There’s a lot of trolls on this website but I figured I’d share what I’ve found out so far. I am an individual contributor/project manager reporting to an AVP. I am responsible for leading reductions in locations and force for my organization. The company wants to heavily target those who are either full or part time telecommuters and those who are not located in a “hub” or “collaboration zone”. Whether you agree with the company on this plan is irrelevant. These plans have been in place and getting worked out since the end of 2017. If you are in a “Satellite Zone” you will be safe for part of the year, this first round may not impact you. More information will be coming out by the end of the month and exact date has not been confirmed.
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remember when it comes to AT&T nothing you do is anonymous. its recorded, stored, accessible forever, shared with big brother and sold to anyone willing to pay enough.
"As far as the Collaboration space, the idea is If you work alone, or with only a select group, you may be limiting yourself and your company. More interaction, ideas, concepts and thinking often lead to more innovation, creativity and a more profitable business. Environments that convey this kind of positive energy ... and this is true ... when used in the right context, like in a development organization using the Agile project management process which is also a big thing with AT&T."
I'm an Agile PM at a software company. We let everyone work from home as much as they want. If they do want to come in, we buy them lunch and have tons of snacks and games and stuff. My team, and the company on the whole, are far more effective now than any team I saw at AT&T.
it$ about one thing only. Here is an internal link about the collaboration BS;
https://wiki.web.att.com/display/CECulture/Collaboration+Zones
@lbh: They do have a limited amount of input, keyword limited. HR's viewpoint is that everyone is disposable.
It will be tough ride for everyone this year,thanks for those who shared valuable information, pls not spill trolls here. We have been told not like last time, manager have any visibility on this layoffs, means not related to performance
Plain and simple. If you are not in a collab zone/hub, you will not have a job with the company. Look around. When someone retires in your work group, are they replaced? Is your work building either for sale or lease? Are you allowed any overtime? Are there serious budget restraints? The writing is on the wall. Our AVP told us in 2017 there would be 10 company work locations. I guess it’s all coming to fruition.
From dsc's comment below - "We do not have final numbers, names..."
Are the decisions on who stays and who leaves really being made outside of even the directors ? Do they have any input?
I've heard this before but it never made sense.
sounds like we have a member of the good ole boy network here doing his job .... for those not part of the network you will soon find out what they really think about you
I am 99 percent certain I work for the same AVP as the OP. I am an ATO Director and have heard the same messaging from my AVP. We do not have final numbers, names, or dates, though we all assume the 25th or 28th. Location will play a large factor in this round and future rounds, but it is not the only factor taken under consideration. Locations with many ATO employees are relatively safe, this round mainly targets those in the boonies compared to the organization as a whole. We hate this just as much as you and think moving away from telecommuting is a load of manure, but it is out of our hands.
@lgp, no I didn’t say transfer projects off shore or to younger workers. My org is losing x amount of people, those not being surplus are adding their projects to our workload
When you say full time telecommuters will be targeted do you refer to those that have a TW designation in their occupancy indicator and obtained 5th level approval? Or do you mean folks that work from home all the time without the proper telecommuting occupancy indicator?
Why did HR implement this for ATO only? Other groups still telecommute. This is a ridiculous thing to do.
While the next “Surplus” date may or may not be official, 1/28 makes sense as they are wanting people off the books by the end of February.
As far as the Collaboration space, the idea is If you work alone, or with only a select group, you may be limiting yourself and your company. More interaction, ideas, concepts and thinking often lead to more innovation, creativity and a more profitable business. Environments that convey this kind of positive energy ... and this is true ... when used in the right context, like in a development organization using the Agile project management process which is also a big thing with AT&T.
The problem is that AT&T is using a one size fits all mentality such that if it’s good for one group, it must be great for everyone.
As pointed out by a few people, not everyone on a team is located in a specific geographic area. The expectation becomes, if you can’t “collaborate” with your team, you can at least collaborate with your teams clients, those people you team interacts with.
Again, one size fits all since these people are also scattered around the world ( not just the U.S.).
This all explains the reason for the company wanting to create the “Hub” locations ... and an excuse to do the lay-offs...which has nothing to do with the why.
The real reason is because AT&T has a HUGE debt because of recent purchases, which in turn is impacting the stock price.
To address this, AT&T has promised Wall Street that they will buy down the debt by 20 Billion in 2019.
While some savings can come from efficiency improvements, reducing the amount they pay through salaries and health care, which are the largest factors in finding the cash they need in the time they have to meet the commitment.
And don’t think that this will be the only round of lay-offs in 2019. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 6 or more rounds... yes, meaning a round every month or two.
did you mean transfer projects to younger workers and\or off shore resources?
When you say full time telecommuters will be targeted do you refer to those that have a TW designation in their occupancy indicator and obtained 5th level approval? Or do you mean folks that work from home all the time without the proper telecommuting occupancy indicator?
@wwx: good luck.
1/28 has been confirmed - it was restarted to me again today as we were preparing to transfer projects to non-impacted members in my org.
“I am an individual contributor/project manager reporting to an AVP.”
Shouldn’t be too hard to narrow this down in Web Phone :)
so much for practicing what we preach....sell...how can people take us seriously when we don't even allow our employees to work in the environment we promote.
@gzo : Exactly this collaboration zone is utter non-sense and was a failure model. When I was with SBC they used the same thing by having CDT teams work in pods. Boy, was that a failure or what. At one point there were floors and floors of office spaces that were vacant yet we had people crammed in one floor. The biggest joke was most of my team was in CA and I was in this open pod with unrelated people. what a joke
@gzo: this was the brain child of HR and honestly I don’t have an answer.
Can you or someone PLEASE explain why they are targeting telecommuters? What is the benefit of forcing people into an office, especially those who work in a position where "collaboration" is not part of their job? I've been stuck in a dirty smelly office for 3 months now, I don't see anyone, there are no meetings, etc. So why am I made to waste my time commuting, spending extra money on gas, tolls, wear & tear on a car when I can do the same job from my home, as I have been for the past six years? No one can answer this question for me. Many frustrated people asking this everyday. If it's b/c folks took advantage, here's a news flash, they will do the same in an office. And shame on those Managers who didn't address the problem if it did exist.
Stating that all locations not within 50 miles of the 10 cities will be closed by the end of the year is total BS. If you are in a role to reduce force you would not say the notification date for this month is unknown - it has been well communicated and is posted all over this board.
1/28 is a confirmed date, not sure why you say "exact date has not been confirmed." Makes me question the rest of your post.
Is this across the board or focused on business units?
What is a “HUB ZONE” or “COLLAB ZONE”?