Thread regarding Charles Schwab Corp. layoffs

@a6 Nonsense. Just look on LinkedIn for two minutes to see that isn't true. Managers who are now CIO or CFO. Engineers who are writing books. Reps who are managing branches.

@kt

Going to represent my reports, many of whom would leave if not for our specific team or other circumstances. I'm grateful they trust me and are comfortable sharing.

About half the team is established: Kids in school. A house. Vacation home a few hours away. Keeps them in town. In that house. A job change is limited to a similar commute.

In a contracting market, they’d need time to apply, interview, accept and start again with PTO accrual and other benefits. There's lots of better jobs. Growth opportunities. Those who leave or are booted often get better positions and more pay. But there's a lot of friction.

The other half of my dedicated group is p1ssed. They see what the company could be and think they can fix it as a 58. I've told them that's fantasy. Doesn't matter. They could leave. No kids. Willing to rent the house or don't own one.

It isn't the layoffs either. It's how people are targeted. There's a big difference between the guy who does a job that's no longer needed and the guy who does his needed job but didn't smile big enough at the CTO. Similar difference when the tochas kisser is safe and the guy working 20 weekends a year isn't.

And the layoffs aren't cyclical. There hasn't been a downturn since the start of covid, but we dumped in recovery. Why? Merger. A big pool of those-on-the-list. News to accompany stock buybacks.

Headcount is pretty much level, just cheaper and less experienced. Projects are further behind. So we save on labor and lose opportunities while only succeeding because competitors are just as bad.

I don't understand why anyone who hates their job as much as the people who comment here would stay. I agree with the message of this post. Schwab is pretty darn good to its employees. Yes, cutbacks are sometimes necessary and staying at Schwab until retirement is probably not an option for anyone under 60. That's just the cyclical nature of business. While you're working here though, why not give it your all? At the very least you will learn stuff you can bring to your next job and have some good references to help you get that job.

@je Are you still employed by Schwab with this feeling? You may want to call the EAP.

@k4 You know? How?.I think you f.o.s.

@fj I know for a fact that HR not only monitors this board but also posts and comments to get people to respond in a way that they reveal identifying details. Never mention your department or team. I wouldn't even mention what city I'm in. They will use that stuff to narrow down who you are.

Yeah, nice try, HR. Schwab is a soulless husk of a company which deserves to collapse under the weight of its own hubris and moral decay.

@bt Cuz I'm sure they have nothing better to do than go undercover on online message boards. You delusional.

Obvious bait is obvious.

There were employees who followed Schwab from California to Texas only to be forced out. Schwab cannot undo the toxic culture unless they get rid of the entire legacy management. It was a nightmare (and probably still is) when they were putting a lot of people on PIP in a ploy to force them out. Of course everyone saw through that. Now OP is down playing all the gaslighting and BS that was and still is going on at Schwab. Place needs to be shut down. There are way better money managers out there.

Is anyone d-mb enough to believe this post, and many of the comments, weren't written by Schwab HR or Communications? Do you id--ts actually think we'll see this and be like "gosh, when you put it that way I guess I am working for the best company in the world!

You're pathetic.

@b6 Yeah, no they aren't closing Austin. They literally just finished renovations on several floors. What are you smoking?

@aq Austin's not like the rest of Texas but they're closing that office at the end of the year. Westlake though is next to Fort Worth which might as well ne named Ku-Kux-Klanland.

@a7 Also recommend everyone participate in the employee stock purchase plan. Chuck used to always talk about the importance of being an owner. It also very much changes your perception of corporate decisions when you are a shareholder and it keeps you highly engaged in your work.

@aq I think it might be worse in Denver. There's MAGAs everywhere. I've seen lots of vehicles with Trump/Vance bumper stickers on campus.

The negativity really didn't exist before they opened Westlake and expanded hiring in Austin. Texas is full of xtian fundamentalists and white supremacists so it goes without saying that if you have a big chunk of your staff there they will be bitter and resentful given everything Schwab does for diversity and inclusion.

@a7 Outstanding book! I challenge any Schwabbie to read it and not come away truly believing that working at Schwab is an absolute honor and a privilege.

@OP 100% agree with you.

I’m very appreciative to work for a firm that wants to make sure employees always remember they’re disposable. “We care about you, but obviously we may need to get rid of you when it works better for us.” It really makes you feel valued.

Not sure if the purpose of this post is reputation management on behalf of leadership, or just evidence of someone who’s brainwashed and bad at analogies.

Except those top ratings aren’t in open surveys. They’re bought. By the company. Glint is also influenced should that be cited. In open surveys Schwab is a solid C. And for most employees it is a C. But most employees have no problem with $40,000,000,000,000 in federal debt or having vacation canceled last minute so you’ll forgive me if I discount them a little. There are three standards. Compared to a theoretical, compared to peers, compared to what the individual used to be. We use the last one for older people suffering dementia. We use peers for companies. And we use theoretical for when we see what could be and isn’t. Schwab was better in the past. A lot of the organism is diseased. Promotion by friendship. Driving out solid workers. Absurd policies like RTO. If you’re heads down and accepting as most are RTO doesn’t bother you. And you don’t care about promotions. Driven out of the company only concerns you when it is you. History shows this almost 100 years ago in Europe by the way. Not sure where you’re getting your data but pay isn’t above average and merit doesn’t keep up with inflation. We buy back stock rather than profit sharing with employees. The bonus devolved into an opaque system of surprise. 25 years ago people were having to quit because they had so much equity. Five years ago we wrapped the biggest industry merger while telecommuting. And now four days a week we pay for a commute and volunteer our time for zero increase in productivity or internal scoring. (Not going to get into the you commuted before covid argument, commutes are dramatically more expensive now, not incidental and we reference back to compared to theoretical and peers).

Is the bashing valid? I don’t see a lot of bashing. Dismiss venting and most posts are spot on assessments of real problems. Some are legal issues and not opinion. In that context, for an online forum, this venue is pretty spot on with legitimate concerns.

Now I need to sit on my seventh call of the day where I hear an M&M tell us something that could have been an email and we all clock out at 2.

Yhank you. Thank you. Your post is so on point. I would highly recommend everyone read Chuck's book "Invested". It will give you a whole new appeeciation for the man and the company he founded. They did a desk drop when it was published a few years ago so if you don't have a copy I am sure one of your coworkers does and will be happy to lend it to you

Everybody I know who left Schwab found that the grass wasn't so much greener where they went. The smart ones didn't burn their bridges so they can come back at some point.

True. I don't know why people take things like being laid off personal.