#employeerelations

Not just within the company but outside as well. I guess word spreads fast when you're having cuts every two weeks. No wonder we can’t get any good candidates anymore. Good for them, su-ks for us.

I was laid off a few months after getting both from my last job. I was convinced I was safe, and I was not. I just thought people should know this, because I’m guessing this is true everywhere.

https://techrights.org/n/2025/11/08/IBM_Layoffs_Not_Done_Terminations_of_Staff_in_India_Brazil_and_.shtml

it’s freaking Friday!!! How come???

Barclays GTIS layoffs occurred on 11/5 in Whippany,NJ. I'm not entirely sure how many Collegues were impacted but a Network team engaged working on the same project was severely downsized.

It seems like the Barclays grim reaper trims staff every year despite the financial state of the Bank which reported very strong 3Q25 earnings this week.

As always wish those effected much success in quickly landing another professional position to their liking.

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-work-use-performance-reviews-1e8975df?mod=hp_lead_pos7

For those of you too cheap to pay the buck a week:

Julie Sweet, the chief executive of consulting giant Accenture ACN 1.83%increase; green up pointing triangle, recently delivered some tough news: Accenture is “exiting” employees who aren’t getting the hang of using AI at work.

The firm has trained about 70% of its roughly 779,000 employees in generative artificial-intelligence fundamentals, she told investors. But employees for whom “reskilling, based on our experience, is not a viable path” will be shown the door, Sweet said.

Rank-and-file employees across corporate America have grown worried over the past few years about being replaced by AI. Something else is happening now: AI is costing workers their jobs if their bosses believe they aren’t embracing the technology fast enough.

From professional-services firms to technology companies, employers are pushing their staffs to learn generative AI and integrate programs like ChatGPT, Gemini or customized company-specific tools into their work. They’re sometimes using sticks rather than carrots. Anyone deemed untrainable or seen as dragging their feet risks being weeded out of hiring processes, marked down in performance reviews or laid off.

Companies are putting their workers on notice about their AI skills amid a wave of white-collar job cuts. Amazon.com announced layoffs last week that affected roughly 14,000 jobs, while Target recently shed 1,800 corporate roles. International Business Machines has also disclosed thousands of cuts. Executives at Amazon and IBM have tied workforce cuts to the technology in statements this year.

Julie Sweet, CEO and Chair of Accenture, speaking at CES 2025 in Las Vegas.
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet says the company is “exiting” employees who aren’t getting the hang of using AI. Overall, the company expects to increase head count in the 2026 fiscal year. Steve Marcus/Reuters
Some companies are training people in how to use the tools—but leaving it up to them to figure out what to use them for. There are countless possibilities for how to deploy AI. Some businesses have required training classes or set up help desks to coach employees on how to incorporate AI into their work. Others are putting the onus on staff to think creatively about how to make money or save time with the tech.

That can prompt exciting innovations—or it may come at the expense of getting work done. Or both.

At enterprise-software company IgniteTech, leaders required staff last year to devote 20% of their workweek to experimenting with AI. On one such “AI Monday,” staff brainstormed ways to speed up processes like automating responding to customer-service tickets. Employees also had to share on Slack and X what they were learning about AI.

CEO Eric Vaughan said that employees self-assessed their AI usage and, afterward, the company used ChatGPT to rank the results. After a human review, IgniteTech cut the lowest-scoring performers.

“By their own admission, they’re in the basement,” he said. “So now they have to leave.”

It wasn’t easy: Vaughan recalls speaking with his wife over that time about the changes, feeling “terrible.” But he said he felt AI was an existential threat, and that if IgniteTech didn’t transform, the company would die. One tough exit was the chief product officer, who had been with the company for years. He and others were model, productive employees historically but were resisting the AI mandate, said Vaughan, who also leads GFI Software and Khoros.

Eric Vaughan, CEO of IgniteTech, speaking at the FT AI Summit.
IgniteTech CEO Eric Vaughan required staff last year to devote 20% of their workweek to experimenting with AI. Ghelani Studios
Greg Coyle, that executive, said he had bought into AI’s potential to improve IgniteTech’s products and add new capabilities. But he took issue with the nature of the widespread cuts, particularly because the technology is in such an early stage.

