#management

AI fraud salesmen have c-suites thinking that people managers are redundant and everyone will need to be at least half focused as an individual contributor. With the growth of complexity across business and the number of tools, regulations, policies, and the turnover/attrition environment, people managers have never been a more critical role. They own the direction/vision of their segment, keep workers focused (by reducing friction and distractions) and ensure the appropriate people are where they need to be and enthusiastic to be there. They are supposed to make sure everyone below them knows their purpose and can see a clear line of sight to get there. How many people at Fiserv today feel like they have a clear understanding of their role and their specific purpose AND feels like they will be appropriately recognized for meeting it.

Exactly what @b3+1kvwscm9b said.

Management only knows how to cut, so layoffs will never stop. Time to accept reality.

One would think our CRO has a relative that’s a Clari rep but that’s impossible because they all work at Omnissa.

If you have to continue to repeat “this isn’t about micro management” guess what? It’s about micro management.

Q2 Earnings will be a disaster (yes, we have a few days left), and all this job cutting will continue throughout 2026.

There were no meaningful, needle-moving developments in Q2: no market-disrupting announcements, no material improvement in execution, and interest rates remain elevated. That last point matters because the company is carrying more than $20 billion in debt, making refinancing and deleveraging increasingly challenging. At current levels $35-38, this stock is not 'a bargain' - it is a value trap.

The bull case largely depends on achieving more than $3 billion in free cash flow by 2028. That assumes flawless execution over the coming years. That assumption is far too optimistic. The scale of the cost reductions (layoffs, outsourcing) has significantly increased execution risk, while higher interest rates will likely slow debt reduction more than current projections suggest.

Then there’s the AI narrative. So far, it looks more like hope than evidence. Many large enterprises have discovered that indiscriminately consuming AI tokens is one of the most expensive and least efficient ways to improve productivity. Until there are measurable business outcomes—not just promises—I don’t see AI materially changing the investment case.

If you’re still at the company and haven’t started exploring other opportunities, seriously consider doing so. The current management team is delusional and underestimates both the financial complexity of the turnaround and the challenge of rebuilding the execution engine after such deep cuts. Don't expect a meaningful recovery unless the board takes decisive action.

And if you were recently laid off, I’m genuinely sorry. While it may not feel like it today, there are strong companies looking for talented people. Hopefully, you negotiated a fair severance package. Take some time to recover, then focus on your next opportunity.

I'm so tired of being punished every time I take a little extra time to help a customer. We're not working in a manufacturing factory. We're not working on a conveyor belt. I need to be able to interact with people without worrying that it's going to cause problems with my manager.

One reason I can think of is that FIS has been an undervalued stock, with its share price near a 15-year low. Investors haven’t been happy, and management is under pressure to show improvement. My assumption is that these actions will slow down once the stock starts performing better.
As for why they’re doing gradual cuts instead of one massive reduction, it could be to make the numbers look more like organic improvement rather than a drastic restructuring.
Having spent more than 10 years with the company, I feel that compared to some of our competitors, FIS hasn’t been performing as strongly. The easiest way to quickly improve financial metrics is to reduce operating expenses. However, I don’t fully agree with that approach.

Any other thoughts?

" spend time with your family take your kids to that soccer game"

Also DF: let's Implement "productivity" tools and surveil our employees.

a senior manager doesnt know how to do something like run python

therefore we need 6 meetings.

It was said before and it needs to be repeated. Our management levels are bloated and need to be thinned out. Layoffs are needed, but they keep targeting the wrong people. Focus on managers who do nothing and we'll be golden.

Yesterday judge allowed lawsuit to advance against Fiserv. Massive F*up by DW under his Product watch!!!! And, he gets to keep his job!!? So motivating to work for Fiserv promoting these losers!

There are hiring freezes and management are being very quiet about next FY it’s certainly not business as normal. Rumours of SAP buying DEVOPS/ADM

An Engineering Director here told us to prepare for low reviews because managers are being forced to rate everyone on their teams using a bell curve, and there is no way around it. This means that even if some people are meeting expectations, they may still be placed in a “needs improvement” category. It feels like Oracle may be preparing for the next RIF or encouraging attrition. Has anyone else heard the same?

