Thread regarding Charles Schwab Corp. layoffs

Hey have they sat you down to ask for your resignation yet due to compliance violation (although they set you up for failure since they control the email platform) ? And if you don't they will taint your record so it will be hard for you to find a job elsewhere? I would say it is blackmail and illegal but just find an attorney in advance to prepare. It is criminal but they have done this already to some folks. Folks will actually resign and walk away in disgust but I'm surprised Schwab continues to do this since this violation occurs on their email platform that they can easily fix but chooses not to.

'Absolutely do not use Confluence to air issues.'

Ah, classic Schwabbie inability to read English.

I wrote: 'As others suggested, document every single interaction. Do it publicly on Confluence. '

Documentation of interactions is not airing issues. Stating I spoke with John about OKR ABC on April 11th and we agreed to XYZ by April 18th is not airing issues.

Do you even read English, bruh?

2axk+1rXXfY1I

What's age have to do with anything? If they add no value, they su-k, period. And 50's is not old.

I am being asked to work for 2 teams. They made me the Tech Lead without real promotion or recognition just during my team's standup one day. My architect is on medical leave and I am now responsible for all the architect's work she's a level 59 bud doesn't really understand any technology and just talks non-stop during meetings. Also I am the only one in my team driving 40 miles to be on calls all day and I can't get an exception. My manager has no skills. My PO is a contractor who doesn't understand any business stories. My architect is a 90s graduate who hasn't written a single line of code her entire life. My Director and MD are old in their 50s they don't add any value to the firm and just send worthless emails and thank you emails. Yeah you are being pushed out don't give your 2 weeks just quit if you have a job already. That's what I will do once I am done using all my sick days and my sabbatical in a month. Hope this helps.

Confluence is a sad… that’s hysterical.

Assume you meant sad as in tragic and SAD as in document.

Confluence is a sad web document system with some interactions with Jira and other tools. It is STS blue side.

OP here, what is Confluence? is that something on the blue side or outside the company?

It is a strategy to push you out. Better start looking before they put you on PIP.

Document Everything!
Contact an employment attorney!

If you are the oldest on the team be prepared - they are looking to get rid of you any way possible - speaking from experience

Absolutely do not use Confluence to air issues.

This become a justification for a written warning and it fails to put notice with HR. No one else cares that they are targeting you. They may empathize. But if others cared we’d see strikes and mass protest. Instead we see heads down to avoid become a target.

Submit via the portal mentioned below and email HR. Save Confluence for white papers no one reads.

As others suggested, document every single interaction. Do it publicly on Confluence. The Bullies of Schwab are cowards, and like most cowards, will recoil when punched in the nose.

I was laid off in October (very happily, Schwab was a short-lived nightmare for me), but I had a similar experience where I was worried about being fired before I was laid off. I had a psycho new manager who gave me a negative performance eval that was just objectively incorrect. I started sending a daily email to her and cc’d my skip-level detailing everything I’d done each day. That level of micromanagement is insane but it worked because my crazy manager couldn’t lie about my performance anymore. I was just trying to hang on until layoffs so I could take my severance, and it worked!

Another thing to add to the comment below.

Schwab seems to go from consistent reviews of performance to coaching memo with very few steps in between. The feedback is either some message of sudden failure or asking if you’d be happier elsewhere.

When employees receive the actual coaching memo or any other feedback it seems to be feeble most of the time.

For example, one gal was written up for not using Confluence enough. All her deliverables were in and on time. They were approved on the first pass by governance, so it seems they were at least adequate and voluminous enough.

As a PL I had it suggested to focus on one employee. My boss didn’t like them. Both the employee and boss are gone so I can speak more freely. It was nonsense. But it still bothers me that HR was going to support the skip level and target. To the comment that HR isn’t there for you. Absolutely correct! And wrong of HR and the company.

Ok.

Not knowing you, I can safely say

1. Yes, they are working to push you out.

2. Immediately document everything to date including your actions to improve, the item that you believe is retaliatory, and examples of deficiencies in their coaching memo. For example, if they said you didn’t file weekly reports on time you would list dates and times and generically ask for specific details. I say generically because you are submitting your response to HR with a note to simply add it to your employee file. Do not provide to your manager. Do not do anything except have it added to your file. You may wish to include notes about age or other protected classes, but make certain that you are not making a discrimination claim at this time. You are setting up for a pattern-or-practice claim, possibly with discrimination, later. It would be advisable to get specific legal advice for your state, but this approach is not likely to harm you. It may be used to claim the start of a very limited period to file a claim or where you document something that is actionable against you. In other words, they may use this as a clock starting moment. Of course they can use other dates, so I wouldn’t be too concerned.

3. Start recording everything. Literally every meeting, email, message and carrier pigeon. Positive and negative.

Your goal at this point is to quietly indicate that you are a fighter and not going down easily. That you’re older helps a lot.

The following will happen. Either they will ignore anything that you do, move you to a written warning and then termination, or they will let the coaching memo lapse without comment. Occasionally they’ll escalate and then back away. It’s a well known playbook and it is deplorable. If they lapse the coaching memo you will either get the package next round or they will try again. You may get a call from HR to have an interview to discuss your concerns. You can’t really refuse. But HR is not there to help you at all. They are there to identify legal peril and eliminate it. If they ask if you’ve been discriminated against due to age you should be coy and say that it is possible but not something that you are focused on at the moment. Pivot to their claims and push that they are untrue. Highlight their failure to perform according to HR policies regarding clear examples, clear feedback and coaching for improvement. You can download the policy on the Schweb.

Lastly, remember that policy prohibits recording and some states require two-party consent. Not legal advice, but since no one will know until you file a legal action I would capture everything and let the attorney deal with it. If you feel better, you can use contemporaneous notes in place of audio recordings. Including timely summaries and quotes in your employee file makes these more powerful later, but also shows your hand now. You can simply email HR with a please add this request. Capture what you sent and the date/time/whom. HR has been known to lie about not getting things. The official process is via a web portal. I’d submit both ways.

There is more advice in this forum if you search, in addition to generic legal guidance online. Remember that most states are at will and can terminate on a whim. But they don’t. They bend over backwards to provide legal protection or the appearance of protection. That’s why they lay off, have a process and use coaching memos. None of it means it is ethical, legal or professional. On law, once they give reasons they have to show (mostly). They can say anything, but at least you have a clear path to refute.

You may also get pointed towards the ombudsman. This is a supposedly neutral third-party. They aren’t. It isn’t that they are bad people, but they’re contractors of the corporation. Conflict of interest.

An independent labor lawyer will cost a bit, but this company has a history of settling to make issues go away. Getting your silence is valuable to them.

Good luck.

This should encourage anyone under 40 to examine the company they work for. Have enough savings to quit or be fired any day, and, as you get close to 50, have enough to retire with a solid network for the next job if desired. Why this company decided to act this way to so many is unbelievable, but they did and do.

They are looking for every excuse in the book to get rid of you. The hope is that you will quit from all the toxic mess they are putting you through.

Next, they will tell you that you are out of compliance and find some kind of "violation" (ex. your email, etc.) and force you to quit so they won't have to pay for severance or have you file for unemployment.

Just letting you know what is ahead.

That sounds messed up. As a PL I would never do anyone dirty like that. You deserve honesty.