#layoffs

Just a note that there are very few jobs out there to apply for in November and December. Then in January things are still slow in the hiring process at a large company if they are hiring at all. Most will not be hiring.

It began, as these things often do, with a badge scan and a fruit tray.

Robin Vince and the Executive Committee descended upon Lake Mary two weeks ago, bringing with them a whirlwind of strategic platitudes, pre-cleared talking points, and a palpable sense of curated warmth. The site was abuzz. Floors were vacuumed. Acronyms were polished. Someone even replaced the “Out of Order” sign on the espresso machine with “Temporarily Visioning a Better Brew.”

The town hall began promptly, or as it’s known in EC time, at “Empathy O’Clock.” Robin opened with a heartfelt nod to “the incredible work happening here,” followed by a 17-minute meditation on resilience, stakeholder trust, and the importance of “showing up”—which, ironically, most of the EC had not done since the last earnings call.

The Q&A was pre-screened, of course. No questions about layoffs, offshoring, or why the new “Agile Transformation Hub” is just a SharePoint folder with a GIF of a hamster on a wheel. Instead, we heard about “listening deeply,” “leading with heart,” and “unlocking the power of our people”—phrases that sound profound until you realize they mean absolutely nothing and cost nothing to say.

Enter James Legrand, our site lead and resident Zen Buddha philosopher-king of LinkedIn. Within hours, his post appeared:

"Leadership is not a destination. It is a sunrise reflected in the eyes of those we serve. Grateful for Robin's visit and the reminder that empathy is a verb."

What does that mean? No one knows. But it got 247 likes, mostly from new recent new hire analysts and people who also post about “intentional gratitude” and “the ROI of kindness.”

One associate commented, “So true, James. I felt the empathy in the hallway.” Another chapped lips sympathizer fabio-sly replied, “I didn’t see Robin but I felt him.” We’re still unsure if that was metaphorical or HR-worthy.

Meanwhile, back at our desks, nothing changed. The org chart still resembles a game of Jenga played during an earthquake. The “transformation” roadmap is now in version 6.2b. And the only thing cascading is the mandatory empathy training module, which now includes a quiz on “active listening postures.”

But hey—Robin gestured (while admiring his new Rolex). The EC smiled. James posted. And somewhere, a hamster keeps running and more jobs are lost in this heartless and unemotional chaos.

With today’s announcement, is there any estimate how many people are losing their jobs?

This is insane.

I made a mistake. I'm an id--t. That's all I wanted to say.

Some more major talent left yesterday , many that were the glue for Enterprise customers. There are random sales people that noone knows filling the gaps of leavers.

The 15th of November fell on Saturday so the RIFs rolled Monday . Remember 2024 rolled same dates in January

I was a senior manager and was severed in late 2023. We were given like 3 months notice which was awkward. The worry, anxiety, feeling of being a failure was very overwhelming. The job market had changed dramatically since 2011 and I found it very frustrating to apply over and over to jobs I was 100% qualified for to not even get an interview. I made getting a job my job, worked at it 8 hours a day. It took 3 months before I landed a job....and it was an amazing job. 2 years later and things are still amazing. Way better pay, better work life balance, and they really value my abilities and skills. Verizon trains very well, and remember that you bring alot to the table that is very attractive to employers. Leaving Verizon does not mean lower pay. Being somewhere were you are more than just a number is refreshing. Not being at Verizon anymore is refreshing. Hang in there folks, you got this!

VZ “family” throwing each other under the bus — making arguments for why others should be cut while justifying their OWN existence. 🚢 🧊 Can’t you see we are ALL on a sinking ship? The VZ layoffs have only just begun ……. 🛟

I still can’t figure out why some Sr Directors are saying “I know nothing at all.. I’m waiting to hear too” and then other Sr Directors (and even ADs) know the names of those affected on their team. Why is the comms plan and information leaking so different this time?

Affected employees will receive phone calls between 8-10am, and survivors will get about a 45 minute heads-up for a 15 minute “business update” meeting where HR and ADs or above tell you who was let go. This usually occurs about 11am.

If you’re let go, you’ll likely get to leave work early on Thursday and won’t be expected to come in on Friday.

Source: This is my 6th rodeo

Just read this, and I thought others who might have missed it might want to see it too, so I'm making it into a thread. All credit goes to @a3+1ka9y513n.

RIFs will continue to happen, but does anyone know if there will be cuts from either Tech / Care or Case Mgmt for this round?

This has been going on for months now. Off shore India teams working during US workforce hours. The writings on the wall. Fiserv not supporting the US employees with this strategy. Good luck.

Apparently, there were some layoffs yesterday. Will it continue today and throughout the week or is that it?

