Thread regarding American Electric Power Co. Inc. layoffs

I think the "rumor" is just that for right now, a rumor with a little bit of hope sprinkled on top. As tight lip as this group of managers [Director and above] have been over the past 2-3 years, I would not expect that to change. If she is going, we'll find out soon enough. Look at how she handled Sanjay's exit. Morning meeting at 9 am and gone by the end of the day. Either there is something in the works that someone heard something or it's nothing. If the replacement is internal from the other VP pool, it won't matter, nothing will change in IT. The replacement has to come from the outside and it has to be someone who doesn't feel outsourcing is the way to go. Replacing TCS with another contracting firm will not help either. AEP IT has stage 4 cancer and there is no cure. It's not if it dies, just a matter of when.

I don't see any news feed anywhere that TR is out. Who is JB?

I think you're right, it took about 2 years to destroy the fabric of CITO but putting it back will take a lot longer because people are not going to come back. Even if you bring everything back in house, it'll be years before any major improvement is seen.

It’ll take years to recover from TR. The interim power vacuum will arguably be even worse for a bit. The next person has to deal with bringing things back in house, removing the terrible management below, and enticing knowledge to come back.

If TR is out, the mood in the trenches will be like the scene in the Wizard of Oz when the little people see the house on top of the witch. The problem is that was a movie and you have to wait and see what actually happens. My first question would be why pick JB and not someone else? Then again he was a former CIO so maybe that does make sense but he did work at Target so it's not like he'll change course.

Genuinely, I hope Icahn comes in and cleans out most at VP and above. Probably a few at director level as well. Our leadership stinks. Fundamentally what have we delivered in IT in the last year? It’s all been moving the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need to get settled and get down to meaningful work.

I heard a rumor that TR is out and JB will be interim……

Does anyone have any details on the change freeze we had last week company wide due to the Texas Fires? I heard it had something to do with our new CEO being from Xcel. It appears that Xcel is at fault for the fires. Maybe since the new CEO is from Xcel, the board wanted no extra attention coming our way?

I just don't see Ben firing anyone unless you have the person doing something so far out of bounds that they expose the company to a big lawsuit. I think we're stuck with the shrill until either she decides to leave or the new guy fires her. I just know we will see more talent leave before it gets better. Don't expect to see any type of survey in any form this year because they just want to bury that sort of thing.

TR and her Minnesota Mafia isn't going anywhere until new board discovers how she was cooking the books with TCS. They are deliberately not showing all the dollars paid to TCS. Some shown as deferred and some hidden under capital "projects" (though there is no "projects". These are just ops O&M). Every crook eventually gets caught, but how long can she do this is the question.

Been hearing more and more BUs are going directly to TR to get cr-p fixed and not waiting for TCS to pull their collective heads out of their rear end. The more FTEs leave, the harder it will be on TCS to keep up. You can only put so much makeup on a pig.
In the end, the company will survive, TR will at some point leave or get fired. Most of her minions will leave with her and TCS will be phased out in a lot of areas. I cannot imagine the Service Desk remaining offshore. Nobody wants to call in. I pity the onshore folks who have to deal with it like following a group of horses during a parade.

There are very few left that have that in depth knowledge and those that are left are clamoring to get out. There are so many areas that are being held together by just single individuals now it's shamefull.

The entire IT org is a toxic waste dump that no one wants to be in right now.

The ambition to do better or "be here now" is gone. The beatings will continue until the morale improves.

Therace, is this planned, is this your method of operation everywhere you go? Is it just plain old fashioned incompetence? It's no wonder why you fail every place you end up. You surround yourself by those that are clueless and they surround themselves the same way with other clueless people.

There are so many layers of useless management now. I bet they all got a good ICP. Everyone else just got sc--wed.

I really hope that Carl's folks are reading these comments. The people with boots on the ground are looking for some sign from above that there is hope on the horizon. Send out a survey where the results go straight the board and see what you get. Technology leadership filters so much now those not in management wonder if anyone is even aware of how bad it is.

I would encourage others to state your case as well.

The risk now isn't a breach. It's the failing infrastructure and all the knowledge gone or laid off. How many people remain that have in depth knowledge of the systems?

Breach may have already happened.....things were a bit odd during early 2013. Not sure how much truth is behind this. Just search aep data breach. from the report it wasn't major.
,..........
Data Breach Summary
In a distressing incident, American Electric Power (AEP), a renowned provider of energy solutions and services, fell victim to a significant security breach. Detected by our vigilant team at InsecureWeb on March 30, 2023, this breach sent shockwaves through the industry. The breach came to light when a database associating with sensitive information from AEP.com was discovered. The notorious hacker known as “Cyb” claimed responsibility for the breach and publicized the data on the dark web forum “onniforums.com.”

The compromised database, encompassing approximately 623KB of confidential information, revealed a multitude of crucial data points. This included invoice types, contractors, energy types, user IDs, first and last names, addresses, and Social Security Numbers (SSNs). The stolen information presented a grave concern for AEP and its customers, demanding immediate action.

Cyber Security is not a big stretch for including it in CITO. She's either going to be given a pink slip if she hoses up the budget again or she'll move on to a bigger and better company before a breach happens like at JCP and Target. She seems to leave right before one or before the cr-p really hits the fan. Given that she took over Cyber, it's not IF we have one, just a matter of when and how long she sticks around. She's just a snake in the grass and will most likely walk away unscratched.

TR isn’t going anywhere, in fact she keeps expanding her reach in the company, she’s not just IT anymore.