Restructuring should prioritize retaining execution-focused roles, as operational efficiency is best served by reducing redundant management layers.Employee is actually work by heart why layoff all time employees

Years ago layoffs were the last thing companies did before shuttering. Layoffs were shameful to companies. Now they're a way to increase shareholder profit. If you have to lay people off to impress shareholders, that's not management, it's mismanagement, and it's nothing to be proud of. Glad I could have this candid conversation with courage.

Curious when managers find out that their direct reports are getting laid off?

post show up and deleted 1 min later? WOW
1) LFI moves out of PS into tech dev- core vs implementations
2) let go all core teams -what’s a core product?
3) acquired a new company to replace current product - but RIF
4) change operational structure to implementations to operate as the core teams would - LFI has clients therefore cannot act like agile core team
5) tech dev middle managers -are client billable and are lead BA’s but let go
6) other middle managers are driving staffing, operations, de-escalations, project kickoffs, etc- highly intelligent plan must be in place

Looking at all of the American managers laid off today, and I saw several. But I didn’t notice a single manager in India with ‘zz’ in front of their name or a goodbye out of office message. Some really good American managers were let go today. Some really bad ones offshore were kept.

I wonder how long this will last. I’m guessing two years to avoid severance pay. Having accounting folks in Houston seems like they had no choice because they were totally against it originally. Thoughts????? Hopefully the new mgmt is better but that doesn’t say much

Why does Optum have so many Directors and VP’s who don’t have direct reports? If I were trying to trim the fat, that is the first question I would ask.

Then I did some research. I looked at every company in our industry that I might apply to and I found they all have the same problems we do. Same complaints on the forums, same issues with management, and same uncertainty. So what's the point? I'd be jumping from one sinking ship to another. For now, I'm staying with what I know.

Frank was a miserable little criminal troll. Mike had the personality and warmth of a snow pea. Takis is pretty personable and has said the right things. I don't like the idea of not automatically replacing attrition, but nothing has changed in that regard. Having been in meetings with him, he's so curious and inquisitive. I hope we are in good hands. Time will tell.

My first post and I said what the staff thinks. Employees work in FEAR. Managers will do anything to keep their jobs and upper leadership knows they themselves are incompetent so nothing is done.

Centene's single biggest problem is it's leadership...or lack there of. They need to stop worrying about getting the next DEI accolade and do the job. Honestly I don't think they know how and it is time to clean house starting at the very top.
Michael Neidorff is rolling in his grave seeing what his replacement has done to this once thriving company. While he wasn't perfect, this group at the top shouldn't be running a car wash much less a fortune 100 company.
It is time to clean 50% of the directors and above. 100% of the top 10 in charge need to go too. Take 25% of that money saved and use it for the people who actually work. The rest would make up the savings needed to make the company viable again.
The old saying...too many chiefs and not enough Indians is sooooo very true within Centene. Yes, that isn't a politically correct saying. But it fits and Centene needs to STOP worrying about the next DEI trophy and do their damn job being fiscally responsible for the taxpayers money paying for medical benefits!!!

Qualcomm's whole culture is built on insular thinking. They hire people right out of school and those people never leave. So promotions happen based on seniority, not ability. Those in charge think the way we do things is the only way. And now they're making terrible decisions. No surprises there.

I don't get it. Just telling someone to do their work is now seen as aggressive. If you're not constantly praising people, you're being too critical. It's gotten ridiculous.

Management (upper leadership) is clueless and simply waiting on quarterly vests, like everyone else in ESG and all of Broadcom really.
This phenomenon is not particularly at Broadcom or ESG, but across corporate America in general.

Middle management doesn’t have politically correct answers to provide and are simply su-king up to their leaders.

Don’t fret, Just rest and vest!

Well stated, @23n+1ks6nh2mq.

