Thread regarding Texas Instruments Inc. layoffs

@2xr Saying profit sharing isn't "compensation" simply because it isn't guaranteed doesn't make sense. Variable compensation is still compensation. TI itself describes profit sharing as part of its compensation package and literally calls it a global cash bonus program. Historically, it has been a meaningful part of what employees could expect to earn here when the company performed well, and it is a big part of what is marketed to potential employees to push them to join TI.

And your argument about work ethic actually reinforces my point. TI itself has described profit sharing as a program intended to affect employee behavior. That's how incentives work. If you substantially reduce the financial reward employees receive when the company succeeds, while also limiting advancement and allowing base compensation to stagnate relative to the market, you shouldn't be surprised when employees become less motivated to go above and beyond.

You're also conflating individual performance with company-wide profit sharing. Profit sharing is determined by TI's financial performance, not by whether someone on a particular fab floor or sitting in a cubicle is looking at their phone. If an individual employee isn't performing, that's what performance rankings, merit increases, promotions, and ultimately performance management are for. Cutting the value of a company-wide compensation program affects the people who are performing well too.

And saying "people weren't working for it anymore" is just speculation. You could just as easily look at declining engagement and ask whether years of weaker compensation, limited advancement, layoffs, and changes to benefits contributed to that disengagement in the first place.

Nobody is arguing that employees are entitled to a guaranteed profit-sharing payout regardless of company performance. The argument is that when you make the rewards for strong performance and company success less meaningful, you weaken the incentive to put in extraordinary effort. That's not entitlement. That's basic incentive structure.

@2x1 profit sharing was never guaranteed . It was and is not a part of regular compensation. Just because at one time it was does not mean it was ever meant to be tallied as a total of compensation . In Fact maybe the company left it too long since so many just felt they deserved it and were entitled to it. People honestly were not working for it any more there was just the expectation it would be there. Your argument goes both ways. A company sees a decrease in motivation and work ethic , why should it reward as a whole? I mean you know better than that; if you walk down the fan before they cut it how many had to be reminded to work or put their phone down? How many like the person mentioned took advantage and just left to get a coffee outside of break times? Why would a company want to keep rewarding that?

@2ww I never said I was an intern. I was responding to the broader claim being made here about younger and more recently hired employees having poor work ethic. Do you really think people hired a couple of years after me somehow belong to a meaningfully different generation?

And yes, I get a slightly higher raise for being a top performer. That's exactly my point. If I significantly outperform my peers year after year and the difference in reward is a couple percentage points on an annual raise, while there is no promotion or meaningful advancement attached to that performance, eventually the extra effort stops making sense.

You're also looking at compensation far too narrowly. TI has historically had profit sharing as a meaningful part of employee compensation, and that compensation has declined substantially. So someone can receive slightly higher than average merit raises and still see very little growth in total compensation, particularly after accounting for what has happened to profit sharing and the cost of living.

And the idea that bonuses are generally reserved for "upper level employees" isn't remotely universal. Plenty of engineering and technology companies offer annual performance bonuses, equity, faster promotion opportunities, or some combination to individual contributors.

The question isn't whether TI gives me literally anything for performing well. It does. The question is whether the difference in compensation and career progression is large enough to justify consistently putting in substantially more effort. In my experience, it isn't. That's why so many capable people eventually stop going above and beyond or leave for companies where their performance is actually rewarded with meaningful compensation and career progression.

@2ww with the cuts to profit sharing it is entirely possible that this person is making less money now than they were 4 years ago. Thats with the 5% pay raises top performers get at TI. Add those the the fact that the cost of everything has gone up so much. Overall the job is too demanding to only promise stagnation.

@2wp did you really get on a public platform and complain all you got was a better raise than your peers for out performing them; yet there is no incentive? lol it sounds like you got good or better raises from your own account. Also, if you’ve been at TI that long you’re not an intern or new employee at all. So, why would you classify yourself under young workers? This is that entitlement that someone else mentioned. So, again in summary you out performed your peers and did indeed get compensated for it. Also, I’ve worked at other companies bonuses are generally for upper level employees in most places . Raises are typically 3-6% average. Your welcome to call here companies and not take my word
For it

@2s8 When people spend years working hard and see no meaningful reward for it, eventually they stop being willing to put in the same effort.
I've been ranked as a top performer here for the past few years, and despite that, I've seen essentially no meaningful forward progress. The reward has been a slightly larger raise than the average employee, but no meaningful bonus, promotion, or real opportunity for advancement.
At some point, the incentive to keep going above and beyond disappears. And I'm far from the only person in this situation. It's extremely common among people hired here over the past five years. Many have either stopped putting in the extra effort because there's no payoff for doing so, or they've left altogether for companies that actually offer better compensation and opportunities for advancement.
That's not a generational work ethic problem. It's a pretty predictable response to how employees are being rewarded. Or not being rewarded.