“Doing this rapid culling of your workforce, it’s very risky,” he said. “If your AI plan doesn’t work out the way you expected it to, it’s a huge risk for the business.”

After a round of cuts, Coyle said he pushed back against an AI mandate in late 2023 in an executive meeting. He said he felt the company wasn’t working strategically as it pushed out staff. A few months later, he said, he was fired.

AI, Coyle said, is “coming whether we like it or not. You either get on board or you get left behind.” But, he added, “I don’t believe that you take this brute force, across-the-board approach to AI in the business.”

Vaughan said the company has since hired AI specialists to replace the laid-off staff. Accenture has said that it expects to increase headcount this fiscal year.

At workforces large and small, plenty of workers are hesitant to adopt AI, fearful that widespread adoption will innovate them out of a job. They also doubt the technology can do the job as well as they can.

Share of responses from U.S. workers who don't use AI tools when asked to select the main reason why not

A recent Gallup survey found that more than 40% of U.S. workers who don’t use AI say the main reason is they don’t believe it can help their work. A smaller share, 11%, said their primary driver was that they did not want to change how they worked. While AI adoption has grown in the past year, working Americans are about three times as likely to say they aren’t prepared at all for AI as opposed to “very prepared,” Gallup found.

Many employees, even when exposed to AI tools that companies spend a lot on, aren’t biting. When researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reviewed more than 300 AI initiatives, they found only 5% were achieving quantifiable value. Employees flock to tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot for their ease of use, but don’t often adopt other software.

A big impediment, the researchers found, is that many of those tools aren’t yet programmed to learn from users’ past interactions. That makes approaching a human colleague a better option for complex work. The best return on investment, the researchers found, has often been on back-office functions.

Prioritizing AI adopters
Companies are finding other ways to push staff to integrate AI into their work.

At McKinsey, analytic problem solving is at the heart of what consultants do. When that skill is measured in future performance reviews, consultants will be evaluated on how they make decisions with AI. Now, in assigning staff to some client projects, McKinsey gives priority to employees who are trained in AI, said Kate Smaje, a senior partner and global leader of technology and AI.

People in KPMG’s human-resources division are assessed on how well they collaborate with AI in their wider evaluations, the firm’s head of people said.

PwC is requiring AI training for its newest hires. It kicked off a nine-piece pilot curriculum for new-graduate associate hires in October, including lessons on “prompting with purpose,” designing workflows that include AI and instruction on how to use the tools responsibly.

And at a fall PwC all-partner meeting with thousands of attendees, working with the technology was part of the agenda. The multimillion dollar investment in AI training “will absolutely pay off,” said Margaret Burke, the firm’s head of recruiting and learning and development.

At Concentrix, a customer-service outsourcing company with more than 400,000 staff, bosses recently realized low-performing developers weren’t using AI.

“You find out those people are refusing to adjust,” said Ryan Peterson, Concentrix’s chief product officer.

Concentrix hired Peterson from Amazon in 2024 with a mandate to find ways to incorporate AI across the company. Its attorneys now use AI to redline new versions of contracts. The technology flags clauses that the company would never agree to in negotiations—like accepting unlimited liability, Peterson said. These efficiencies mean that Concentrix was able to redeploy 10 attorneys to higher-value negotiation work and litigation management.

Purchasing teams use the technology to compare requests for proposals, and marketing teams now use it to format and template emails, he said.

Concentrix’s CEO said in a June earnings call that he doesn’t foresee a “massive decrease” in employment, though he noted that declining head count is a possibility.

‘AI will, not just skill’
Multiverse, an education-tech company in London, states that its mission is to advance AI adoption. Each quarter, it awards an employee who has come up with the best uses for AI 10,000 pounds, or about $13,000. Finalists this quarter include the creator of a paperwork automation system that cut a 30-minute task to five minutes and someone who made a sales aide that creates a customized briefing based on publicly available information.

Job applicants at Multiverse are asked in interviews how they use AI in their lives, and in one assignment, prospective hires write prompts to complete certain tasks, said Libby Dangoor, who oversees the company’s human resources and AI among other areas. If applicants are skeptical of AI, it would be picked up in the application process, she said.