"and also 50% less of the work and knowledge. And growing as people like the other poster leave or are let go soon will be a loss. I mean lots of projects canceled or put on hold to likely be abandoned later.

D-mbest thing this ceo did here and she/board will probably throw SD under the bus when you know what hits the fan and everything goes from bad to worse when people are gone.

I don’t like it but could understand closing Jax and Denver. But this move was completely asinine. Time will tell. Hopefully I am wrong but I have a pretty steady record of being right about these things here over the years."
$$$$$
50% less work. High Turnover. Slow Results or no results. Delayed & cancelled projects

Sounds like a recipe spelling disaster.

There are persistent rumors circulating that another round of layoffs is planned for the end of the calendar year, with planning expected to begin in September. According to these reports, managers will be the primary target this time around.

Urgent Note for Managers:

Prepare now. If these rumors prove accurate, you have limited time to assess your options. Update your resume, strengthen your professional network, and explore opportunities elsewhere before September.

Additionally, reviews will be artificially deflated to encourage voluntary attrition. This appears to be a deliberate strategy to make the work environment increasingly difficult, pushing people to leave on their own terms. Be aware that negative review scores in the coming months may not reflect your actual performance.

If you're a manager, this is especially critical. Document your achievements and contributions now, and don't let artificially low reviews undermine your confidence or your market value as you explore your next move.

Are managers required to rate some as does not meet or almost meets?

Can someone tell me why it takes the managers anywhere from three weeks to three months to approve pto?

This is very sad that most of the companies are adapting to new tech like AI and laying off due to improvements but at FIS a "BIG BANKING PRODUCT" related company people are being laid off due to poor management

Anything going to happen besides top level management gone? New leadership July 1 but not a word about the rest of the peons.

we had a huge onsite then my vp lost his job. reorg already done under Brenda and MED. VPs gone, sr dir gone, MED gone. how many leaders are being cut next under Barsam's new vp from ny?

My manager moved to another team so what's the point?? Lol

I'm sure it's not anonymous so does it even matter?

The new strategy seems clear - scare us into quitting so they don't have to pay severance. Managers are allowed to treat people terribly and threaten us with firings but I've never seen anyone actually fired. Let them try. I'm not doing them any favors. If they want me out, they can pay me what I'm owed.

Canada Post is laying off dozens of managers. This move aims to save the company money. The organization has experienced severe financial losses for years. Three senior executives were dismissed last month. The chief financial officer was among those terminated.

Canada

https://mshale.com/b6d50a56/ed302dbdYO6qcpQd_7c

They want the easy magical solution that uses the cool new flashy thing.

The funny thing? AI can be leveraged by existing or new deterministic automation solutions where applicable. But the leaders making decisions aren't engineers, and have a view that applications can't evolve or add new features. That they have to build something NEW instead to show off and gain notoriety.

And so you get a cycle of projects gaining traction and getting ki-led off.

The competitive nature in which teams have to compete for funding has been a drastic mistake. It is profoundly stupid. I get it, you want teams to have some drive to make better solutions. But it doesn't work out in a company like Optum where non-technical people are even so close to engineering that they're directly managing the engineers. Instead what you get are good products and teams getting ki-led off in favor of unproven moonshot projects that exist solely to extract money from the business with no vision for the future.

Well said, @ag+1kt753mf9.

I actually think layoffs could be beneficial for this place. We have so many layers of management doing exactly nothing that nobody would miss. Instead of laying off the people who actually get things done, they should for once let go of the right people and everybody would benefit.

For a company that keeps using the excuse of needing to reduce spending and be tighter with its Financials, this whole AT&T partnering with Disney for Toy Story 5 is asinine considering they just forced whole centers of reps and managers Into virtual / surplus if they dont follow the work. They allege to care about families but only if they can use the caring as a distraction from what they are ACTUALLY doing behind the scenes in trying to force these so called centers of excellence or expertise or whatever they are called. Thus far there have been sweeping firings of ADs at both the Richardson and Mesa locations because of rampant Integrity violations and one of them has both ADs and all of the Managers on FWW write ups..but this is the center of excellence right?...