Lots of IT people cut in Columbus
2659 replies (most recent on top)
@3hvql+1qB6FXi3 giving someone a raise over their old job doesn't show the entire picture. If I have to now commute and get daycare, that right there will eat up any raise that AEP would be willing to give the person. Add on the 20% inflation since Biden has been in office, that eats anything you're willing to get a person to accept an in office position over a WFH job. Not counting gas, car insurance and don't forget the commute. I take it you have not driven on I71 during rush hour in a few years, I know I don't want to go back to those daily ordeals.
You're just not looking at the entire picture, typical of retail managers at a utility. Dictate a change, blame the FTEs when no one believes in it because they all know it will fail. They speak up and then are told they are not team players. So next change comes down, they keep their mouth shut knowing it will fail and they still get blamed for it because management will not say they sc--wed up, nope, blame the FTE.
The best part is management knows TCS will do an even worse job at it so they can't blame them.
Yes everyone has the right to complain about how AEP is ran, we're still here holding on for the day when you i d i o t s will leave for another company to sc--w up with your outsourcing to TCS. Excuse me, "Co-Sourcing".
I will stay in spite of managers like you, knowing that I can out last you here. Because looking at all of your Bios, you never stay at a place for more than 5-6 years before moving on. Just like locust.
@3hvql+1qB6FXi3 - If it was so bad, many of the folks would have left. There's been no shortage of IT and Cybersecurity positions in Columbus. Everyone I've sent jobs to don't want to give up fully remote even for a raise. If you refuse to make a change then you lose the right to complain.
@3gbti+1qB6FXi3 if you and the others truly believe that, then I guess you have a month to convince us worthless "professional whiners" how great she is. If TR is a guiding light and the only thing holding the company together than this should be an easy task for you. However, I imagine we will see nothing from you the same as we hear no one singing her praises in the company.
- -1
Are you serious or are you from the Onion? TR has been a disaster from the very beginning. She doesn't know anything about the utility industry, she brought in all her cronies from retail who have no knowledge of the utility industry and turned IT upside down. Sanjay gave TCS the contact when it should have been given to another firm. That's why he got fired and not because of his parents. He took one for the team and saved her but. She's was under legal and ethics review for her use of PIPs. She and her cronies will do everything to protect TCS at the expense of the employees. She needs to be fired, period. The woman has no ethics at all, and cannot stay on budget to save her life. You must be one of her DEI hires to think so much of her and so little of the average person in the trenches that have to put up with her BS. And yes, I am at work on my break, on my personal phone. The company will get hours of unpaid overtime from me this week so this is on my dime.
TR is the only thing holding this sad company together. Her passion, commitment, and expertise has been a guiding light. On the other hand, what's really dragging AEP down is the entitled employees. Employees in name only really, "professional whiners" is what I call them, who can't stop posting here (probably while on the clock)
Wow, someone needs to cut back on the caffeine. In simple terms, Bill needs to take next week and get an over view of each BU from people in the trenches and not from anyone with VP in their title. Take that input and go Henry the 8th on Executives that have sc--wed up big time, starting with TR.
Resist the Corporate Cronies and their Corporate Bigfooting! Refuse to be indoctrinated, assimilated and subjugated to the abominable authoritarianism of corporate oligarchs and their fawning servile sycophants, who swear allegiance only to themselves and their insatiable greed. American Electric Power is the sum of the success of all of its employees. Do not let incompetent and dysfunctional crony management destroy what dedicated employees and retirees built with their own calloused hands, skills and talent.
I agree 200%, I would love to see techs learn how to be independent, how to function in their area of expertise but it's not happening. Managers are in CYA mode all the time and I don't blame them. I've lost track how many times I've heard, Therace is not going to like that. Well it's no wonder she won't like it, it was her decision to throw the entire organization into chaos. She doesn't think her decisions are the problem, it has to be the people executing them. So s h I t rolls downhill. At some point the guys in the trenches get tired of it and they leave. Just not sure when the bleeding will stop. I have a family to support and would love to get another 20-25 years in at AEP and make it a career but I get the feeling they ( managers) just don't want people to stay. They've rather pay a contractor next to nothing for quantity over quality.
Can we start talking specifically about the issues we are seeing? New CEO may want to hear actionable ideas to remedy our ongoing problems. New people are not taking the time to learn existing processes, many which effect upstream and downstream processing. Proper change-management requires a plan to get from the old to new system. After 3 years, the front-line workforce doesn't know what they are supposed to do or how to do it. Our feedback is met with more changes. With so many people leaving the company, we don't have experts to help fix problems. It's creating a colossal mess... Let's bring quality tools back to AEP and create clear and concise processes, properly define roles and responsibilities, real change-management and (much needed) good communication.
Maybe the company just kept an Opposite Day joke going too long…
@36ptw+1qB6FXi3
+3
You are correct there is no trust with mgmt Director and above in IT. We all saw first hand how existing mgmt was treated in 2021-2022 when Therace came in and started the process of removing managers using PIPs to force people out. The new managers lied to everyone on what was going to happen to their jobs. Anyone with half a brain will recognize what happened. TCS is the only thing worse than mgmt and that's not saying much.
Well the clock is ticking for the new CEO to at least acknowledge that the place is a complete sh1tt hole.
