I have now seen September as the rumored month of major layoffs for AT&T on several different sites. Does anybody know if there is any credence to this rumor, or is it just wild guessing by folks? I have been nervous as it is lately, if this turns out to be true, it's not going to help my stress levels.
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No, but you aren't very smart for taking a management job. Lots being surplussed in the Midwest right now. If you were craft, you'd be untouchable with that amount of time.
For those commenters that are obviously CWA/IBEW represented, I'm a Network Manager in TFS in the SE. Spent a considerable amount of time in Network Operations I&R, Cable Maintenance, SSI&M and DEG in various titles (Services Technician, Facility Technician, Digital Technician). I'm educated and am COMPTIA A+/N+S+ along with ONS certification from Cisco and ALU. Am I one of those idiot managers who couldn't possibly do craft work?????
Any insight as to Cricket Indirect Acct Managers?
what large center in the SE is closing?
If there's any Customer Service Reps reading this please know that those of us in COR miss having REAL AT&T employees answering the phones. We and our customers get routed all over the world, can't understand half of what anyone says or they give totally incorrect information out. Or the new favorite- just go to a corporate store. These contractors are useless and when we ask them if they're a contractor they get so mad, but we hang up and try again, hoping to get routed to a real T employee. Just know we appreciate you.
This is correct September and end of year layoffs. A large center in the S.E. Will shutter their doors (management already laying off their own) some have been offered transfers and the longest tenured were offered retirement (I was) . They have begun the call routing to other stores so if your center is getting e time you may be out of a job by years end. Do not let your guard down be pro active, if your center seems to be off a little with less calls and people disappearing then definitely you should be searching for a new job.
Randy is not trying to run a sustainable telecommunications business, it is a scam to cut costs short term, buy TW and then bail out with an obscene golden parachute. What happens after that is not even a consideration.
The Code of Business Conduct and "Customer First" are just noise directed at the people who do the work in the company, they do not apply to Randy and his ilk.
I just don't know how they can justify laying off any more Field Services technicians. The techs that do DSL and POTS repair. The majority of the 21 state footprint are operating in "service emergency" conditions. Meaning that the workload far exceeds capacity. At times, it takes weeks before a tech can get out. I was speaking to Network Services manager the other day, and she said that there were so many open repair tickets that it averaged out to about 20 per day per tech, when it used to average about three. And those in my work group now have to deal with the fallout. Very angry customers. Businesses down for a week or more. I just wonder if this is due to a miscalculation and cutting too many techs, or if this is by design to piss off our wireline customers that we don't want anymore hoping that they will leave?
The main job skills of managers are loyalty to the people they report up to and the willingness to screw people over in whatever way the company wants.
The big worry of managers is they may be demoted and have to actually work for a living, rather than just go to meetings. And of course most cannot do the job.
FUNNY how she reacted, She may be the manager that OP refers as intellectually deficient, but again AT&T management is all about politics, certainly not Google
Incompetence is incompetence, it matters not what your plumbing is.
Sounds like the post is about having to report to an unqualified mgr who happens to be a female. Would you like to be a doctor and report to someone who has not attended medical school? Snowflakes are funny.
@1ate- Are you SERIOUS??? What is wrong with a FEMALE MANAGER? Because BOYS who are "engineers" have to take direction from a female??? You are living in the stone ages. And so what if she doesn't have a fancy degree? You're not a manager for a reason buddy..and she is.
I do agree that layoffs are happening and it stinks that many of us who have put so much and given up so much will be brushed aside for cheap labor, however there's no need to cry over the fact that you have to report to a ..... FEMALE... oh.... the horror.... ( grow up)
IN RE: Post ID: @Ol8S3pY-1yjn. If you are a craft tech covered by the CWA contract, you will be surplussed by seniority PERIOD. You can be "eager to add value" Have great communication skills/and "be outgoing"/make 125% MSOC score--you will still be out the door. The training courses might help you at another phone company, but that's it. Best bet is to get a CCNA certification or something related. The a** kissing only works for managers.
Most likely, for there to be massive layoffs the company must comply with the WARN act, which means employees to be affected must be notified 60 days prior to the layoff notification. That would be end of July for layoffs taking place at end of September.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_Adjustment_and_Retraining_Notification_Act (WARN act)
Which department is it?
I have a friend who was called by his Director yesterday to tell him in advance there are massive layoffs on the horizon. He was just giving him a "heads up" but not telling him he was being laid off. In addition, I do know of others who have been told by higher management that jobs were being eliminated. So, based on these incidents, I foresee big layoffs in the August/September timeframe.
T HAS TAKEN JOBS FROM VERY SMART PEOPLE TO KEEP MANY LEG T MANAGERS. VERIFIED !!
Agreed HERE in my unit we have a female manager with no college degree telling engineers WHAT to do, sound familiar?
Training is a MAJOR joke. It means NOTHING when att decides to "surplus" you, and other companies will only laugh at your att provided "online training".
AT&T is anything but smart
Last comment soooooo funny ptobably from one of those,, you know,,,
I disagree with the comments around training. It will help you! If not here, somewhere else then, but ATT would not be fool enough to invest in skills development and then lay off those they made that investment. That said, no amount of training can cover a bad work ethic, poor communication skills, inability to team with others, being out going, and eager to add value. If you don't have fundamentals, don't expect taking a class or getting a certification to save you. In the new economy, you need to be laser focused on exactly what value you create. If you can't quantify it yourself, don't expect to be paid for it.
Riding the copper boat till she goes down 🛳
Sorry guys ....the inevitable will happen, if you can find employment in a company that does not have layoffs every quater ,,, Do it !!!!r, you will live longer anyway
It has already begun. See post with surplus list below.
It is true. No amount of training will help you if you are a union employee. The exception would be that it could qualify you for a management position. At&t will not be re-training their union workers to transition to new technologies. At&t is smart. This network transition is being used to bring in younger, lower paid people, as well as contractors. They are still going to need some of us, for years to come. Depending on department, of course, those with 20+ years of service will likely be OK for a while. IMHO.
September would make sense if they want you off the books by Dec 31....
I can tell you from personal experience that no amount of training will prevent them from laying you off. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and and are a regular hard working employee but have no one (as in someone in a very high position with a lot of clout) with connections to place you in a safe position, training will not help you. I was relocated to Dallas, laid off 1 year later, received a verbal offer from a Director (I applied to a position online and Human Resources was involved in the process), and then the verbal offer was taken away at the last minute. Now I live in Dallas, which I don't like, and will need to use my own resources to move out.
Considering the company wants to get rid of 1/3 of their workforce by 2020, (right around 100,000 people), I can believe there are major layoffs on the horizon. I don't foresee them laying off 50,000 in 2018 and 50,000 in 2019. If you are not training and trying to increase your knowledge of where the company is headed technologically in the next couple of years, then your job WILL become obsolete.