Cuts will continue until each manager has 10 or more direct reports. This was explicitly stated as a component of the 2020 Vision.
No more “special projects” teams with 5-7 FTE.
For a change, I believe this actually would be a good thing. Any chance it's true?
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I’ve heard horror stories of people’s jobs relocating to Dallas, they volunteer to move (NO relo package) only to get laid off in 3-4 months when the position is eliminated.
Just remember, jobs are moving to HQ or hubs so bigger management can have their eye on how critical the position is. This may trigger a re-eval of whether a role is internal or contracted.
At least with the union jobs you get a full 3 months between quarterly surpluses, and a 1 year no-layoff clause after every contract is signed. Management can lay off a new group of non union every week if they want to.
You can be a manager 10 years or 50 years and only get 6 months severance. Depending on the contract and title, a select few under the Legacy T contract get 104 weeks (2 full years) of 100% base pay when they hit 30 years. It’s still very generous for lower tenured employees at 8 weeks for 3 years, adding 2-3 weeks for each additional year.
From the post below I can confirm I have seen 1-7 happen. I too have "peers" coming to me for direction on how to do their jobs and resolve their problems at the direction of the person we report to. I didn't get a promotion and I sure as heck didn't get a pay increase to take on that responsibility. I can also confirm that Dallas and El Segundo are the main places the hiring is taking place and if you want to advance and aren't in those cities, tough luck. And there are more cuts coming as already thin budgets are bursting. People coming from the outside are shocked when they see how some of the under funding that has taken place.
You barely hear about top performers because they don’t b--ch too much. They either take an offer and leave before getting canned or they pick themselves up and try to move forward if the rugs slides out from under them.
Job cuts try to be kept below a certain threshold to avoid having to make certain announcements and concessions under WARN (https://www.doleta.gov/programs/factsht/warn.htm)
Naturally they’d go for high comp to keep below this threshold if they’re wanting to minimize payroll. Top performers may or may not be the highest salaried. Base is negotiated at the time of hire.
@ SWtZvjx-3nrz what about the top performers for people that had been there 10-20 years ? keep them or shove them out the door ?
It’s me, the author of the article quoted by the OP again.
I don’t doubt that 1-7 are happening, as you provide specific examples consistent with what I’ve seen in the org, as well.
7 sort of has a silver lining, AT&T has been struggling with making good offers to their internal candidates looking to move up to the next rung. 10% raise is the max from what I’ve heard.
For those who have left AT&T on good terms and are looking to come back, this could very well be their opportunity to leverage the experience outside the company and get a better offer than an internal hire.
You only get one chance to negotiate your true worth, and that’s at the time of hire. Everything else is a percentage of that same number. So do it right this time and get some numbers you’re proud of.
They did this already in some groups and I’m going to tell you the net result so far.
They didn’t apply it equally across all groups, so while one group is limited to 10 per Manager, others they gave exceptions.
A lot of people got demoted as a result. So the demoted managers are now next in line to advance.
For non-Manager types with career aspirations, things just got a lot harder if not impossible. They virtually eliminated the next step up, so now you’re on a career ladder that’s missing some rungs.
There are now a lot of dotted lines. You report to someone at your same level without them actually being your boss. Example, I now have 5 people and a team, but they really report to someone else. So I don’t really manage anyone on paper which hurts you management experience criteria for advancement
The same decision chains still exist. They were supposed to push decisions down, but that didn’t really happen.
Employee retention - we have a lot of experienced top performers now leaving or looking to leave. These are the people that have been here less than 5 years, but have great resumes from other companies. The type we really need to keep and groom
They are now pulling folks from outside ATT for leadership roles. So now you’re competing with old managers, your peers and outside the company. The nod is usually given to outside folks.
I am the author of the comment you’re quoting. This was communicated for all IEFS/TFS/C&E (I am SE legacy Bellsouth).
For example, most of us OPTs are on teams of 15-20 but we have a team of 8-9 FTs that do nothing but apartment prewires and that may soon change.
For certain admin roles or executives with an assistant, this obviously cannot be applied. But very easy for managers over hourly techs, area managers over managers, and directors over area managers.
I have no data on if this applies to marketing / sales / DevOps as well.
I see this not necessarily being the case for VP/AVP’s overseeing directors and higher brackets.
FYI there are still 3 big hubs: Dallas HQ, El Segundo, and Atlanta’s not dead yet.
As for the reference to the bleak financial future, I am in my late twenties, did not graduate college, and recently left big blue for big red. My new full time role has me at just over $42 an hour living in the SE. It’s not impossible to do.
It is sad that automation means people lose their livelihood.
If I was in my 20s I would be pissed at having such a bleak financial future with no job prospects but a butt-load of student debt.
Automation could be a good thing if the benefits were shared across society, a shorter work week and a more productive society with better benefits. But Randy and his ilk are stealing the benefits of technical progress so they can line their pockets with even more millions.
I remember, OK I am old, when people said that the introduction of computers would make our work weeks shorter and our lives easier.
IIn a works of free content, cash flow is not a given , add Randy and cronies = Disaster looming
Spans of control will continue to get wider and flatter. More work will be pushed towards hub offices instead of satellite offices. If you don't work at the 2 big hubs (Dallas and LA) you will find your lateral and upward mobility severely restricted. Don't underestimate how the TW merger will impact cash flow, operating and capital budgets as a result of debt issuance. Remember this company has 3 products that are in the mature stage of the product life cycle. There are no more mergers or acquisitions that can continue the roll up. Really watch the cash flow. It is the key to future decisions.
2030, as many as 800 million jobs will be lost worldwide to automation. The study, compiled by the McKinsey Global Institute, says that advances in AI and robotics will have a drastic effect on everyday working lives, comparable to the shift away from agricultural societies during the Industrial Revolution. In the US alone, between 39 and 73 million jobs stand to be automated — making up around a third of the total workforce, in addition Wireless is the segment that would be most impacted, I feel bad for people stating careers these days
You need to check webphone. Seems the 10-12 direct reports ‘rule’ isn’t for all and shouldn’t be. Jobs, groups etc are different across all companies including the once mighty ATT. Not saying we don’t need to cut into the upper tiers because I believe we do from area manager up but hard and fast at 10-12 isn’t logical.
"70% gone by 2020"?! Do you mean 30% gone by 2020.
Span of control has always been 10-12 direct reports per manager/vp/avp. nothing new here, however they will continue to "right size" teams as they march to the 70% gone by 2020.
If it is true just another ridiculous metric . It just doesn’t make sense to make that a standard . But, it also wouldn’t surprise me. Wonder what genius thought that one up!