Yes. The calls from HR will be starting in the next few weeks. They usually setup a 3 way call with a Manager and HR rep. HR explains the severance, Cobra and option to find another role by end of April. Most team leads are discouraged by HR to find new roles for those on the chopping block.
Approximately 6000 in NA will be targeted in the first wave. SAP is hoping many accept the VERP so they have less work for HR to deal with.
Can somebody confirm if this is how things will play out?
Will it be before April 1st?
Yes. It’s usually a meeting scheduled for first thing in the morning with the subject “employee at risk”. Your manager reads a one or two line script and then the HR person takes over and that’s it - all your devotion, commitment and achievements wiped out and from then on you’re treated like a criminal whom they can’t wait to be rid of - it’s brutal, cruel and dehumanising. That’s your thanks for giving everything to SAP.
This is a long-awaited opportunity to clean up the acquisitions mess (ISBN)
Of course every Manager will make the case that my team members are critical to support the product.
Should be interesting!
The main focus this time is other locations as well
Except Germany can't lay off anyone this time per the workers council, except via voluntary payouts. It was in the German newspapers when this all started being discussed.
Given that, and the fact that other EU countries have workers councils as well, I have to wonder if the US will be disproportionately affected.
Will be better this round since HR can use AI to generate a script.
Chatgpt—You are a leader who excels in empathy. Write a layoff script for [first name, last name] who has been working in [role] for [number of years] with last day on [termination date]. Include key words and phrases to give the impression that you care about the impacted resource.
Accurate? That sounds like the normal process for corporate layoff/restructuring. In 2019 I was one of the 4000 who was laid off. They offered VERP to anyone over 59 in an email before the layoff process even started.
I only had a few years in so the VERP package wasn’t that much for me. They did schedule a call with our VP, HR and myself since my direct manager was in Spain on business.
HR reads from a script and then the VP of our team tells you not to worry because there will be so many new opportunities for me to apply to. More BS.
Would be silly to think that numbers/names are not already determined. Just waiting to see actual voluntary acceptances versus targets to adjust the list of impacted individuals.
People here only focus in NA. If they wanted to focus only in NA they wouldn't offer the VERP. The main focus this time is other locations as well