@OP Working hard means nothing here. We all have seen poor leadership shifting blame to individual contributors and rising forward favorites. More than half the tech ladder does not even deserve to be on there. This forum has become too popular. Now it's just HR and people who already are in a comfortable position/being favored telling people to "work hard". People are on their phones because they have given up. Working hard means nothing if its not in the right direction. There's a reason noone with 10 years of experience and is actually capable of leaving stays. This is not a loyal or a rewarding company.

@2td LOL. I wouldn't expect anything less at TI. It took my 2 seconds to find a chaotic, toxic workplace where noone actually knows what they are doing. Working hard means nothing here.

Former HR here . If you want to succeed just work hard and uphold yourself to the standards of your work place. It took me two seconds to find real evidence on social medias of this person they do indeed post while at work on a social media platform. The company will do the due diligence and do the same. Please don’t follow suit just keep your phone usage to personal things like family etc. it’s also not smart to leave trails as stated of you not working but on social media. It can set a blanketed idea that interns behave like this as a whole. We don’t want that for future intern/employees. If anything this employee is setting the bar low!

@2ra yes whatever you do don’t try to help that person! They will literally go cry to their boss . Even if you inside kid gloves . They cannot be coached, taught or etc they have the mentality they know all and then you are a bully if you try to help! The guy I worked with tried to help , seriously help!!!! Because they were crashing and burning (they still are honestly) said he bullied her! If you cannot be coached you’re never going to succeed at anything end of story . You also shouldn’t work because people have to guide and assist . An adult wouldn’t behave such a way, which is the point of most the people posting.

@2ra we had that particular person in dayshift for a bit . Same experience across the board. Always on the phone , doing as little as possible too! You have to remind them constantly did you do this yet? I would not base everyone off some kid who has gotten the luxuries out of life and not use to having to work for stuff in their life though. We do get hard workers in here

@2jn you work then you see compensation . It’s not reverse . So, bad work ethic equals bad pay or advancement

@2ra you’re not allowed to post names but yes that’s who this is about . Most of it by deductive reasoning

@1j0 Madison?

A lot of you need to understand that people have been saying the exact same things about younger generations for centuries. Every generation looks at the one coming up behind it and decides they're lazier, more entitled, less disciplined, or somehow worse than the people who came before them.

There is documented evidence of this pattern going back well over 2,000 years.

A few bad younger employees are evidence that you have a few bad employees. They are not evidence that an entire generation has no work ethic. You're taking anecdotes and turning them into the same tired generational complaint people have been making forever. Get over yourselves.

@2jn 100% they cannot put down their phones. No way it’s TI issue lol we have people who are working up the corporate ladder right now! It’s about work ethic . If you’re feeling like you’re not getting what you deserve you need to probably talk to your boss ask for a reality check based feedback lol because I guarantee it’s you not the company. Otherwise why are others moving up and getting incentives?

@2jn TI has changed for thi n a like Ramps or funding pinches, yes. That being said TI and other companies are also changing because we have a right now generation who wants instant gratification. They also want to be equals when their work counterpart is working twice as hard. It’s notable everywhere not just at TI, they actually have classes on this now nation wide . The specific one mentioned is exactly that, falls under the right now I deserve it for little work. This person cannot even take direction without running to their boss when a veteran worker who’s been doing the job longer tries to assist them to do better, no matter how gentle. I literally saw it . So, no this new wave of kids are entitled . TI awards work ethic and that has not changed. If you’re not happy with your rating or pay that means you’re doing something wrong on your end because there is still plenty of advancement and other opportunities here . Number one thing that would help a lot of people Interns, young employees is stay off your phone and work! Everyone you connect from the WiFi everyone knows and your work reflects it too

@2ht I think there's a pretty strong relationship between how employees are treated and rewarded and how much effort they're willing to give an employer. If people see stagnant compensation, limited advancement, poor treatment, and little connection between extra effort and what they get in return, it's not surprising that engagement declines. That's not unique to younger workers. I think it's too easy to look at a few younger employees and conclude that an entire generation has a work ethic problem without considering whether the incentives and employment relationship have changed too. I think it's time to accept that TI has changed the way it treats its employees over the past few years. If you're seeing these issues disproportionately among recent new hires, maybe that's because they're coming into a very different TI than the one longer-tenured employees joined. Changes in compensation, advancement, and how employees are treated are a much more plausible explanation than simply declaring that an entire generation has a worse work ethic.

