#employeerelations

When you never know if your job will exist next quarter, you can't focus on anything but survival.

The Long Beach Unified School District has laid off more than 500 employees to address a significant financial deficit. These cuts include temporary certified staff, federally-funded Head Start program employees, librarians, and various support staff. District employees express deep concern that these layoffs will negatively impact student learning, wellness, and increase the workload for remaining staff. Despite these concerns, the district maintains that core student services will be protected. The decision comes as the district faces a nearly $70 million budget shortfall.

Long Beach, California

https://sigtrib.com/lbusd-laid-off-over-500-employees-teachers-and-staff-are-concerned-about-the-long-term-impact/

"Some bosses aren’t leaders.
They’re bullies with titles.
And pretending otherwise only protects the wrong people.

A bad boss doesn’t just make work annoying.
They make people doubt themselves.
They drain confidence.
They turn Sunday night into a stress spiral.

They make good employees wonder if they’re the problem.
They usually aren’t.

DDI found that employees with leaders who genuinely care about their well‑being are 3x more likely to be engaged — which is the least surprising statistic on earth.

People do better work when their leader actually gives a damn.

And you can hear the difference instantly.

A boss says:
“Figure it out.”
“That’s your problem.”
“I don’t have time for this.”
“You’re lucky to have a job.”
“I don’t pay you to think.”

A leader says:
“Let’s work through it.”
“What do you need?”
“Let’s prioritize.”
“I appreciate what you bring.”
“Tell me what you think.”

That’s not “soft.”
That’s real leadership.

People remember how you acted when things got hard.
They remember who had their back.
And they absolutely remember the person who used authority to make them feel small.

A title makes you a boss.
How you treat people decides whether anyone follows you."

Around 100 employees at Diageo's Cameronbridge distillery are voting on potential strike action. This follows an announcement of global redundancies, impacting over 70 roles at the Scottish site. Union representatives claim Diageo has not adequately consulted on the proposed job cuts. Diageo states the reductions are necessary for long-term competitiveness and involve a small number of roles. The union argues maintaining production levels with fewer staff will endanger worker safety.

Cameronbridge, Scotland

https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2026/08/26/diageo-cameronbridge-staff-threaten-strike-amid-layoffs/

It’s hard not to see the company’s recent actions as deeply disingenuous.

For years, we were told that work-life balance mattered, that employee feedback was valued, and that engagement surveys actually influenced decisions. Today, those messages ring hollow.

Don’t forget what the company has done.

A year from now, there may be apologies like Meta did, polished messaging, and attempts to reframe the cuts and other measures as mistakes that went too far.

The narrative will likely be carefully crafted to sound optimistic and reassuring.

But by then, much of the institutional knowledge and experience may already be gone.

There seems to be an assumption that a younger workforce, combined with AI and fewer experienced employees, can simply replace what was lost.

That’s a dangerous assumption. Younger employees aren’t stupid, and Gen Z and the generations that follow are fully capable of recognizing when a company’s actions don’t match its words.

People remember how they were treated.

When experienced employees continue to leave and younger employees follow them out the door, we’ll see where the company is left.

You can’t erase years of institutional experience and expect everything to function as if nothing happened.

The biggest problem may not be the cuts themselves, it may be the loss of trust.

Once employees stop believing that the company genuinely values them, rebuilding that trust is far harder than any polished corporate message can fix.

Microsoft fired 16,000 Americans and then turned around and hired 9,000 workers under H-1B.

Disney fired 250 employees… [and] had those 250 American employees train their replacements under H-1B.

Same with Ford, GM and Chrysler .
We have Americans that are skilled in all these different areas.

Video game developer Schell Games has reportedly initiated its first-ever layoffs. Multiple employees shared news of the job cuts on LinkedIn, indicating the reductions began last Friday. The affected departments include marketing, art, design, and visual effects. Reports suggest approximately fourteen individuals have been let go from the studio. These layoffs occur despite the CEO's past public statements against putting jobs at risk.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/schell-games-reportedly-lays-off-staff

Can managers just fire anyone they don’t like. Haven’t talked to manager in about six weeks

Title. I’d imagine folks here agree but want to get personal thoughts, observations or anecdotes. What is the future of this company for its employees? A more transactional model? Is this company that the older employees extol the same company that were living in now? Will the pension be around long term?

