Thread regarding Enbridge Inc. layoffs

Great points here. One of the best threads I have read.

A few points that was hinted at but not made explicit:

1. We really do have deadweight that will have to be dealt with

2. Some of our folks are struggling with work so we need the contractors who are bringing the skills we need.

3. Management is ultimately to blame for contractors issues. TCS should not be dealing with customers. We dropped the ball here.

4. Related to number 2: we need to let go the career folks who can’t keep up. Give them a severance but at some point we have to call a spade a spade.

Of course the Management knows how bad is the quality of these outsourcing companies, say AP. They already calculated how much it’s gonna cost per invoice processed versus the cost of keeping in house employees. And you know what, they don’t care. That’s why if a lot of employees complain about how bad it is they are just gonna switch it to another outsourcing company. If invoices don’t get paid on time, it’s actually better for Enbridge cash flow. Same with TIS functions that were outsourced, costs trumps quality. The pipeline is still gonna run if some of these shared services go down in value.

Besides, based on my experience when you deal with AP and SCM in house - they don’t really equate to “quality”. A lot of them are just riding out the layoffs and don’t really care much. Especially in SCM, they could act they care but a lot of them are just time wasters.

To the poster Yoda, below. What you stated is true in a perfect world, but the reality of contracting out services is that we don't often get rid of vendors for non-performance.
Look at the debacle that was AP outsourcing. What about the GDS contact center? The AMS agreement in TIS is another example - TCS cannot deliver and we continue to grow our relationship with them. Managed Services is a race to the bottom, to find the cheapest price, it is not about quality at all. If executives knew what front line staff and end-users have to deal with when engaging with offshore contractors they would be appalled. Lucky for them they can sit in their offices 'strategizing' and never have to engage with the people who actually deliver. If high performance is an actual value then offshore contract resources are not part of the equation.

To the last reply: Nobody is guaranteed a continuous employment by any company and that is a reality regardless if you accept that or not.

I am not sure of the entitlement you are referring to coz no one owes you anything, no company promises any employment until retirement age and if you work for any company regardless as employee or contractor there is a form of contract you accepted but that contract is not going to exist in perpetuity regardless if you accept that reality or not. All you can do is take care of your own finances and have room for setback.

To he last poster - totally agree with everything you have written.

When your kids are living with you until you're 50, and you have to subsidize them I don't want to hear you complaining that you cannot ever retire, or that "kids" are lazy these days

The business model you have described has erased their potential to: have meaningful progression in an industry, have hope of living independently, or a future in a world where this model has funnelled more and more profits to the top. But that's ok too.

Just because you have provided a rationale explanation on "why" doesn't mean what you have written should be accepted.

you obviously have benefitted from the entitlement that allowed you to secure these for yourself at the expense of the next generation.

Sincerely,
your future grandchildren

To the last reply: hiring contractors is not really expensive in the long run. Enbridge can terminate the contract and not have any obligations to pay severance. And they can get the best skills in the market and works for those who are comfortable being a contractor. If you’re making good money as a contractor, you know how to handle and invest your money you should be fine.

Same goes for outsourcing a specific business process like say Accounts Payable. Yes outsourcing will have issues but the costs to the Company is still way less than keeping in house staff. If Enbridge is not satisfied with the performance of outsourcing company they can get another outsourcing company. Same for some of the areas in IT that they outsourced. I really think there are room for outsourcing in Supply Chain for repetitive tasks like issuing work orders against existing contracts and HR for things like coordinating hiring and interviews. There’s really no need to keep a lot of overhead.

By now you probably already have a high awareness that you’re working for a “for profit, publicly listed company that prioritizes shareholders and a non union majority staff” which equates to a high probability of layoff not because they’re losing money but because they need to streamline processes to reduce costs. Most publicly listed companies do this to maximize shareholder value and manpower costs is just a low hanging fruit that’s easy to spot when looking for a spot to reduce costs. Financial planning is a must for companies to survive.

Enbridge is probably lagging in increasing pay due to lower oil prices (so are most companies) in the last few years but employees compensation is still above average in the industry. Do your research or better yet apply for a job and see if you get a way higher offer. If you can, good for you. Consider also the number of working hours and workload.

When you calculate your compensation, consider all your benefits from health/dental coverage and other insurance, pension plan (I hope it’s fully funded), vacation days, holidays, bonuses. Benefits can be rounded to additional 25%-30% of your base pay. You also have to consider the amount of time wasted by some of these employees on coffee breaks, gossiping, watching movies or playing online games during office hours, smoke break, long lunch break.

I also agree with some comments here to trim down the number of middle management. And yes I agree that some of them are slave drivers to make their incompetent self look good. They are really a waste of resources especially in Supply Chain. I had seen a lot of “technical managers” and “specialists” who do not have any direct reports. At one point some of them have direct reports but they’re awful in leading people so they’re moved to those positions that have no direct reports.

There’s really no guarantee of continuous employment wherever you work but you can get your house in order while you’re gainfully employed by not taking on too much leverage and stacking up funds for rainy days. If you bought too much of a house, too fancy of a car or too exotic vacations and has no financial plans at all for any setback, that’s on you.

So cutting employees now only to outsource to more expensive contractors and managed service providers later on is the answer..?

Unfortunately Enbridge over complicates things, while simultaneously failing to get the basics right.
Using bottom of the barrel contractors makes us look terrible to the general public.
We look incompetent to Emergency services.
Customer ratings are 1 star at best.
I wouldn't be surprised if the stock price starts reflecting this at some point.

Let’s remember that Twitter just cut 75% of its staff and still runs great.

We could trim 20% and carry on just fine.

How about looking at the areas where there is a Manager reporting to a Manager reporting to a Manager ... LOL

If you think you're only a 'number' than you haven't managed your career very well.

Also what corporation out their doesn't care about the dollar or shareholder return?

Getting rid of middle management isn’t the answer but getting rid of front line employees isn’t either. I’m afraid they are going to cut too deep where they don’t need to cut. What they should do is get rid of some of the excess in central functions that brings zero value like SCM and completely gut others like….projects.

Start with all of the managers and directors who have no direct reports!