@2de Addressing you butothers as well. First, the reality is as mentioned Interns are cheaper to hire than someone with years of experience. That being said we need the experienced filtered in as well to lead those straight out of school. This has to be the worse generation coming up as far as work ethic goes. So, you're going to see this echoed throughout; the lack of work ethic. Its their bosses job to rank them appropriately and guide them. I also know who you're talking about as there is not many females on night shift. Just know We've heard the issues and its echoed throughout all shifts! This means her boss has had to hear it by now and her ranking should reflect it! She is on tiktok, social media throughout the night. So, its no wonder she's not on her job 100% but know people see it. Its your job to hold yourself to better standards because those who are doing wrong will be found and dealt with or their job will continue to reflect and it will catch up to them/her.

I didn't enjoy it but like someone else said I got paired with that person who's now on nights. They were not at first. They too made us all late. My advise to all interns is if you get paired with someone like that, even if they are training you but at your level show up on time. Management knows who doesn't show up on time, or leaves site whenever they want and not do their job. I fell into this pattern with this person, then we both got instructed. So, my advise is if it doesn't feel right don't follow them. People are watching, and taking note. it will hurt your mid-year and end of year. So, take what you can from your training but don't be a sheep and follow someone who really doesn't care about their job and is pushing the limits and getting in trouble.

@1j0 yes we all know who you are talking about they have no care about their job! It hurts all of us and putting like she’s the blind leading the blind is the best analogy I’ve heard! She’s late even and we are always waiting on her as well. She often has to be reminded to out things in even though she’s already been told! Then she does it last minute if she does it. We need people who want to do their job training others!

@1zs My impression is that a major constraint on what SMA is trying to accomplish has been the way IT governs data access, infrastructure, and ownership. The current processes make it difficult for teams to access and manage data in ways that support rapid development, and there have also been recurring reliability and delivery issues with some of the systems IT is responsible for.

The organizational merge doesn't seem to address any of this. The IT side continues to put unnecessary roadblocks in place, and I don't see much indication that this is likely to change. Given the pace and repeated difficulties surrounding the company's data efforts, I also have a hard time seeing meaningful improvements to company-wide data access and management arriving anytime soon.

Anyone remember when IT spent years trying to push everyone onto SQream? They continued pushing it even after its performance limitations were known internally and it was clear that it couldn't perform as intended for the use cases being asked of it. On top of that, the servers it was running on were intentionally underresourced because the group did not want to purchase enough GPUs to provision the system appropriately for the workload. Years were spent trying to make that approach work, and now SQream itself has ended up in insolvency. That whole situation is a pretty good example of the broader problem.

SMA is merging with those IT folks, don't really get how different things are going to be, not sure why there's a need for this, it is a hassle to work with them to get things done and they keep limiting what we can do in the first place with their unconventional way of managing data from others to use, kinda backward. TI is a slow paced environment for big, needed changes, glad to leave this place soon.

@1j0 IE spellcheck got me

@nn our IR was an intern been there a year I think now still knows nothing. If we are going to hire them as interns let train them . Especially before having them try to train others . We got a new guy waiting for this night shift IE girl to train him but how can she if she’s been there forever and still has to be coached by everyone. She even went to days for more training and said she learned nothing . This is ridiculous it’s the blind leading the blind

Stop telling interns to cite specific examples that will out who they are. We all know that at least half the tech ladder doesn't deserve to be on it. I've personally reviewed forms detailing projects that applicants had no involvement in, and those people still got accepted.

@s4 Yes, we're all ears. Cite some examples.

@s4 give examples.

@nn so accurate, has been my experience as well. People on tech ladder do not seem to know anything and I have to teach them

My internship mentor is someone relatively high on the tech ladder. This person seems not to know much about what they do. I came to TI to learn, but I feel like I spend more of my time with my mentor teaching them the basics about what they've supposedly been doing for years. I'm really hesitant to work somewhere that seems to reward people who don't know what they're doing while taking advantage of those who do.

TI = Train Interns

@f7 this intern wants a job lol have you talked to past interns , those currently working there? Interns are hired because they’re much less expensive first off. Also, there’s a deal with the colleges that the company has. After a while the interns start to see the big picture- especially for industrial engineers . Though it seems some of the fans are better than others.