Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

@aw

I agree. Mobility guy here and I can tell you, the vast majority of my coworkers have been passed by years ago. But to be fair, we don’t get much for training when new hardware is release to the field. I used to try and be helpful and be a hub for people, even my mgr but it’s clear NO ONE cares at all. Managers are miserable and then act like a**holes to the field guys. Field guys hate this place just as much though. Believe me. I honest do not a single human being that wants to be here.

@OP Ph--k that!

• John

Some of these “AT&T is losing irreplaceable talent” posts read less like an analysis of institutional knowledge and more like a group therapy session for people who desperately need to believe they’re indispensable.

Apparently, if you’ve occupied the same seat for 20+ years, you’ve become the sole custodian of knowledge that no other human being could possibly acquire.

Let’s examine that logic.

You learned the job.
So did everyone else who learned theirs.

The fact that you’ve had decades to become comfortable with a process doesn’t mean you’re uniquely talented. It means you’ve had decades to become comfortable with a process.

And if AT&T’s performance management has been weak enough that mediocre employees can spend decades without being meaningfully challenged, measured, developed, or replaced, then perhaps “I’ve been doing this forever” isn’t the flex some people think it is.

Maybe you’re exceptional.

But if your evidence is simply “I’ve been here a long time and nobody else knows what I know,” that’s not evidence of exceptional talent. That’s tenure plus organizational neglect.

The narcissistic part is assuming that because you know something, it must be inherently difficult to know.

It isn’t.

You didn’t arrive at AT&T carrying the sacred tablets of institutional knowledge. You were taught, you learned, you practiced, and eventually you became familiar.

Someone else can do the same.

And now AI can accelerate that process considerably.

But let’s stop confusing “this person has been doing this for 25 years” with “this person is uniquely capable of doing this.”

Those are radically different claims.

And here’s the part that may be hardest for some people to hear:

If your departure exposes a knowledge gap, that doesn’t automatically prove how valuable you were. It may simply expose how badly the organization managed succession.

Your job existing for 25 years isn’t proof that you were good at it.

Your boss tolerating you for 25 years isn’t proof that you were good at it.

And being difficult to replace isn’t proof that you were good at it.

Sometimes it just means nobody ever bothered to replace you.

That distinction is apparently causing some serious emotional distress

Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.

@dd The time for knowledge transfer has passed. We’ve already lost full teams of people and are seeing the impacts of that on our workflow and performance.

Now we shamble together what we can to give the impression of performance until we get bought out, buried by the competition, or propped up by outside forces so we can stay on life support.

@b7 "A ton of institutional and systems knowledge is going to walk out the door at the same time. Who’s replacing them?"

“Get over yourself! No knowledge transfer is needed.”

Clearly you do not have a clue or do you work in areas that require any knowledge or skill. There is absolutely a need for knowledge transfer and ai will NOT replace that.

@b7

Yep, you have all the basic and advanced bootlick techniques you could ever need. No one could teach you anything there...

@a8

Totally incompetent anywhere else but just fine here? Yeah, not sure that's some great point...

@a2

The only way anyone or anything can mentally destroy you is if you allow them to do so.

You control how your mind thinks, what it focuses on, and in how you believe in yourself.
NEVER allow ANYONE to break you.
You are strong enough to get through this, and ironically enough, with your mention of Jesus, He is the way to get through life...especially during times of upheaval, uncertainty, and tribulation.

ASK Him for help.
Ask Him for direction, protection, guidance, and strength of spirit, mind, and body.
"Seek and ye shall find."

Never give up on yourself, always believe in yourself, and do what's healthy for YOU, so you can have the best life possible.
Get a different job...they ARE out there, and you CAN get one!

"A ton of institutional and systems knowledge is going to walk out the door at the same time. Who’s replacing them?"

Get over yourself! No knowledge transfer is needed.

@a8 I would say there are A LOT of tech people at AT&T that are not skilled enough or talented enough to get a job in THIS job market. But when the job market turns, the OP is exactly right, and I would say not a single person leaving is actually going to do a meaningful "knowledge transfer". The employees at AT&T might not be top 1%, but they've kept everything running for years. And the people left, and hired as replacements, won't have any clue how to do those jobs.

Let's really be honest. Most people stay because they don't have current skills or competency to be hired at any other company.

@a2 for what it's worth you're not alone, sure some trolls will come along with stupid comments, like but you're still here aren't you, but for those of us that have been part of this company for awhile and remember what our potential was before John Stankey blew everything up and are now waiting-hoping for a better job market it's frustrating and does make one quesiton the decision to stay and be a part of this thing.

This place makes me hate my life. They have mentally destroyed me. I know this is exactly what they intended but Jesus this is awful.