You are going to lose your job. I didn’t say get displaced—I said lose your job.
The directive from the top is to get below 200,000 employees by year-end. Too much money was spent on displacement last year, and they cannot afford to repeat that. So this time, the strategy appears to be reducing headcount without formally displacing as many people.
You may have already noticed it. A coworker is suddenly gone. Your previously solid performance is now being documented as mistake- or behavior-ridden. Your manager suddenly moves you into work that is outside your normal scope. Expectations change. Documentation increases. If that is happening, pay attention—you may already be on the list.
The new check-in system can also be used to create the documentation needed to support termination. These processes used to be centered around a plan designed to help employees improve and keep their jobs. That does not appear to be the priority anymore when the larger objective is headcount reduction.
And AI complicates the picture. We do not yet have the clean workforce data needed to formally identify every position for displacement based on AI-related changes. Meanwhile, redeploy team does not redeploy everyone. The team works with the populations and employees it has been directed to retain.
We were honest on the employee survey about what we were experiencing, and instead of leadership seriously examining why employees feel the way they do, we were characterized as entitled.
Maybe we are entitled—to transparency. We are entitled to understand the direction of the company we work for, what is expected of us, and whether decisions about our careers are being made fairly.
Pay attention to what is happening around you, not just what is being said publicly. Document changes to your responsibilities, expectations, feedback, and performance history. Protect yourself professionally. Update your résumé. Strengthen your network. Keep your options open.
Don’t wait until the decision has already been made for you. RUN