Thread regarding Edward Jones layoffs

@1tk I couldn't agree more. EDJ seems to be "going all in" on the AI bubble just as the math is starting to show major red flags. Everyone I talk to at EDJ or outside of EDJ is having same issues with job hunting and with big companies doing whatever they can to cut cut cut while bragging about record growth and profits. Something is seriously wrong with the big picture and all signs are pointing to a major "pop" about to happen because of all the d-mb money dumped into AI with the payoff not happening yet for investors. It's like 2000 dot com bubble and 2008 housing bubble had a frankenstein child.

@d1 THe real problem is even the jobs you do see are fake. Something's seriously seriously wrong with the economy and job market right now as every corp there is wants to downsize and maximize profits, I think it's the biggest recession indicator possible since they're kind of manufacturing it themselves by doing this. I think they're all just waiting for the AI bubble to pop and positioning themselves to ride it out when it does.

I was HBA pre-covid, nothing changed for me when covid happened. Jones was touting for years that they were getting "top talent" by being so open to remote work but that's out the window now.

@d1 I don't know what world you live in but I've been fully remote since 2012, it has nothing to do with covid

I'd be happy to stay HBA with no promotion opportunities. Just bump my pay for inflation each year. I'll ride it out.

I have an offer. If the firm triples my salary that way my spouse can quit and be the stay at home parent to two toddlers. I will make the hour drive in to be in office the 4 days. If that can't be accommodated, then I'll stay HBA and be 2 miles away from my children's daycare. Or if the firm buys me a minimum 4 bedroom, 2000 sq ft house in Kirkwood, Town and Country, or Ladue. That would do it too.

HBAs should feel lucky they have jobs!

• DC (probably)

@fn More compensation to be cut in 2027 through HR’s “comp architecture”. More layoffs coming besides “Automation and AI”. Think about this in terms of football - they just completed the first 2 quarters of ER and they’re in Halftime figuring out the playbook for the rest of ‘26 with the game ending in 2028. Anyone at a level 12 and below will get the “flea flicker”.

@fn You're so cute. You think the ELT is using logic? This is all about increasing their golden egg ($$$)

@hg Great King of the Hill reference!

@f2 if that commenter could read they'd be very upset right now.

@fn Yes, my TL discussed this with us a week ago. By end of year it is supposed to be finalized or something. So, something is for sure cooking in the background with these people and it isnt to find ways to keep talent here. Judging by their current and past track record, I assume ELT will go full insanity at the end of T3 this year and drop another bo-b on us. If not enough people have quit from 4 days RTO, they will find another tool in their box to use to flush out more of us. They don't care about filling gaps either. All they do is keep offshoring and reorg'n so the chaos can be chalked up as "part of change" or "transformation". 🤡

@e8 Agree! I was actually shocked when I saw a position posted for the Trust side remote (of course it was a high up position).

~50% of digital is remote; 80% of my team is remote. Even if the firm is moving to reduce their remote workforce’s footprint, I think (and I hope) it will be gradual. Sudden moves could trigger mass exodus, and I don’t think offshore and nearshore resources can fill in the gap. But it depends on what our senior leadership want: short term savings vs long term sustainable benefits for the firm. I hope it’s the latter, but realistically when the new managing partner takes over we may be in for a totally new paradigm. I have heard another round of role “assessments” coming.. end of this year or early next year. Did anyone else hear something similar?

@ex lol, you sound like a simp for more offshoring and ELT offshoring failures we are dealing with as we speak. Anyone that has dealt with contractors first knows you're full of it. It takes 2.5 contractors to replace US based associate and they still mess it up because they don't care about quality!. "Worried about ER gossip"...yes, can you blame them? Would you bust your @$$ for a company that only saw you as a labor cost foot note after giving your heart and soul to the firm for decades? Then be tossed out because ghouls like DC needs another notch on his resume? Go put your cowboy hat back on and simp for ELT some more. Clown..

@d4 many good points here. But I would challenge the assumption that associates are more motivated to work hard than contractors. The contractors I worked with at Jones, especially offshore, were the hardest workers on my team. They were also incredibly focused on quality and doing the right thing. The associates on the other hand tended to be spoiled and entitled. Like they thought their tenure at Jones meant they were too good to get their hands dirty. They were more concerned with politics and gossiping about ER than delivering good work. Are they invested? Yes. But they expect to get a lot of credit for time served rather than roll up their sleeves and learn new things that will help the firm compete in the 21st century.

@d4 You hit the nail in every sentence. Thank you for your eloquence and defining what many unfortunately do not grasp yet. Hoping the right opportunity is on the horizon for you.

You don't have to be captain obvious. None of the internal postings list remote as an option, they sent out a survey about moving to St. Louis or Arizona, and they have the office in India coming next year. They will definitely down size the HBA footprint

I don't believe what I'm about to say, but this is the mindset of ELT/corporations as a whole: If domestic remote talent is 100k/yr, and the exact same talent is 20k/yr internationally in India, why would I pay more for the exact same talent? Even if it's not exactly the same, surely there isn't a 5x quality increase - I could hire 3x people and STILL be saving 40%. Now I can have 24hr coverage! Hire one more, I'm still saving 20% and I have nearly 24/7 coverage! If I have to pay a premium for domestic talent, they simply need to be physically in-person to cover the one aspect the remote talent can't do.