I know most of this thread is about IT, they took the biggest hit in January. I am sorry for the other groups that got cut for various reasons, none of which seems to be the fault of the former employees. I hope the new CEO looks really hard at the people making the decisions and make changes in leadership at all levels, the guys in the trenches have carried the burden long enough. I will agree, TR needs to be the first to go, she is a total disaster. I'm sure she will not leave on her own accord, no company is that stupid to hire her away from us.

TR and her Minnesota Mafia gang is a cancer on AEP and must be neutralized by complete surgical removal and additional chemotherapy. It'll take couple of years to rebuild IT after the cancer is gone.

Over the last 10 years, AEP has shifted away from being a company where multiple generations would work and show their loyalty to the firm to it's all about the profits and Wall St. I would say it started with Morris and was toned down for a bit by Nick until the last few years of his tenure. JS was going to be all about growth and profits. She just forgot how to run a company. Nick and the Board hired people that could not do the job. I have never seen more people with MBAs that are just total id--ts. Like many college degrees today, MBAs are worthless. I'll take someone with 10 years of experience over some kid out of college with an MBA. It'll be a fine day when most of them leave after the new CEO is hired.

AEP has really sc--wed over a lot of long term employees, by promoting junior employees over them in the last few years. The new CEO mentioned making AEP go from a family company to a team company. That culture change is going to real hard. Many top people in the company will only support friends and family. Everyone else is a tool to them.

I'm really surprised the BUs have not thrown a bigger stink about the service provided by IT via TCS. The TCS contractors are on average below par with FTEs. I know it will not change but at some point, the BUs have to put their foot down and demand IT do something about it. It's a shame because you will never get back to the same level of experience before TCS took over. I just wonder how much Sanjay and TR got for directing the contract to them.

On the employee webinar they mentioned that the ICP was going to be around 56% of target

• 56

Any word on the 2023 ICP?

And the market reaction today is telling about what people thought of Julie and her decisions. It’s cooking.

Cancelling some of the asset sales is a good sign. We were really selling top notch (transmission) assets just for the sake of FFO/Debt.

Also, investing so much in renewables in jurisdictions that were not rewarding us with recoverability was a mistake.

The next CEO needs to have regulatory chops and has to bring in a team that can get it done. AEP has been deploying capital without a solid plan in place to earn the RoE. The RoE at some of the OpCos has been a big disappointment

On the employee webcast, they were decidedly uncommitted on layoffs. That’s not a good sign, but where else can they cut? Most teams are running super lean as it is.

What is all this praise for Julie? Look where the company landed during her tenure. Anyone who calls that success, by any measure, for a CEO is the same person that skims headlines without reading the article for their main source of information. She was an absolute train wreck who allowed other unqualified individuals to run rampant and ruin lives. These layoffs should have STARTED with her, not ended. And she probably received a retirement amount of severance on top of that. Clowns.

It's true that having Tim Wise was a bold move. He was excellent, IMHO. But JS was chosen for her financial expertise (which we see now is not enough; regulatory expertise is what is needed).

I think Julie was a DEI hire. Sorry to offend anyone, not really, facts hurt. When AEP hired Tim Wise to come in and lecture every one about racism and white privilege, the writing was on the wall they were going to replace Nick with a non-white male. If you don't think that was the case, you're lying to yourself. Julie filled in more boxes than Lisa. My guess, this time they will look for the best person for the job, male, female, white, black or otherwise. Icahn is in this to make money, period.

It’s a real setback to women everywhere. 100+ year old company with only 7 CEOs. Julie lasted a year.

Julie was a highly competent CFO and was successful in her other roles here as well. I can see why she was chosen. Her strategy may not have played out, and she had a lot going against her. But I don’t think she was simply a box to check. I think anyone in that seat would have struggled the past couple of years.

Rember all, when you are talking about the Board now, the Board is Icahn. They have taken control. Icahn looks for companies that are undervalued with typically underperforming corporate leadership, where by making changes they can increase company shareholder value.
They have invested in AEP, but not passively. When Icahn invests in a company, they also make sure they have control so they can make decisions that will improve the stock price. Hence, the term "activist" investor.
They are not raiders in the sense that the company is usually(hopefully) left better off then it was before they exercised control. The changes have just started. Hang on.

Remove the leadership all the way down. They all su-k. Middle management su-kiness is just easier to hide.

Maybe they’ll try to bring back all the talent they lost over the last year.

The fact that they are going outside says a ton. The EVP bench must be concerned if they aren’t being considered.

Julie barely got a year. Whiffing on the Kelly hiring must have hurt. Losing those rare cases makes it even worse. I’d imagine there will be some significant cleaning of senior leadership (EVPs) to go along with this once the new CEO is found.

Maybe bring back Lisa? Who would want the job?

Well there is a god of karma out there, Therace and ALL of those with a Minnesota zip code will be next.

What is this board up to? They voted to remove Swick. They removed Julie Sloat today. They sacked 400 employees.

Is TR being promoted or removed?

Just got the email saying we are firing Julie Sloat now

If you're a FTE with more than 10 years of service, you know there's a target on your back. The retail mgrs do not want you here, period. They want the turn over in people. That's fine, I'll hold the door for them if they'll leave so we can put AEP and IT back to a family center org. I can't believe I'm saying it but MAGA - Make AEP Great Again.

What’s sad is that there are people still working at AEP who are putting off planned surgeries in fear of retribution. One person I spoke to had planned to have needed surgery this year which requires 6-8 weeks off work to recover. That person has postponed it fearing th time off would make them vulnerable to a next round of layoffs.