I do, for sure. I was laid off today after more than ten years of dedicated and seemingly valued work. It really stings. I know on a purely rational level that I shouldn’t care, but as most of us I do. We are human beings, and this affects our feelings, confidence, sense of self-worth, and definitely lets in all the crippling anxiety and fear of the future.
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No one is speaking the obvious here. They ship our jobs out of the country because they will bill less for only half the expected quality. While still wanting us to purchase their products and boost their bottom line. I have had enough. I still use an old phone, no new latest tech purchases. My computer is an old Dell that I have had for 5 years now. I just refuse to build their brand as they ship our jobs overseas!!!! What happened to employee loyalty? We gave employer loyalty! Stayed and gave our best, not because we needed a paycheck, but we loved what we do as a career. My parent shared with me when I first got into the Corporate world. Show dedication to your job and they will reward you. That is the thinking of long time past. It doesn't exists anymore!
that the sole purpose of corporations is to increase value to the shareholders
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2013/06/26/the-origin-of-the-worlds-d-mbest-idea-milton-friedman/
It is noteworthy that the CEO of the world's most valuable company told an investor they should exit the stock if they actually believe that.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/tim-cook-to-eco-sceptic-shareholders-put-up-or-shut-up/
Of course IBM management completely believes this cr-p, just like all the other buzzword hype BS they constantly pivot the company towards. We are doomed.
After 24 years with IBM I nearly lost my job at IBM last year due to low sales in 2022 when my territory had a high sales rep turnover and as a tech sales specialist I rely on sales reps to find new opps so we can work together to close them. I have great empathy for those impacted by this layoff.
I hearken back to what I was taught in business school that the sole purpose of corporations is to increase value to the shareholders, no shareholders, no company.
That said, I think many cuts I've seen over the years have been done without consideration of skills of those they cut, which over the long haul reduces shareholder value because without an experienced and skilled workforce, productivity decreases.
During the Palmisano and Rometty years there were massive layoffs primarily in the US to fund share buybacks. In the short term this increases stock prices, but its akin to burning the furniture to keep your house warm. They were also responding to changes in the global markets where IBM increased hiring in APAC where potential growth was increasing and reduced headcount in the US where growth was waning.
ITT: Labor aristocrats complaining about capitalism laying off workers to maintain profits/survive. Hypocrites lol.
You can file a complaint with the New York State Attorney General’s office if you’ve witnessed corporate wrongdoing :
https://ag.ny.gov/file-complaint/corruption-wrongdoing
NYSAG also has a whistleblower portal if you prefer to remain anonymous:
https://ag.ny.gov/i-want/use-whistleblower-portal
Complaints might include:
- Securities fraud, artificially inflating stock prices, misleading investors
- Deceptive business practices — selling products they know don’t work (Watsonx, AskHR anyone?)
- Pretexts for unlawful discrimination, creating fake performance issues (PIPs) to enable secret mass layoffs, and violating the WARN act
IBM also likely received significant tax incentives for their new office at One Madison. Hochul herself attended the opening a couple weeks ago. Yet, IBM's jobs in India outnumber U.S. jobs by at least 10:1, by some estimates, and that gap is likely even bigger after yesterday’s RA. Who is this office even for, if most of the jobs have been offshored? How can these tax breaks be justified when the bulk of IBM's workforce isn't even in the U.S.? Where is that money going?
If you were affected by this round of layoffs and you'd be willing to speak to The Register, feel free to get in touch. tclaburn (at) theregister (dot) com
It happened in Enterprise ops too. It’s not just the CEO. It’s also his fellow minions in the C Suite. We are constantly being peppered to “learn new skills” and take more education. I’m not against that per se, but how can we focus on our tasks without burning ourselves out?
Middle management is just as bad. They hear about a new acquisition or program etc. and it’s “we gotta learn how to do that now” meanwhile many can’t code and are just overpaid administrators
if you are referring to the pathetic and cowardly Indian psychopath in the IBM CEOs office, you can bet he will be taken down by his own people in due course. He can't escape the seeds of destruction that he has sowed. Same goes for his Bluewash VPs and managers. One can run, but one can't hide from one's misdeeds. And, no amount of wealth will save the situation either. A corporate tragedy in process.
I’m really sorry. Many people gave the best of themselves, their trust, and loyalty to an organization that didn’t deserve it. Feel your feelings and express them. This is a relatively safe space. I say "relatively" because the Soul Crusher’s minions monitor it and occasionally get the mods to take down posts that hit a little too close to the truth. We’ll see how long dissent stands.
There’s one person deserving of everyone’s collective anger: an unscrupulous, thin-skinned narcissist who enjoys berating people on all-hands calls and gave himself a 23% raise, fully aware of what he had done, what he was about to do, and what he will continue to do. He doesn’t feel anyone’s pain, and frankly, he doesn’t care. That much is clear. Today was a good day for him.
You can move on and thrive. You can also fight and thrive—for yourself, for justice, to expose abuses of power, unethical practices, maybe even criminality, that we all know this regime is full of. Can you imagine what thousands of employees have seen and heard during this guy’s corrupt tenure? The way he’s turned the culture into a fear-based, corporate Thunderdome? The way he conducts staff reductions and hides the bodies? The coming pump and dump? History will not be kind to him.
Just know you are not disempowered. Far from it.
There are quite a few of us who are actually doing better overall since having gotten the old heave-ho.
Doesn't feel that way on Day 1, but you get there.
You can - and will - not just survive, but thrive.
I’m sorry this happened to you. You are valued and just because IBM didn’t see that it doesn’t make it not true.
Good luck on your next steps and I hope you’re able to quickly put this chapter behind you.