Mosaic has laid off approximately 300 employees across two Louisiana plant sites. The affected facilities are located in Donaldsonville and Convent. These layoffs occurred on Tuesday, impacting a significant portion of the company's local workforce. Employees will receive pay through October, though the specific reasons for the workforce reduction remain undisclosed. The company has not yet responded to requests for further information.

https://unfilteredwithkiran.com/hundreds-of-plant-workers-laid-off-at-two-louisiana-sites/

Tony p came got folks to change logo, went on DXC holidays and golf trips for a year, and has now issued his email for the next year. Cavery has gone to join another employer. Mary before her wasted a load of money on Manchester and F1. Ask anyone about DXC and they will says its a fried chicken outlet. What a merry go round

Failing a PIP means always to get separated from the company??

Are managers in European countries making up excuses to put people on PIPs and then lay them off?

Anyone else leave the bank and being subject to non-stop spam from [now-outsourced] talent acquisition regarding the exact same U.S. Bank positions? Four outreach efforts, four different outsourced recruiters, one job posting. I suppose it is difficult to fill positions when nobody wants to join the dumpster. Earth to Gunjan, have some dignity in how you run your bank.

Read the HO QA questions and the ELT answers and seems to me like they will now be masking ISPs and layoffs with a term titled Future Ways of Working… I am all for the future and the tech we can invest in but my issue is we are nowhere ready for all that and I feel still years away from what they are wanting to do.

The CN org structure is crazy - random look at any org. I looked a Procurement - don't know a single person. VP head - 6 direct: 1 Sr Dir, 1 Dir, 2 Sr Mgr, 2 Mgr. Lets just look at that 1 Sr Dir - under is 1 Sr Mgr (3 under), 1 Mgr (2 under), 1 Dir (1 under), and 1 Sr Mgr (1 under - who is a Manger, who then has 1 under). The entire org has more Mgr's+ than people working under them. Think about this - who runs that org & how do they have a job? And if you think this is isolated -- it's not.

Has anyone heard of any layoffs ahead or are things still quiet?

Company News: The "Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards" - where out of 20 awards issued, 19 went to Optum India.

Way to rub the outright, blatent, anti-USA descrimination into the faces of your employees, a--hats!

If Centene is serious about understanding what is happening within Corporate Ethics & Compliance, then stop looking at individual employees and start looking at the people making the decisions. The problem is much bigger than SIU. It extends across CIU, SIT, COI, InTP, Privacy, Corrections, and other areas that are supposed to protect the company and ensure compliance.

At some point, leadership needs to take a hard look in the mirror. There is a growing perception that advancement, opportunities, protection, and even how employees are treated can depend too heavily on who leadership likes, who they know, who agrees with them, and who does not challenge their decisions. That is not leadership. That is creating an environment where employees learn very quickly that speaking up can have consequences.

And perhaps the biggest problem is that employees are sometimes expected to follow processes that are not clearly documented, have changed repeatedly, are outdated, or in some cases do not exist at all.

Ask for the policy. Ask for the procedure. Ask for the written guideline. Ask for the reference material. The response is often some version of, “We’re working on it.” Well, if you are still working on the policy, then why are you enforcing it as though it already exists? Why are employees being held accountable for standards that have not been clearly communicated? Why are decisions being made based on “how we’ve always done it” when Compliance should be operating from documented, consistent, and defensible standards?
That is not compliance. That is inconsistency disguised as compliance.

Leadership cannot constantly change expectations and then blame employees for failing to meet them.

You cannot move the goalposts and then criticize people for not knowing where the goalposts are. You cannot demand documentation from everyone else while operating without clear documentation yourselves. And you cannot build an effective Compliance organization through fear, favoritism, secrecy, micromanagement, or a culture where challenging leadership is treated as being difficult or disloyal.

The uncomfortable question is this: Who is holding Compliance leadership accountable? If Compliance is supposed to identify risk, investigate misconduct, enforce standards, and protect the organization, then its own leadership should be subject to an equally rigorous level of scrutiny.