High-up leadership is too disconnected from the work and its people to understand the implications beyond a surface level; not helped by litany of salesmen doing their best to make the sale. We at the worker level all understand talent is not 1:1, even in our own offices we can see two people with the same title may have entirely different capabilities or performance, often to the effect of one being massively underpaid by comparison.

We know that a language barrier alone creates a disconnect that affects results. We know that cultural differences alone, while not a bad thing inherently, can cause a disconnect or misinterpretation/misalignment to core values of the firm. We know that contractors, inherently, are less invested in the work where associates and especially those with LP feel at least a little compulsion to work hard and see the company succeed because it means they succeed. And we know that contractors have high turnover, it's uncommon to stay on a project for more than 18 months and as a result you can never truly have experts. Maybe the level of output is only 2:1, but the level of quality is measured entirely differently and throwing more contractors at the work is unlikely to resolve this.

If one or more of the following is true, everyone's in trouble:

1. Leadership priority is personal / highest level profits.
2. Leadership trusts salesmen over their own resources.
3. Those who make decisions are too far disconnected from the core of the work.

In the case of Jones, I believe all of the above are true. In today's world you're unlikely to find a job that truly aligns with your morals / ethics / values, at least without some sacrifices such as a lower pay, worse benefits, etc. primarily as you will almost certainly need to stay away from large corporations to do so.

Granted, that's assuming you could get a position at all - something I personally still have not been able to do. I was laid off involuntarily last year and have received a handful of interviews and zero offers, but I'm trying to maintain WFH and pay that aligns with my value as Jones had always underpaid me. I've been working on myself and focusing on my family, thankfully being paranoid left me with enough savings that I can still afford to hold out for something "good" a little longer.

If you're an HBA, especially one without LP, I cannot recommend looking elsewhere NOW while the choice is still yours, and you're not in a rush or desperate due to lack of income. To everyone: Jones or elsewhere, never forget that it is just a job - treat it like one. Loyalty will not be rewarded; don't sacrifice or delude yourself into believing that you're special, different, or that it couldn't happen to you - those who make such decisions never even knew your name and are motivated by their own bottom line increasing.

@cc not trying to be inflammatory but high level remote jobs with upward mobility are never coming back. We were all foolish in thinking that the pandemic era full time work at home jobs were going to become the new standard. I actually had a recruiter tell me this. While I’m certain this comment will receive and an abundant amount of down votes it’s just the reality of the world we live in.

I’ve been scouring job sites and career sites of companies whose values align with mine and there just aren’t any full time remote jobs that aren’t data entry or call center.

As an HBA, I trust no one.
I’ve had the exact same thought that a few others have mentioned on this topic.
It feels like the survey sent to HBAs at certain grade levels was really about gauging relocation willingness. The playbook seems clear: those who agreed to relocate will likely get a package, while those who declined will be forced to choose between moving on their own dime or losing their job. The lower grades who didn't even receive a survey will probably just be let go.
It also feels like medical HBAs are going to be next on the target list. And once all the dust settles and everyone is settled into their roles, a full 5-day return to office mandate feels almost inevitable.
Personally, I’m sticking around until a better external opportunity opens up, but I’ve been actively interviewing since late 2023 without much luck. Offered three jobs in that time, none match what I’m getting. Finding something that matches my current benefits, compensation, and a reasonable commute has been tough. True remote roles are basically a unicorn right now, and the few that pop up get hit with 1,000+ applications overnight. So for an in-office role, the pay and package really have to make sense. That said, if a layoff hits before I land something solid, I'll take whatever comes next just to keep income flowing while I re-evaluate.
Honestly, as an HBA, it’s nerve-wracking. I ended up marking that I’d be willing to relocate on the survey just to keep my options safe for now, but the anxiety around the whole thing is very real. Anyone else seeing it play out this way?

@a6 Agree 100%. I hate how much these people lie to our faces and carefully choose their words during Q&A sessions so they can come back, gaslight us, then claim their lawyer-speak jargon was just misunderstood. I hate these people. I've now dodged several rounds of layoffs and have have to train my overseas replacements two times now while watching them fumble and fail basic tasks over and over while GPs applaud the cheap labor move. I've shoveled so much sh/t for this place it's unreal, only to have them insult our intelligence daily and throw it right back in our faces while telling us it is good for us. These people in ELT are not only complete failures, they are mentally unwell. Look at them! Psychotic sociapaths run this circus now, so who knows what the next moves are.

I’m not sure. As an HBA, I’m hesitant on sticking around to find out.

Job market is tough right now but I’ve been eyeing some outside positions. If you look at the trend long term, it was “you can work remote all you want and we won’t take that away” to “we are asking locals to come in a couple days a week” to “four days a week in the office for locals” to sending out relocation surveys to dodging direct questions in Q&A sessions about this very thing.

Not a fan of how much the firm has changed over the course of my employment either. More than wanting to be remote because I’m truthfully more productive that way, I care about who I work for the most… and it’s hard to justify working for today’s ELT.