Thread regarding Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) layoffs

I was stunned to read the following comment ....

"Reason why I say $350k a year is because I had lunch ( and some beers) with a recently WFRed sales manager. She's 53........."

A first line manager making 350K? Mind boggling. If this is true, it means this company is sticking to the many individual contributors by paying them no salary increases for years and years, and channeling all the available salary raise funds to the managers at various levels. Pathetic and selfish management.

Many engineers, lawyers, etc., made that kind of money, even back in 1999. Most of them, though, were managers. Some of them decent, but many of them just plain ruthless ladder-climbers. For a good discussion of what various folks think it takes to climb that ladder, especially at HPE, see…

https://www.thelayoff.com/t/M3ofuSF “What does it take to move up the corporate ladder at HPE (or any high tech firm)?

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@ 2ipt

$120K in 1999? Who else would earn that much at HP? I was only earning $65K that year. You should not be complaining or posting here because you dont represent most HP'ers. The party ended in 2001 when Carly took over.

It's not that hard 1uzv, once you start and stick with it. First, in never said how much I saved, but here's some stats. The most I ever made was about 120k a year (that was around the 1999 y2k, dot com boom) customers were thowing money at us. Google this " Fidelity 401k millionaire". They made some press releases around mid March 2015. 0.7% of all Fidelity 401k participants had reached the $1M mark, so I'm not one in 10,000, more like 70 in 10,000. Keep in mind everyone has the same 401k max contribution limits, so even making $350k a year, you have the same limitations. Reason why I say $350k a year is because I had lunch ( and some beers) with a recently WFRed sales manager. She's 53, was making $350k, with 27 years, former Digital, CPQ, HP, HPE. Finicially today she is upside down. Nothing.

You can do it. During my work career I was typically the only at the table who only had my primary home, no vacation homes time share condo, boats, etc. The rest was savings and investing. And I started with nothing other than a college degree in engineering. Loveing parents that died was too soon and the best spouse in the world. Understand the time value of money and "Own Your Tommorow". Good Luck to All.

@R74PBxX-1uzv,

2.65 Million at 57 working for HP ? Wow. Impressive, even considering you saved 20% all your career at HP. You must be 1 in 10000 that got so well paid at HP to be able to accumulate so much. For the rest of us it is beyond even a pipe dream.

Whew! Boy. I shook the hornet's nest! After I wrote that I thought I may have been too rough. I like how my financial handling was turned around to imply the words from me carry no merit. Job jumping for financial gain, big and small layoffs, resignations, firings, marriage collapsing, bankruptcy, pedestrian vs vehicle hip reconstruction. Bad luck? No. I take blame. It's the path I walked. I was trying to say if someone with my record can get a job each time then I don't want to hear someone with a solid track record complaining they won't be able to get another job (maybe some were from smart a-- millennials but some seemed legitimate): a person with 35 years experience, no job jumping, obviously very responsible, acting like the world is ending. My world ended many times.

What a post, 20 yrs and no savings? Call me what you will, but I maxed my 401k since the day they started it. Pre merger Hewlett-Packard Company. Results able to walk at 57, but stayed until 58, wanting a WFR or a package. Got it! You can live off of $2.65M . Yes, even a Millennial, assuming you stay out of Whole Foods Market, LoL.

Always, always, always put away 15%, pay yourself first. If you get married, it's not a trail, think it through and stay married. Try your best to stay employed in some form all the time. Laugh it off, your not that important, if not to yourself. Help someone else. Debt will grind you, pay cash, or do without. Good Luck to All!

Living paycheck to paycheck would make me very insecure. Have always been taught to save for a rainy day. I guess some people live to live in the past or the present. I like to live for the future

I joined the company from another industry, before HP acquired EDS. One manager told me that if you want to be able to sleep at night and not get s---ed into constant worry about your job, as long as you work in an IT company, live within your means, don't accumulate debt and pay off your house before you near retirement age. And if you have a chance for a side gig, take it if it interests you.

That was sage advice. I did those things. Was WFRd a while ago and it didn't bother me a bit.

The key plaintiff in an age discrimination law suit against HP is a 55 years old dude from San Diego,

This guy got a job almost straight out of HS and worked at HP for 36 years until the layoff.

He had to resort to food stamps.

A few 55+ can easily get new jobs but many can't.

OP, no hatred whatsoever. Sorry if it came across that way. You certainly had some good things to say in your posting. Just that, calling older people nasty names was not necessary, and was distasteful. That is all. Wish you well.

To : @R74PBxX, very rude and very nasty hateful post! This is unnecessary by assuming others circumstances. :-(

Very polite response to the OP indeed. I could not have said it any better.

Why do people have to resort to name calling and labeling to get their ideas across?

No one should have to live pay check to pay check after having been in workforce for 20 years. Changing 12 jobs in 20 years - how can that give any positive hope to any one? I can understand tech industry has been tumultuous in the last 2 decades, but having to change jobs every 2 years seems a bit of extreme bad luck.

Thanks for the mostly-uplifting message!

However...

(And I live paycheck to paycheck with no savings) , you said.

Folks out there... PLEASE don't do that! Try to live below your possibly-vaguely-supportable standards... And save some money! Don't eat out all the time, cut back on "frills"... Newspapers, magazines, whatever... And SAVE a few! You will thank me later!

...

Yes, don't be a miser, spend a few for charity and friends and family... BUT, watch the dollars!