Maybe it is time for an independent, top-to-bottom assessment of Corporate Ethics & Compliance.
Not another internal review where the same leadership structure reviews itself. Look at the leadership. Look at hiring and promotion decisions. Look at turnover. Look at why experienced employees have left. Look at how investigations are handled. Look at whether expectations are consistently applied. Look at whether policies actually exist and are current. Look at how employees who raise concerns are treated. Look at whether qualifications, experience, credentials, training, and resources actually match the responsibilities employees are being asked to perform. And most importantly, look at the leadership culture.

Replacing a few employees while leaving the leadership structure, decision-making practices, and underlying culture untouched does not fix the problem. It simply moves the problem around.

Sometimes you don't need another reorganization. You need accountability. You need new leadership. You need policies and procedures that are actually written, current, accessible, and consistently applied. You need qualified people in the right positions with the right experience and tools. And you need leaders who are willing to hear “no,” accept criticism, answer difficult questions, and admit when something is wrong.

Compliance cannot demand from the rest of the company what Compliance leadership is unwilling or unable to demonstrate itself.

If Centene truly wants to rebuild trust, then it needs to start at the top.
Clean house where necessary. Rewrite what is broken. Create what is missing. Remove outdated practices. Establish clear standards. Put qualified people in the right positions. And hold leadership accountable to the same standards imposed on everyone else.
Anything less is just rearranging the furniture while the foundation continues to crack.

I got laid off almost two weeks ago. I received a personal and work email for a job offer. It’s Employee Installation Representative. It’s for 5 months. It would not mess with my severance. I would get paid what I was making. Has anyone else received an email Iike this or accepted this?

From Darcie Henry

in your inboxes this AM.

I won’t read whatever nonsense this is, but hoping someone can just translate for us whatever new intentional misery this will be bringing to being employed here?

Leadership repeats these concepts on every call, and have for years. In 20 years of having health insurance as an employee here, my costs have gone down ZERO times.

Year over year, it only gets more complicated.

Talk is cheap. Like propaganda, no matter how many times they repeat it - doesn’t make it true.

Reduce my costs, pay my claims - start with those two - get the basics down first.

How do you think this whole RTO debacle will go? Do you think it’s going to crash and burn and Fidelity will admit their mistakes and return to at least some WFH time? Or do you think they will force us to put up with the terrible conditions until enough people quit that will satisfy their reduced headcount need? I need to see a brighter side to all of this nonsense.

Europe country. PIP today.

Why can’t I7’s become I9 without first being an I8? These levels are so antiquated and old school. If an I7 is doing an I9 role, just promote them or at least pay them accordingly! Dell is very far behind in the times. Almost functions like the Fed govt. The longer you’re here, the higher you get based upon longevity, not talent or skill.

New to the company. Could somebody teach me about Seagate’s bonus structure?

…that you work for a company that wouldn’t p1ss on you if you were on fire.

A company that thinks it’s fine to have an all hands that unambiguously states that RIFs are happening in the next few weeks, even puts it in writing in a recap email, then does NOTHING, then does not even have enough respect for the human that it sends a follow-up email addressing what they themselves chose to put out there in terms of messaging. Accountability, you see, is only for us peons.

So yeah. Don’t sc--w over your team or the customer but “work to rule”. 8 hours. Don’t volunteer extra work. If you have a legitimate press contact share the email and that there’s been no update.

F@ck Enrique, executive bonuses, and this dying brand.

Will Dan lay off the entire Indian workforce, despite its established presence in India since 2000? Many employees appear to have been quietly removed by senior directors and HR. This raises serious concerns about the future of the Indian workforce and the organization’s long-standing presence in the country.

We know we still have like 26000 people to layoff before the year is over according to Jane’s press release

What departments and locations are being impacted?

The word thru the grape vine is that promotions this year are not coming with monetary raises. You get all the increased responsibility, but your pay is staying put.

It’s like a microcosm in here and a good analysis of human psychology. I’ve noticed that the longer this drags out, the more stressed people become, and in turn, the more they turn on each other with nastiness. It’s no wonder that “the people” can never topple those in power. We are too busy toppling each other.

