I just got an invite for tomorrow 9am for an unexpected 1-to-1 with my direct manager. No details on the invite, and he doesn't reply to my emails. So I have bad feelings about that.
Anyone else is in similar situation?
I'm in SJC.
31 replies (most recent on top)
Many will tomorrow here and in the States 09-03-17
Ever notice that there aren't any LRs for execs? And when they do leave they leave with massive bonuses/severance that isn't the standard 3months of salary package. I'd love to be a Cisco VP just to be LRd. I could retire.
Yeah, if the senior leadership at ANY company had to worry about LR's and crappy severance packages, they'd do a lot better job of leading and making sure the company did well and ensuring that those that didn't carry their own weight got terminated. Their bonuses should be tied to company performance and not stock price.
Too bad all the good people are at the bottom. Ever notice that there aren't any LRs for execs? And when they do leave they leave with massive bonuses/severance that isn't the standard 3months of salary package. I'd love to be a Cisco VP just to be LRd. I could retire.
Back in August, I got the e-mail from my manager fo a 1:1 a couple of days later and was laid off over the phone and also got shafted on my year end bonus which I believe happened to most other people who were affected in August.
My manager had to call a team member and give him/her the news over the phone because s/he was on PTO. I heard it was tough knowing when you approved their PTO that you were going to have to call them to give them the news instead of being able to do it in person. Our manager either stood up to management or we had a better management chain than others as our impacted team mates got their full bonuses instead of being screwed over like I've heard happened to a lot of people.
There are pockets of good people at Cisco. Then again, there are managers without class at Cisco. I know one who used a previous round of LR's to get rid of good people hired by his predecessor so he could replace them with s----ups. I heard he got his this past Aug, so what goes around comes around.
Back in August, I got the e-mail from my manager fo a 1:1 a couple of days later and was laid off over the phone and also got shafted on my year end bonus which I believe happened to most other people who were affected in August.
who knows the latest news about Q2 LR?
Please note it is not your manager. HR ask them not to communicate. Note the best managers say screw HR and anyway do it but most Cisco managers are not that strong.
LR packages to be reduced.
For my LR in October, I got the 1:1 invite from the site director, not my own manager. The message was pretty short and the subtext was pretty clear. I knew exactly what it was. Follow up email asking straight out if this was regarding LR went unanswered. Went to the meeting next morning and HR rep was there with the site director. No trace of my own manager in this process. In fact, my own manager didn't contact me until such time as my layoff was confirmed 4 weeks later, and then only to ensure hardware and peripherals were returned before I left. He sat 30 steps away from me and I thought we had a reasonably good relationship prior to that. I won't lie, but that behaviour angered the hell out of me. I had given a lot to the organisation over a lengthy tenure and the gratitude afforded to me from my direct manager was to make sure I handed in my laptop charger! HR had to be flown in as they are not on-site. That was pretty much it. Director stuck to the script and made it pretty obvious that he was doing so. This was in Engineering. All other effected Engineers on site had the same treatment.
Does anyone know what the packages this time around are? Wondering if it is worth waiting for them or leave before it.
@LSBz0rq-1kvq - in the LR that caught me (or set me free), HR was not in the room. Just the manager
more "merges" happening, Senior managers and Directors in test are being removed.
There are rumors about layoffs ongoing in San Jose sites, does anyone have more information.
Maybe it's a sales thing vs engineering but my 1:1 didn't have an HR rep (and I was having it in the building that contained the local HR site for the country!). Just me, my manager and our American director who was inexplicably suddenly flown over.
She stuck to the script though, and unlike that tosser of a director, actually seemed like she didn't want to be doing this. Fortunately for her I was the only one in her team who was going - though not the only one from our part of the BU
Recently Ex Cisco SE manager here - having been through the LRs over the last 17 years, I've always seen HR participate in the meeting either in the room or via Webex. I believe they are there to handle the package conversation with the affected employee as well as make sure the manager doesn't go off script and open the company up to any liability.
Glad to have left that behind - there are quirks everywhere you go but I will say that Cisco has gotten pretty toxic over the last few years and as others have pointed out, doesn't have the courage to make the bold decisions necessary to transform the core business. Lots of overpaid overlays and I haven't been impressed with any of the technical leaders in years. The folk I respected have all gone off to startups or webscale companies.