Some say 10% WFR, others say 30%

Have you seen the discounts on Nike.com? Earlier than usually with higher discounts than ever. Pinnacle product like alphafly 3 and new introductions like Metcon are offered there in a way that it hurts to see. That together with the removal of wellness week and 4 week work from abroad shows that Nike is on a bad trajectory , worse than anticipated.

https://techrights.org/n/2025/11/18/Techrights_Assessment_of_Red_Hat_Layoffs_in_2025_Yes_They_Happe.shtml

Haskers mentor was Dave Calhoun (look it up they worked with eachother at Nielsen). You know the guy who got grilled in senate hearing because Boeing planes were falling out of the sky. Dave and the infamous Jack Welch worked with eachother at GE and people consider him to be jacks protégée. Jack Welch invented stacked ranking and cutting bottom 10% and was infamous for layoffs at GE. It all makes sense now. This dump isn’t just typical corporate but what makes it worse is the CEO is manufactured by psychos and outdated practices.

Fed Rate cuts have (Never) -

Mattered.

For the stock market either, reference the 2008 Great Financial Crisis; for example.

In a deep recession, or (Worse) scenario.

This is where Treasury (Bessent) and the Fed are (Totally Wrong).

Verizon layoff next week - 15,000 employees (their Largest ever).

"The update came just a few days after IBM disclosed similar job cuts. [...] He points to IBM as an example: the company cut 8,000 HR and admin positions while hiring engineers and salespeople. “That tells you where they think value lives now. Routine work gets automated. Complex work stays human.”" https://nearshoreamericas.com/u-s-layoffs-surge-and-blaming-ai-is-part-of-the-smokescreen/

I’m trying to connect with other employees (former or current) who’ve noticed what seems like a pattern of POC being disproportionately impacted by recent layoffs.

Rather than rely on rumors or surface-level reporting, I want to collect real data from people who’ve experienced it directly.

The goal isn’t to name names... it’s to highlight a potential pattern that may otherwise go unseen. If enough people contribute, we could create something powerful and fact-based to bring visibility to what’s happening.

Please comment race/ s-x of the people who have laid off in your division this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV-bEhI2nNw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV-bEhI2nNw

Several of my peers who left Vz as part of the 2024 HCL deal have recently been hired back as contractors. Would you consider a contractor position if offered?

Are laid off employees entitled to a prorated VCIP paid out in Feb or as part of their severance payment?

Does anyone know the off the books date?

I have seen a ton of posts where people simply cut and paste the Federal WARN procedeure, but nobody can seem to explain something simple. Note to self: Please do not cut and paste the WARN rules here and waste all of our time reading it again! Let me give you a scenario. I live and work in NC. Verizon has several large offices in the state. If Verizon lays off less than 500 people at any one location in NC will I receive 30 or 60 days on payroll with the WARN? I have heard it defaults back to the state law and supersedes the Federal and I have also heard that Verizon normally gives 60 days, unless you are in a state with mini-warn like NJ which is 90 days. Anybody know the answer or do I have to wait until 11/20 to find out.

Is anyone affected from Vancouver? Waterloo?

Layoffs?!? Layoffs?!? That’s impossible. I was told by reliable sources at the corporate update that no layoffs were “planned.” Crazy coincidence the layoffs that were not planned just happen to have occurred the week after the Impact roadshow. What are the odds? To be fair to Rick though technically he wasn’t lying. True Layoffs only come from the Layoff region in France. All other layoffs are just sparkling white Reorgs. Seriously, though good luck to those affected. It’s a blessing in disguise.

Layoff Tactics Keep Changing, and the Blunders Keep Coming

• Amazon informed staffers via a text-email combo. Target asked workers to stay home. Does any of that make job cuts less painful?*

When Amazon started laying off 14,000 employees last month, some workers got a text at home telling them to check their email.

The email subject line read: "Update Regarding Your Role at Amazon." Inside: "Unfortunately, your role is being eliminated." Employees could join a voluntary meeting with a company leader or HR rep to ask questions. Some thought: Why bother?

Source: https://www.wsj.com/business/layoff-job-cut-strategy-changes-9b8ef26a

The quick text-email approach shows how layoff tactics keep evolving. The pandemic brought individual Zoom calls and surprise HR meeting invites. Now, the goal is efficiency with fewer chances for public drama or group grieving.

Companies want to share bad news "as quickly as possible across a large swath of the employee population" to control the message and limit worker stress, said George Penn, a managing VP at Gartner who advises on staff cuts.

There's never a good way to tell employees they're losing their jobs, he said, but "you're looking for the least-bad option."

Many employees disagree. The newer methods have drawn criticism. "Who thought that was OK?" a user wrote about Amazon's layoffs. "When you lay people off with dignity, you prove your values are real. When you do it via text? You prove they were just words."

Recent layoffs have had other problems: inaudible Zoom calls, technical glitches. Some managers were cut out, unable to answer questions or explain dismissals to their teams.

## Why companies keep changing tactics

One reason is to prevent disruptions. Southwest Airlines closed corporate offices to most staff during its corporate layoffs earlier this year. Some employees learned their status at home on video calls in listen-only mode. Target told U.S. corporate employees to work from home the week in October when it conducted layoffs.

Remote layoff decisions prevent teary office goodbyes as workers leave conference rooms after bad news, according to HR specialists. It also solves a logistics problem: When companies cut thousands of workers at once, there usually aren't enough HR people or leaders for individual meetings.

