Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

"The future is a cheap worker, one that does not complaint, and it is grateful for having a job, welcome to India!@" Sorry I have to comment....from personal experience.... Communication issues, "one that does not complaint"? I think you meant one that does not complain...…..time difference (India friendly co-workers can't be found after 9:00am CST, say yes to everything but then don't deliver...I could go on and on,,,,but I think an old saying sums it up best "You get what you pay for"....

Well why would you reskill yourself for a job where you will be paid less money, be overworked, and most likely be replaced by an off shore consulting agency?

What's the point of retraining when ATO is working on offshoring all the tech jobs? Upper Management doesn't care about quality and customer experience as much as cutting costs. So they will continue their downward spiral of cost-cutting by finding the cheapest third-world labor available.

Careerpath is a joke, it goes back to who you know not what you know. Its all part of the HR formalities but the posting is already filled. Look around I’m sure you’ve been working with the same people for years, it only changes when they are shown the door.

Why would anyone retool themselves to software development? A field that AT&T loves to outsource to India with an hourly rate of $4.63/hr?? Yes that was posted on this board a few weeks back.

I have two very intelligent college age sons. I’ve told them to stay the hell away from IT. IT is a face to the bottom. The constant offshoring and outsourcing is pushing IT wages down, down, down.

The smart money is picking other areas to focus on and hone skills.

At AT&T age is the trigger, period

The problem is most companies including AT&T do not value employees over 50. I feel I was targeted for surplus because of my age. I was motivated and eager to expand my skill sets and wanted to be a team player and pursued a Nanodegree as well, yet I lost my job. Career Path gives you no feedback on why you were rejected for a job or feedback if you are lacking something in your profile. Everything is stacked against you. Here is an excellent article that explains being forced into retirement over 50..

https://www.propublica.org/article/older-workers-united-states-pushed-out-of-work-forced-retirement

"The real problem with software development training is that T isn’t hiring local people for these roles but rather using outsourced/offshored resources for these jobs."

Bingo. The so called skills gap is not about skills; it is about how much has to be paid for those skills. The company views you as a cost and not an asset. Here is how they are playing all sides against each other. Employee A takes that training for the job of the future. Employee B can be hired to do the same job off shore for a fraction of what it costs to keep employee A. The company then surpluses Employee A, at the same time hires Employee B, and then says to the public there is a skills gap.

The real problem with software development training is that T isn’t hiring local people for these roles but rather using outsourced/offshored resources for these jobs. I’ve heard the new direction is to insource development but what the middle managers aren’t saying is these jobs will be in Israel and India. Sure these will be employees but not in this country. So what am I retooling for when these jobs don’t exist in my local collab zone???

The problem isn’t with asking folks to train and enhance their skills. The problem is the company PLE training is a joke. The employees that already have the up to date skills are not exempted from spending hours upon hours in remedial PLE courses. Half the time you have to retake courses or spend extra hours trying to manually complete them as they don’t always mark complete after passing the course.

To make matters worse the company puts no value in the employees that already have skills and are adding value. The layoffs have been based on where you sit and not how much value you bring to the table. There are many high performers in the crosshairs of a surplus.

The company puts little value in the quality of the employees and sabotages productivity even more with the fishbowl style collaboration zones that diminish the high performers. You will not see the senior leadership ‘lead by example’ by working all day in an open layout sitting next to a dozen others while on conference calls and eating lunch at their reserved desk of the day.

The leadership is making the same decisions Marissa Mayer made with Yahoo. It is easy to see what it did to Yahoo.

The future is a cheap worker, one that does not complaint, and it is grateful for having a job, welcome to India!@

@rrd,

“if you are below 60 many costs are tax deductible if the goal is new skills.” sadly, this is mostly the opposite- if the training is needed for your CURRENT job, it is tax deductible. Anything for a new skill is not. Unless it’s an actual degree program.

The future is coming fast and T has both feet inside the door. Unfortunately some of us are in the wrong department.

Yvx to be fair not everyone can take advantage of tuition reimbursement etc as ones director or higher have to approve as its an expense against their budgets and they may say no and later you get surplussed. But I know people who could take advantage of tuition reimbursement and don’t. Anyway there are classes at junior colleges that can retrain folks in new skills that we should take advantage of even if we pay for it ourselves. There is a skills gap for skilled trades (don’t believe me check out mikeRowe.com) yes it may mean starting over. Btw if you are over 60 many states will pay for the retraining at community colleges and if you are below 60 many costs are tax deductible if the goal is new skills.

Growing up in poor rural America, I didn’t have access to much. But gaining access to all this “technology c-ap” gave me access to an education and opportunities I would have never have otherwise known or been exposed too.

Having an open mind and willingness to seize these opportunities, I have now been afforded a career I enjoy and a lifestyle I never thought was possible for someone of my background. There’s enourmous value in the connectivity of societies, and to dismiss as you have, is incredible ignorant and short sited.

The company is being very clear and upfront with you now on the direction of this biz and where the opportunity is. If that’s not where you want to be, then you need to start taking steps to retool to move into a different role/organization/company now. Otherwise you have no right to call foul, when your position is surplused. (Assuming you’re in a role that’s identified as declining)

Lol, gee the market? look at Silicon Valley, who except for venture capitalists and business major make the most money? Software engineers. You are a mo--n, I walk around and see many people using their smart phones. I don't see elitists behind them forcing them to use their phones.

You may not like it rft, but that is where the demand is right now. will that change in 10 or 30 years? possibly. but you not liking it does not mean its wrong or won't happen. get with it or be left behind.

@WQ3I1Ra-pej - "the reason why software training/re-training is needed is wait for it, its coming, are you ready? ITS WHERE THE NEED IS."

And who exactly is determining where the need is? You think that the average person is demanding an app on their phone for everything to do with their entire lives and for the NSA to log every last key stroke? No one was demanding this 30 years ago when no one knew any of this was even possible. The explosion of the information era has nothing to do with organic free markets and everything to do with elitist control over the population.

If you welcome all of the new information technology that has been forced upon us in the last 20 years, I'm sorry to say - but you are the id--t.

This company thrives off of helping government agencies violate the 4th amendment rights of every single living American, along with giving us all cancer from unprecedented amounts of RF radiation that will multiply 1000 fold with the 5G rollout.

what an id--tic post. the reason why software training/re-training is needed is wait for it, its coming, are you ready? ITS WHERE THE NEED IS.

ITs not the job of the company to retrain you, its YOUR responsibility to do so. so many schools have part time classes, the company even pays in part for it. get your head out of your a-- and take care of yourself and not depend on the company to do so. do you know what the job is of people who think like you? unemployed.