I watch with fascination as Cisco tries to work out what it is .. somehow it's embarrassed to be an infrastructure company .., we solve our customers most pressing business problems .., no, we really don't ... but we didn't transform infrastructue either. Meraki is the most interesting play they had in access switching in years and they won't admit it's enterprise ready .. yet Dell is proud to have its mission as being the world's leader in IT Infrastructure.
Will make a good Harvard Business School case study in a few years whether they succeed or fail.
My 2c, YMMV.
Can Cisco LR you if you get signed off for stress before the 1:1?
Yes. The list was put together weeks ago.
Also if you get LR'd anyway, you have a case that it was due to performance issues cause by the mental stress your manager and the business had put you under. Should be worth a few more $k in the package.
Only unless you try to sue Cisco. Oh, wait. You signed an agreement agreeing to arbitration and gave up your right to sue. Let us know how that works out for you. You forfeit the package if you try to go to arbitration. And you'll need more documentation than just telling your doctor you're stressed from work. Did you talk w/ your manager? Did you talk w/ HR? What steps did you take to alleviate the stress?
Mental health of employees is Cisco responsibility and who can put a price on mental wellbeing.... it's got to be worth at least $100k right??
Mental health is your responsibility. Talk w/ HR is you're being stressed out or JUST FIND ANOTHER JOB & QUIT. It's easier to find a new job while employed and you can setup your end & start dates such that you don't miss any pay and your accrued PTO makes for a little bonus. Leave on your terms and leave Cisco scrambling to replace you rather than you scrambling to find another job before your package runs out. Talking to Cisco HR about being stressed out is a good way to get on a short list to get gone.
Hasn't been the normal LR process wit HR engaged, just the manager reading from a script
Well, the OP said it wasn't an LR this time, so maybe it's small enough that HR can attend the meetings.
At least they gave you a decent package. I wouldn't bother to look for another position within Cisco. You'd have to give up the package and then you're back in the pool of likely candidates for the next round.
@ 1pid - bummer to hear your news. your 1:1 meeting sounds a bit unique with HR participating in the meeting. Hasn't been the normal LR process wit HR engaged, just the manager reading from a script. be cautious with your posts, as it can be an identifier. right now it sux, but there is life after csco.
So I had my 1-to-1.
My manager and some HR rep were present. Manager recited a formula about Cisco making business decision to eliminate my position, and that there is no other position for me within our group, and so that my services are no longer necessary. Whan I asked if this is an LR, HR rep told me it's not, that only selected positions are affected. I was offered a package (slightly less generous than what I read here was offered in august) and received paperwork which I have to sign within a week, and if I decide to go I can't be ihred back for 6 months. I can also find another position within Cisco.
LR is a Cisco way of life get over yourselves stop complaining and get back to work.
call him , email is not an effective communication way.
Can Cisco LR you if you get signed off for stress before the 1:1? Quick trip to the Dr tomorrow might save you a few months. Also if you get LR'd anyway, you have a case that it was due to performance issues cause by the mental stress your manager and the business had put you under. Should be worth a few more $k in the package. Note to all, if you if you feel at risk go to the doctor and get it on file you're over stressed from work and it's causing issues in your professional and private life. Mental health of employees is Cisco responsibility and who can put a price on mental wellbeing.... it's got to be worth at least $100k right??
I got my e-mail at 15.50pm on a Friday afternoon for a 1/1 meeting with the Manager on Monday morning,
Good Luck to the OP hope you get a good package
I got LR'ed in Aug 16. IF OP post is real, 99% chances he is gone like me. Exactly same thing happened to me way back in Aug 2016
Hopefully OP updates after his meeting
There's gonna be some action, but not all at once. Get used to it, this is the new norm. Is anyone surprised? But it won't be "massive," unless you are the one impacted, then it is massive to your life.
I smell a troll bs post
It may be a troll bs post or it might be reality. Back in Aug, my manager sent out an email to the entire team telling us to watch the Year End earnings report, then sent me (and others) a meeting invite for first thing the next morning with no details other than "Quick 1:1". No response to texts.
If this is a real post, then the OP is a goner. The manager is not responding because he can't inform the person being let go know ahead of time.
I didn't hear about LR's being mentioned in the earnings call, so it shouldn't be another mass LR, but to anyone being impacted, it doesn't matter if it's large or small.
Did Cisco announce layoffs during earnings call today? I missed the call.
Got one, not good.
I smell a troll bs post
Not a good sign my friend. Good luck.