People are looking for a sign. At the least start turning over the rocks.
I disagree with the those shooting negativity at people who use this platform to share frustrations and concerns. This is a community. Clearly your workplace does not build a culture of trust. Let alone a place where people feel secure.
Well said below, the dei positions and employees should be terminated. They are increasing cost and making the electric services less reliable. I may file a public service commission complaint as well.
I agree with the reply all part. As for the rest of it, not sure. For some, getting it "off their chest" is or can be therapeutic. They tell people to write down their anger and then to burn it. I a way, this thread is similar in nature. Let people vent because doing so at work may have a bad outcome. So vent away. I do agree, TR and TCS must go to start the healing.
Y’all need to chill. Try focusing on your job and doing it well and with integrity and stop feeding off all this negativity. Or go run your own business and let us know how that goes.
And if there is another round of layoffs, I say start with the mo--ns that keep replying all to the JERI Invoice email.
Unbelievable.
Sooo does that mean layoffs are going to happen again or too early to tell? I’d be interested if so.
I'll be back here in May to see if that B made it the full five years on her contract, I sure hope not.
Maybe we should just do this like survivor island and just start voting people off.
You would have a flood of people vote for Therace.
anyone heard anything about the possibility of having additional round of severances in October
I don’t even care about AEP anymore. And when I got hired it was a dream come true. I really hope it gets sold or the business just continues as it has been doing. They reap what they sow.
The world is crippled today by crowdstrike. Luckily we’ve worked like this for years thanks to mcafee making our laptops useless.
@2Xday+1qB6FXi3
A lot of these investment firms make access to money contingent on having these DEI policies and commissars in place. All the big players like Blackrock and Vanguard do it (both of whom are major shareholders in AEP.) Basically a cabal of elites use their connections to the fed and the money supply to try and force progressive social changes, even if its unpopular and means burning cash. Once you have an infinite amount of money like these guys do it doesn't really matter how unpopular something is, you can just brute force it.
After I leave AEP next year, the first letter that I send out will be to the PUC. I'm going to ask them to explain to me how AEP's DEI department and ESG focus is lowering my cost to electric. Why should I as a consumer have to pay for such non-essential costs and that should be shoulder by share holders and not we, the consumer. I should not have to pay a penny for that cr-p.
Do you think the company is OK now? Do you think there will be more lay offs? I have no idea what’s going on I feel like and with the severances I feel uneasy.
I am done with this place, mgmt s u c k s and have no clue why. They felt the survey was not a real reflection of the environment and culture. People just didn't buy in to their BS and it was reflected in the survey numbers so lets get rid of the survey and everything will be fine. Just done with this place. Just waiting for Therace to leave or get fired.
Down down down, into the ring of fire lol. You can’t make this stuff up. A company loved by many to this pile of ….
This is either a case of people feeling entitled to a paycheck without doing the work or the company treating me like cr-p so I'm going to do the least amount of work possible. Or they are just plain lazy and will never put in an honest day of work. Maybe the company has the right to find and fire those people. Problem is they are starting from a point of everyone is doing it and that's not the case. That's were they end up p i s s I n g off the other 99%. I wish in my job I had a free hour here and there, I can't believe people have days worth of free time. Not that I wish for anyone to get fired but if you're not happy and the only reason why you stay is the money, find something that will make you want to work and do something satisfying.
As someone in cyber, I can say it’s not cybers tool. A good portion of cyber would be caught by it. I know of two employees who only login to meetings then nothing else. Another with a different job. There was a girl on ED’s team for years who everyone knew logged in twice a week to answer emails. Management knew all but did nothing.
What are we, ditch diggers? I'm an engineer I don't need someone to check if I'm working every minute like some kind of penal colony. I know what I need to do. If it takes me 15 minutes to do it or 8 hours to do it, what difference does it make to you? You are paying me for my expertise and professional judgement, not for how many hamburger patties per minute I can flip like this is Burger King.
Would have to have one of the Cyber guys answer that and good luck with that. My guess, yes they are actually looking at people using some physical type of device to show some type of activity. In the past they were not using it proactive but more for supporting someone being fired. Look, have this or that after you were warned. Stops unjust firing lawsuits in most cases if the company can show you're not actually working. Personally you should be working if you're being paid. On vacation, different matter. Boss should not expect you to pick up.
Question for the IT folks,
For the computer tracking system- could opening word doc and holding down keypad work? Or should the mouse be moving or both at same time to beat the program if away from desk awhile? Or will the company actually capture active screenshots with the program ? Thanks
@2Rvds+1qB6FXi3 - Keystrokes and active work analytics. No more spending some days keeping Teams from going Away.
Anybody have info on the new monitoring software if it does exist? Is it similar to what happened at Wells Fargo where they are monitoring keystrokes/mouse movement etc.? Or is it still the same as before where they just track obvious stuff like internet history and emails?
Situation/ conditions deteriorating. That’s a damned understatement 😆
Any word on more layoffs or severances? I was expecting something to happen.
Just wear a tin foil hat and you’ll be safe.
Wondering how the monitoring system knows if we are not working or waiting for our extremely slow systems to respond. Our systems and network weren't perfect before but, after 4 years of new management, they are not better!
In that case, it's over for me.
I believe the new software is for detecting people who aren’t actually working or afk a lot.