## When things go wrong

Plenty can still fail. During Target's recent layoffs, some employees logged onto a Zoom call and hit an audio glitch in the first few minutes that stopped them from hearing parts of the conversation. The company later emailed workers to apologize and confirm they'd been laid off, according to a note viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

A Target spokesman acknowledged the audio issue but said the follow-up email was always planned. He added that the Zoom glitch didn't stop those in the meeting from hearing the information before the call ended.

Other cuts have led to bigger scenes. After media company Condé Nast said it would move Teen Vogue under Vogue.com and let some employees go, a group of workers confronted HR executive Stan Duncan outside his office to ask why. Video of the encounter spread fast online. Condé Nast later fired four participants in the office protest and suspended others.

The firings sparked their own protest in a rally outside Condé Nast headquarters in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. New York Attorney General Letitia James attended, where people held signs saying, "Reinstate the Fired Four." James threatened to take Condé Nast to court.

A Condé Nast spokeswoman said those terminations were lawful and based on clear policy violations. "We have an obligation to protect our workplace from harassment and intimidation," she said. "If the attorney general has concerns, we are happy to respond."

Some companies warn in advance that layoffs are coming to soften the blow, though that can create anxiety too. Verizon Communications CEO Daniel Schulman indicated in an all-hands meeting recently that layoffs were coming, according to someone familiar with the matter. The company plans to eliminate roughly 15,000 jobs in the coming days, its largest cuts ever, the Journal previously reported.

## Does any of this matter?

Veteran HR specialists say yes. The tone and style of a layoff discussion can greatly affect how employees process a dismissal.

"For a lot of people, the way it's communicated to them actually will reduce the chances that it's a negative separation," said Vanessa Matsis-McCready, VP of HR services at Engage PEO, which handles HR functions for small and midsize businesses.

To prepare companies, she often suggests HR executives role-play layoff interactions. When she does such exercises with clients, Matsis-McCready often plays a frustrated or emotional employee learning of a layoff.

"I've cried. I've done very angry responses," she said. "It is really important to be prepared for any type of response."

The goal is to learn how to calm a situation and respond with care. A one-on-one conversation with an employee that goes well can help prevent a laid-off worker from posting on social media or voicing anger elsewhere.

"When you're laying somebody off," she said, "you're trying to be human about it."

Hi former non tech but tech adjacent Verizon employee here, left four years ago. Can anyone shed light on what roles were impacted? I'm with an insurance company now and we are looking for talent in dallas area.

nterpublic Group (IPG) has reduced its workforce by 3,200 employees this year, including 800 in September. 2026 will be even worse. The folks running the company are clueless and there is a ton of greed. That's my opinion and I do not see things changing any time soon.

• Verizon lost 7,000 postpaid phone subscribers last quarter
• Added only 44,000 prepaid customers while AT&T added 400,000 and T-Mobile added 1 million
• Stock has stagnated - up just 8% over 3 years while S&P 500 rose nearly 70%

Everything is a guessing game at this point.

Customer service and store channels to get a complete overhaul with new leaders and possibly a lot less of them to flatten our business?

Pull back of vendor customer service? By how much?

Work visas to be cancelled?

200 stores will be going to indirect with less support. More to follow?

Value organization to be drastically trimmed and a single brand for all prepay? Total to be sold off?

VSP offered for anyone who wants it?

We will all know soon. Until then. Do your job well. Get your end of year performance documents ready. Stay focused.

Any teams from EDA affected? Anybody from Germany?

ai fleet, an austin trucking startup, laid off nearly 60 workers after loosing a key supplier on oct 31. the company said the situation was unforseeable, so they couldnt give the usual 60-day warning required by federal law. the layoffs started nov 4 and effected drivers and office staff at their downtown location. ai fleet uses artifical intelligence to automate trucking operations and raised $21 million in 2021 after moving from new york to austin.Retry

Following today's announcement, I am seeking clarification regarding Thursday's schedule. I observed that two individuals, including myself, are not scheduled for a 15-minute meeting, while three colleagues and my Associate Director are scheduled for such a meeting around 1:00 p.m., and another meeting at 3:45 p.m. Has there been any communication regarding the purpose of these two meetings, or do they signify a potential change in my employment status? I would appreciate any insights from an Associate Director or Senior Director. Thank you in advance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV-bEhI2nNw

I have noticed individuals who accepted the VSP last year now asserting that they chose to leave rather than being laid off on LinkedIn. VSP acceptance and being laid off as functionally the same, as both indicate the company was not invested in retaining those roles. Trying to reframe VSP acceptance a year later as a superior decision does not change the core reality that those positions were considered replaceable. Such a coward move to stay quiet for a year then come out talking about lay offs when it’s easy. Cowards!

I have seen posts on here mentioning that specific Senior Directors are updating their LinkedIn profiles to "open to work," but the authors are refusing to name these individuals. DONT BE A COWARD. If you have firsthand, verifiable information about specific SDs, please include their names when posting.

Heard the NRB is going to be hit off with the amount of excess engineers hanging around