implement AI. I would be happy to test it if it meant we could get rid of the offshore techs. For the most part, they lack communication skills and technical skills. A decent AI could eliminate half of them
Oh I’m sure the Minnesota Mafia can’t wait for this! I bet they’ve got pitched tents just thinking about it…
It’s coming to AEP. Brace, Brace, Brace!!
https://www.businesstoday.in/tech-today/news/story/wisdomnext-to-augment-tcss-genai-offering-432579-2024-06-08
Before this forum does I just want to say this is the most backwards company I’ve ever worked for. Engineers on the distribution side for example have been talked down to constantly and insulted by upper management. That does not include me but if I were them I would have quit by now or ended up fired. I hope they all quit just to give the company a middle finger. And when I found out what they were paid I was shocked that they were getting that low of a number. I haven’t experienced too much mistreatment here but have heard of it many places. Don’t stand for that. You deserve better. Go be somewhere that actually appreciates you somewhat and won’t insult you to your face. I wish you all the best of luck and hope to work and accomplish great things with those of you staying.
Man, he hit a nerve with some people. Working remote, could care less what the company does or who it supports. Delete the emails, skip the parades and enjoy your weekends.
Would be interesting to see exactly how much the company spends each year on things that have no bearing on keep the lights on. Cut it all out, cut half of the EVPs, cut half of the SVPs, cut half of the VPs. Managing Directors without Directors are Director's, get rid of the title. Directors with no managers are just managers. Managers with no direct reports are not managers. That would save a ton of money. And then maybe use some of the savings to actually hire people who knows what's going on.
It’s crazy to me that the company is letting people go and offering severance, meanwhile still making huge donations as well as being a sponsor to multiple pride rally’s. Shows how much they really care about their employees. Support whatever you want but come on. Employees rely on you for and you sell them out while spending tons of money on everything but keeping them. Talk about giving your employees the middle finger.
We could have a repeat of last October when they did the mass layoffs of the contractors but I would not expect to see that happening until September or October. It depends on how fast Therace burns through the budget.
It’s gonna get a whole lot worse before better, have a back up plan or be ready to be let go, the next rounds probably won’t offer a severance.
I have not heard anything about contractors being let go 2fkor+1qB6FXi3 however that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. I just haven’t heard anything about that. I honestly assumed they would do that before any severance would be offered but I was wrong.
TCS is a horrible third world company. Not just pay gaps and harassment but security breaches, stolen trade secrets and all of the lawsuits they have just in the US blows my mind. Someone HAS to be getting a kick back for integrating them and I think we all know who. You can almost count on a security breach just before or after TR leaves. Just look at the past companies she hooked.
anyone heard anything about contractors being laid off?
https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/news/tcs-faces-questions-on-harassment-pay-disparity/ar-BB1npgcB
Wonder if our woke-minded leaders (nothing wrong with that, if they stay true to it) will adhere to MeToo and equal rights or will this only further the narrative that TCS’s “value” is all that matters? I think we all know the answer.
https://www.livemint.com/companies/tcs-faces-questions-on-harassment-pay-disparity-11717172462708.html?utm_source=microsoft-mint
You're right, IT was not part of the 7400 eligible folks. Only because Therace in that sh.. for brain of her's sc--wed up IT they were forced to layoff folks in Jan and couldn't afford to lose anymore techs. Mainly because TCS is such a huge pile of sh.. when it comes to the technical side. My 12 year old had more knowledge of how to fix a PC than some of these guys. Spend 20 minutes on Teams with any of them and you'll see how bad they are. It takes an act of congress to get one on the phone and good luck understanding them. No wonder they default to Teams. User support is cr-p compared to what it was even 3 years ago and I've been here for about 10 and it has never been this bad. I keep a list of names to call directly but that list seems to be getting shorter all the time. God help us if nothing is done by the new CEO.
I am not sure why people think IT had a retirement option. That was never offered. If you were vocal enough to your management you might have stood a chance. But there was never any option. Too bad because many would have taken it and are not able.
Well said, everyone can put up with a certain amount of change in small doses at a time. The changes at AEP have been at all levels and not in small doses. People can handle changes but not in this amount. I've heard some folks are leaving, severance or no severance. If people are leaving without an incentive, means things are worse than what it looks like on the surface.
If you can leave, leave. If you have to stay, good luck, hope things get better. If mgmt changed for the worse, they can change for the better, just takes time.
I’ve never regretted my choice to leave any less than in this moment. If they offer a severance again I know a few wishing they would have taken it so they will be gone next time. Good luck to all. So glad to be done with this hypocritical, double standard, lying stuff… every company has its things yes. But it is insane here.