“We have to hire for AI will, not just skill,” she said.

LinkedIn job postings requiring AI literacy skills have expanded by 70% in the 12 months ended in July, according to the site.

Annie Hamburgen hiking in Torres Del Paine, Chile.
When Annie Hamburgen began a job search after an extended trip to South America this year, prospective employers kept asking her about AI. Annie Hamburgen
Annie Hamburgen, 28, of Incline Village, Nev., left her marketing job in March to travel in South America. When she came back and began looking for new work this summer, prospective employers kept asking her about AI. “I’ve been trying to demonstrate my openness to learning while making it clear that I’m not going to blindly type things in and accept whatever result comes out,” she said.

Hamburgen recently got hired for a role leading integrated marketing and starts on Monday. In conversations with her future boss, it’s been clear that she should be using AI to synthesize information. A common refrain: “Type it into Grok!”

For many years getting paged out to P1/P2 even P3 warrooms outside of work hours in the evenings, overnights, at movies, at dinner, getting groceries, at the gym, anywhere you go your phone would constantly go off. Not to mention the contanst group chats for work to respond to. All for no extra pay, layed off 1 year ago and no make way more money, work only 40 hours a week M-F. Get out while you can, they don't care about customers, definitely not employees, only the bottom line and the good ol boys at the top. Find a private company to work for.

I'm sure there's some logic behind getting rid of the best performer on our team, but I sure as he-l can't figure it out. I guess that's why those on top are paid the big bucks. /sarcasm

Anyone who was RA'd still abiding by the RTO 3 day mandatory badging in?

I have come to the belief that the packages going forward are going to be significantly smaller if at all. From the grapevine i hear folks just waiting. Tell us we can leave with a half package and watch how many throw in the towel. No mas! No mas!

Is it over? How many people were hit? Which areas? Anything?

It looks like no layoffs have been announced today, as the new pay period begins so I guess two more weeks of uncertainty and then we can finally know our fate.

Has anybody been pulled out of service for EEO. What takes place and what hoops do you have to jump through. Or are you looking for a new job?

When is Verizon India likely to lay off its employees?

Customer service and technology employees differ significantly from shopfloor workers, rendering the principles of Scientific Management and productivity gains through motion studies irrelevant and ineffective in these roles.
However, Truist, as a service-oriented company, places undue emphasis on the Sapience tool to measure productivity. While this highlights Sapience’s success in marketing and selling its productivity tool to large corporations, it raises concerns about its appropriateness for evaluating service and technology roles.

This company is ki-ling my mental. The inconsistencies between LOBs, multiple booking, originating, and servicing systems for a single loan, lack of accountability for not adhering to policy (changing rules, testing methodology vs behaviors) to manage results, constant turnover, not uploading documents in a timely manner, 1 million conflicting procedures, job aids, and department emails, broken and outdated links, lack of full integration of systems and procedures. I know all of us are waiting for an employee friendly job market so that we can escape chaos.

Guess who didn’t make the list?

https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-employers-women/

but we don’t give a flying ** about your job, you’re just another number. True values of this place :D

this is the day you wanted to end your relationship with Dell...

Emails are en route.

💥 “Too many layers. Too much overlap.” That’s the official reason Target just gave for cutting 1,800 corporate jobs — right before the holidays.

Let’s call it what it is:
A corporate hangover from years of over-hiring, over-layering, and under-leading.

While executives play musical chairs and consultants whisper “simplify” into boardrooms, real people — talented, loyal humans — are getting blindsided with a “Team Huddle” calendar invite that changes their lives.

Target says this isn’t about cost cutting.
But when you eliminate nearly 8% of your HQ workforce and scrap another 800 vacant roles, it sure looks like an “optimization” deck dressed in empathy fonts.

The saddest part?

They didn’t just lose roles. They lost trust, culture, and identity — piece by piece, meeting by meeting, memo by memo — until “Joy!” became a tagline instead of a truth.

And now, the same leaders who created the layers are holding “listening sessions” about the pain they caused.

Make it make sense.

If you’re still standing in retail or corporate America, take notes.
👉 Bloat is the first step toward bloodletting.
👉 “Simplify” means someone’s about to be sacrificed.
👉 And “we value our team” usually ends with a legal disclaimer.