I started with Centene about 3 years ago. I came from a leadership background of 18years and wanted a break for management. In my short time here with Centene I can’t get over how horrible the leaders are. It seems as though not one of them truly knows how to be a manager or they are so insecure as a manager they have to micromanage people on their team. Some of the leaders I have had in my roles were absolutely clueless on how to manage. They never could communicate to the whole team at the same time. They would forget things all the time. Can’t even explain how to do their job or talk in circles. It’s embarrassing. Does anyone in a leadership role actually have management experience or are they just hiring people off the street to run a department. There are also leaders without anyone underneath them LOL. How can you be a manager when you don’t manage a department or anyone?

How long are we staying in the office, if there is a badge-out system?

Is there a “minimum number of hours required”?

Does anyone know the “rules”?

Leadership seems to need a decoder to comprehend the results, so here it is. The negative survey results are not about healthcare perks or wellness programs no one uses, they are only about RTO and the lack of flexibility.

“I am proud to work at AT&T”

Once true. No longer. Public perception has deteriorated, and when people outside the company hear about the five-day RTO policy, the lack of any real collaboration, and the absence of assigned seating or co-located teams, the reaction is disbelief. Pride erodes when policies feel performative instead of purposeful.

“I would recommend AT&T as a great place to work”

That answer is now clearly no. A mandatory five-day RTO policy for roles that historically had been remote before COVID and can be done more effectively remotely is an immediate dealbreaker for modern workers. The policy alone makes the company undesirable and uncompetitive as an employer.

“We trust the leadership decisions”

Trust is broken. Employees do not support the financial decisions that destroyed value, nor the RTO mandate that ignored clear employee feedback. Trust cannot survive when leadership consistently doubles down instead of course-correcting.

“The company provides opportunities to support career growth”

Opportunities are narrowly concentrated in Dallas, with limited mobility elsewhere. For a national company, that is a self-inflicted constraint that unnecessarily caps growth and retention.

“Our policies and systems support me doing my best work”

They do the opposite. The five-day RTO policy actively reduces productivity, and many internal systems remain outdated and inefficient. Physical presence does not compensate for structural friction.

“The company cares about my health and well-being”

Employees feel burned out, mentally and physically, largely due to excessive commuting and rigid mandates that add stress without any benefit to the company or the employees. Well-being is not addressed by pushing unused benefits or wellness messaging while ignoring the root cause repeatedly identified in feedback.

“Do you feel changes have been made as a result of prior surveys”

No. In fact, the opposite. Employees explicitly opposed three-day RTO in the last survey, and leadership responded by increasing it to five. Feedback was not just ignored, it was contradicted. The disappearance of the prior third-party McKinsey survey results only reinforces that perception.

Did I miss anything else?
The pattern is now set and clear. Instead of addressing the core RTO issue employees are raising, leadership deflects with ancillary benefits and BS messaging. That approach feels like gaslighting, and not listening. So why should I even bother taking the next one?

If leadership truly wants different survey results, the solution is not another manifesto email, benefit rollout, or talking point. It is addressing the one issue employees are consistently, overwhelmingly, and clearly raising.

Flexibility. Trust. Results over “presence”.
That is the message of the survey, whether leadership wants to hear it or not.

Was just informed that my designated working area is over capacity by 10-15 heads. “Expect some flexibility” I’m sorry but who decided it was okay for someone to not have a seat to DO THEIR WORK IN. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore but here we are. If I don’t have a seat, and am expected to work in the cafe off one tiny laptop screen, I’m politely turning around and driving home. If HR comes knocking, I’m claiming harsh working conditions because this is absolutely ridiculous.

Our HR at 294 when she closed with us Sunday clocked everyone out on her own. We were waiting on her. Then we had bag checks. Isn’t this illegal ?

In TRM and part of risk - my game with BNY ended today. Was. Good stint for 14 years. But have no regrets.

It’s been a week or 2, I feel there is some due.

Anyone know? Information provided by Centene is not very clear.

I'm tired of working hard and never being good enough for some people. It's about favorites, not performance.