As a follow-up to the comment of "all of the people who pushed the button were approved," that may be true in the IT org, but not AEP wide. In the Energy Delivery Organization, more than 40 people have been declined.
Getting ready for the next round of goodbyes. Heard all of the people who pushed the button were approved. Was it enough? It may depend on the second quarter results which is scheduled for end of July. If not, I'll look forward to being let go and leave this sh.. show. If they want me to leave, I'll be happy to go, for a price. Otherwise, I'll sit back and watch Therace pack her bags and leave next May when her 5 years are up. If you think she'll stay longer, your smoking something now that it's legal in Ohio.
Thanks for the sympathy…but we’ll be fine. It’s obviously sad to see good co-workers leave under any circumstances, but there are still plenty of great people left and an important job to do.
I feel for those staying. Lot of lifers leaving the company and some hard workers who are tired of everything as well. Will be a rough few months if not years.
It will be interesting to see how fast AEP goes on a hiring binge in a year or two. People with the actual knowledge of the utilities business are not going to come back. So you hire someone with no knowledge but a lot of potential. Still doesn't mean the work gets done in a timely fashion or correct. I can see a lot of projects not making deadlines and having to be pushed back. New hires might want to work but doesn't mean it will translate into a finished project. If you think TCS can fill the gap, your lying to yourself. Sit in any meeting with them and ask for input, you get none. All brought to you by Therace and Sanjay.
Like more brain challenged people from TCS.
Finally, the cleanup has begun. I can't wait until we get some new people who actually do the work.
Prior post by another was correct, many office positions will be eliminated/ no longer needed soon, I’d expect another 750-1000 severed or terminated by years end, maybe sooner.
TCS vs AI, I'll take the AI bot any day. As for AI taking over the world, don't count on it. Humans have a way to adapt where other species would die out. On top of that, there's a power off switch on the server.
AI is taking over office jobs or any nonphysical labor positions. If you worked behind a computer remotely at home, AI gathered your numbers to determine if your job could be done by AI and therefore exterminated It was a trick and not the dream it seemed. After all money trumps people in big business. Sorry to see this happen.
If they would have allowed IT to take part in the Buyout, I know a number of people who would have pushed the button. The race cut IT to the bone so there is fat to cut
The sad part, if those 250 aren't selected this round you can bet Therace's honor and integrity that they are marked themselves with a Target (pun intended) for the next round of forced cuts the next time they need to maximize shareholder value.
Curious if they approve all 1k or reject 250 of them. Knowing how this company is operating of late, they'll reject 250 for some reason or another. Why lose sleep over it, they already told 60% of the company they couldn't take part in it. Just par for the course.
Heard today from a Director that they only wanted 750 people to take the buyout and they had well over a thousand people submit for it. I guess time will tell.
Spot on. Therace may have been a successful CIO in some other industry other than retail but not Utilities. She is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and it's just not working. Her retail experience just does not port over to a utility. I've never met the woman and have no desire to meet her. I would have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. I honestly don't think she'll stay past next May. She just doesn't strike me as a person who is loyal to a company. She really strikes me being self serving and self centered.
AEP was a good company to work for. But in honesty, the hiring of Therace was a disaster. I've never seen an executive make sweeping decisions without understanding the landscape. That retail mindset will not work in a utility. In fact, it's quite dangerous because electric utilities are quasi national security firms. But the decisions she's made in IT made our electric grid unsafe and unreliable. Morale is low which could cause higher insider threat activity. If the Board was smart, they would do to Therace what they did to the CEO. They are two peas in a contaminated pod. The employees need to press the AEP Board of Directors to do the right thing concerning Therace. When i worked at AEP, it was a good place to work and grow. As I look back, I'm so glad I left before the morale hit rock bottom. Instead of AEP creating opportunities to buy a utility, it's in a prime place to be bought itself. That's not good for Ohio or our electric grid.
That's the retail mind set, everything is controlled at the corporate level with no input from the stores. She was able to act as a dictator both at a personnel and budget level at JCP and Target. Everyone else came in from retail as well and had no clue. I saw a few heads looking down on those conference calls. Not sure if they were crying or laughing. Either way, you're right, we were done for the day she accepted the job. The road to healing will begin the day she leaves
The real question is, does she understand the difference between capital and O&M in a regulated utility yet?
I’ll never forget the blank stares of disbelief when she had no clue what the he-l she was talking about and was trying to manipulate how our expenditures would be classified. That was the day I knew we were sc--wed.
I find it eye opening that 4 people are voting down the last few comments and it must be the same 4 voting up the comment supporting Therace. Must be her cronies. I have never spoken to a non-manager that had anything nice to say about her management style. Only from managers trying to play along and her direct cronies.
Ok Therace, stop voting down on the comments that are negative to your decisions. We all know, you're the troll on the thread.