The reality is that if you are not in a position that directly brings up the bottom line or you are not in the skull and bones exclusive club, you are at risk for being let go. This is how the system works and it is the cost of working not only at RJ, but in corporate America. The current executive management at RJ and their values put you at even a higher risk. Unfortunately, this is how the game works. Much of their pay depends on profit. The higher the profits the more they can make. They will not cut inductees in the club until no one is left. They will sacrifice everyone else. At this point the highest person in rank wins. If revenue is down, the easiest way to cut costs is to let people go. Instant savings on benefits and salary. If you run into a staffing problem, you just get temporary contractors at a discount.
If you are making millions and your extreme six or seven figure bonus depends on profits, you make sacrifices if needed. They are going to give you a large portion in stock options. The more you save the company and profit the more the stock climbs. Having enough money to retire already in luxury does not matter. You can always have more. Greed is the ultimate killer in most lay offs. When it comes to RJ the money is there to keep many, but the cost is to much for the few. This is not just at RJ. Look at many other corporations and you will find the same. The days of honest and truthful people with integrity is dead. Every man and women for themselves. The people in the club do not want only one home in retirement. They do not want a new car every five years. They do not want their children to struggle with Ivy league degrees. They want vacation homes, a new Mercedes every few years, and not just their immediate families taken care of. They want generations of their families to be taken care of. This is the new corporate environment. This is not the one their parents worked for. Look at the data and you will see the surge in CEO pay compared to twenty or thirty years ago. Until some of the labor laws change, this will continue. Unfortunately, corporations now own the government. RJ is no different. There are what is called serial company killers and RJ contains them. They will profit the most from it and run to the next getting employed from a member in the club. This isn't going to change. Always be looking for a new opportunity and hopefully it will be with one of the 1 percent not in the 1 percent, which is a company that truly values people and their employees.