The real headline isn’t that Target laid off 1,800 people.

It’s that every major company could be one reorg away from calling it “progress.”

This is just my view.

Customer facing roles = Safe
Operational / Back office / Marketing = Not
Mid-Level Reporting / Your job can easily be automated = Not
Band 6 and above (5 to C-Wing) = Nope

Not safe means up to 25-40% reduction.

16 more days and we will know.

Quick question:

Did all of the forced piped former BNY employees receive a "not eligible for rehire" tag on their employment file?

Anyone else ever receive a request for feedback about their Manager/Director from the VP of the chain of command? I received a request but no one else on my team received one. Wondering if this is a screening for them or for me ahead of the rumored January layoffs?

Has anyone ever successfully reported a colleague for s-xism?

I’m not sure what route to go but it’s an issue multiple people have noticed.

Some DPAIO folks are gone as of today. At least one VP and one SVP included. Is this part of a larger RIF this week?

I heard it could go on for at least ten more days. No other details, though. And there are so many rumors flying around, it’s hard to tell which ones make any sense.

Hormel Foods Corp. is undertaking a corporate restructuring that should result in the reduction of approximately 250 corporate and sales positions, hopefully through a voluntary early retirement program.

https://www.foodprocessing.com/business-of-food-beverage/news/55327956/hormel-foods-announces-corporate-restructuring-250-office-layoffs

It appears as if security at Home Office is being more aggressive lately. We have been told to report anyone who we do not recognize on our floor immediately to firm security. We have also been told to not hold the door open for anyone after we have badged into the building and/or onto our floors. Is there a security concern at Home Office that anyone knows about that we may need to know about? Is the Home Office safe to work at?

"Resource Actions expected to hit half of US Infrastructure group"

https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/04/ibm_cutting_several_thousand_jobs/?td=rt-3a

So was that strange long message to us:
genuine a wake up call or super long reminder that "winter is coming.." and now its going to be "cold"?

As we continue to feel strains and increased costs as a company perhaps looking at top exec costs would help cut off some of that. Are there business travels at that level that are really needed or lunches for those in those positions that really need to be paid for? How are leaders paid more and advancing levels when others are not? How many additional senior leaders do we really need? Our members need to be able to reach live, direct workers. Happy employees lead to happy members and business which organically leads to overall better business. Telling associates benefits are more, AIP is less, and growth will not really happen is tough for lower ranking associates. I wonder when that piece of the puzzle will be realized by the business. Further consider these associates are also members trying to make it in the world today.

anyone want to share a severance template?

We are interviewing at least 3 current Belk planners and buyers at my new company and that's just for open positions on my team hahhahahaaha.

They are losing so much talent and I am here for it. FAFO

Hello everyone,

Did anyone hear anything about planned layoffs for the people joining from TSYS?

Today italian office announced the layoffs of 35 people (out of 120 FTEs)

Strike or Unionized

U.S. employees are being displaced with offshore workers and/or artificial intelligence. It’s UnAmerican and unconscionable.

Perhaps the only way this can be stopped is if US employees (not in leadership roles) unite and demand changes immediately.

And maybe it is time for Healthcare workers to become unionized.

Any Allina legacy people read this? Any of the Epic people get hit yet, or was it just infrastructure(me and friends) and almost the rest of help desk?

I don't know if this is a company thing or a district thing but why would Walmart make Team Leads have to do an evening shift two days a week? Our store has informed all Team Leads that twice a week they have to work a 7-4pm shift and a 2-11pm shift of they have to step down as team lead. Many of our team leads, who are great, have kids or are single parents and cannot take off or find child care for this. Why does Walmart ask what days and times you can work and then make a rule like this.
Also, why does everyone in the store now have to have open availability? Again, why have me fill out a form and ask what days and times I can work and now tell me I will work when and on what day they want me too or I wont get hours. One of our best associates has a special needs child and has to take him for treatment on a certain day and a certain time. Now they have scheduled her for that day and time but she can't make it so she has been cut from 40 hours to 25 hours. Seems unfair and maybe illegal. Thoughts