Tech IndustrySep 11, 2018
MicrosoftNegaDuck

Anyone worried about RIFs and how your company does it....

This is a sobering take... these are the kinds of tactics your company may well use to do it: "Among ProPublica’s findings, IBM: Denied older workers information the law says they need in order to decide whether they’ve been victims of age bias, and required them to sign away the right to go to court or join with others to seek redress. Targeted people for layoffs and firings with techniques that tilted against older workers, even when the company rated them high performers. In some instances, the money saved from the departures went toward hiring young replacements. Converted job cuts into retirements and took steps to boost resignations and firings. The moves reduced the number of employees counted as layoffs, where high numbers can trigger public disclosure requirements. Encouraged employees targeted for layoff to apply for other IBM positions, while quietly advising managers not to hire them and requiring many of the workers to train their replacements. Told some older employees being laid off that their skills were out of date, but then brought them back as contract workers, often for the same work at lower pay and fewer benefits." https://features.propublica.org/ibm/ibm-age-discrimination-american-workers/

Cutting 'Old Heads' at IBM
Cutting 'Old Heads' at IBM
ProPublica
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Compass FUPayMe Sep 12, 2018

Ehh I’m too young for this to matter.

Microsoft NegaDuck OP Sep 12, 2018

But this isn't really about age, is it? It's about people targeted for termination. Read from others experiences. See the tactics, and understand how companies operate. And you'll know how to read the signs, and strategize how to prepare when it's you that's among the targeted.

Compass FUPayMe Sep 12, 2018

Pretty sure this was age related.

New
loulou Sep 12, 2018

Most companies do this, maybe not at such a level, but they do. That said, IBM is amongst the shittiest companies I’ve ever worked for.

Google NADM63 Sep 12, 2018

There is a lot of ageism in our industry. It's wise to be saving a lot now so you have "🦆 you" money when the time comes.

IBM Z14 Sep 12, 2018

IBM lays off so many people without any clear goal in mind besides cutting costs for the next quarter. I’ve heard executives talk about how they try different things to deal with the layoffs (they are just getting told to do them), sometimes cutting low performers across their org, sometimes just cutting out entire teams regardless of performance. Personally, I think it has laid off a lot of old people because it has laid off a lot of people in general. If there were any adverse effects, I would attribute them more to general incompetence rather than malice toward older workers. Any way you cut it, it’s not a great story, though.

IBM bonjovi Sep 15, 2018

Honestly it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of situation. That being said, layoffs in IBM are sometimes totally random. IBM doesn't pay well enough to treat engineers as a commodity that it can scale down or up at will. The few good people who agree to stay with the company need to be coveted.