Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

"Question is what do these people see in Stankey? Is there some magic that I am missing here? I have worked for some truly outstanding leaders at other places and he and a lot of the sr leadership are not among them. "

This exact same question can be applied to our current political situation. What do some people see in some of these candidates/elected officials? They're clearly incompetent, unable to construct a coherent sentence, corrupt, and some have obvious autocratic tendencies, yet some people - particularly those in positions of authority or currently in elected office - who constantly bend the knee and kiss the ring.

The answer in both situations is the same: fear. Again, particularly for those in some level of authority, the fear of losing their influence is so great they will simply drop whatever integrity or dignity they have if they think it means they keep their spot.

It's pretty sad, but it certainly does explain a lot.

Look for Level 3 and 4 who have no direct reports. I want that gig unless I have to bee Skankys beech.

Yes we know the are many in the 4 levels of VP, doing nothing. Hard to get rid of the elite though.

Stankey needs to get rid of lots of unneeded workers and streamline the company. Too many workers getting by doing nothing.

I saw the replay. Have you lost your mind? Stankey is driving the company further, in the ground. Employees are terrified. Randall still controlling Stankey from behind the iron curtain & from his Lake house. It is no longer about have many years of service you may have, switching gears to keep up with new technology, or market driven. It is about how old you are. The E-Commerce person has no clue, as to what may, or may not be going on with employees. This was her opportunity to
kiss a- -. So many are over worked. As layoffs happen the folks remaining, continuously absorb additional functions; due to no backfills. Those of you who think Stankey walks on water, is clearly not seeing who he really is. Do not trust him. Originally, Stanley was quoted, to decrease employee headcount down to 160k & on video it is now 140k employees will remain. Be prepared for that number to continue to decrease.

If you had their pay check you’d be blowing sunshine up everyone s a-s as well.

Waah!

nothing ever impressed me about stanky and randy.

just two grifters getting rich and destroying a company and thousands of lives.

Do you mean Randy the accountant who could not figure out AT&T connectivity when interviewed by a major Newspaper, or do you mean John Stankey, the smartest guy in any room? T Stock $14.36....
It must be nice not to have any accountability.

“By any objective measure - employee morale”
You really need to take time to review results from the Employee Engagement Surveys over the last several years. This data proves you wrong!

You mean the survey that was executed just before the RTO debacle and the survey that many people do not believe is anonymous? That survey?

nothing ever impressed me about stanky and randy.

just two grifters getting rich and destroying a company and thousands of lives.

Post from TheLayoff.com

I know JS, I've sat across from him in meetings. I've sat at his desk, on the other side of his desk, been dressed down by him, been praised by him before and during his CEO tenure.

I've never been impressed by him. Ever.

We do not have a leader.

We have a CEO.

“By any objective measure - employee morale”
You really need to take time to review results from the Employee Engagement Surveys over the last several years. This data proves you wrong!

If you weren’t inspired, the impact must have been lost through the recording. In person, John really energized the room. It was very motivating.

Stankey is a poor leader - he stinks. By any objective measure - employee morale, revenues and profits compared to the competition, taking market share (not), customer delight, and shareholder return he ranks in the bottom 10% of American CEOS at large companies....

How he still has his job is unbelievable...shame on the BOD for keeping him in that position...He, Randall, Jeremy and other AT&T leaders have had theri asxxes kicked by the competition and now have us in 2 commodity businesses - fiber and mobility.....that is not leadership....time for a drastic change...

What "leader"?

RTO is the best. We should have never been WFH. Even with the so called flu.

I think the sad part is how some people think the felon still has a chance.

This maniac is the most arrogant, pompous elite on the planet. He is and always has been full of himself, like any other narcissist. As we've all been unfortunate to witness, he steers the company and makes decisions based on his own wants/needs with zero consideration of what's good for the business and he most certainly does not listen to or operate on insights from his DRs.

Trust me when I tell you that as of a few months ago, Stankey is operating independently making decisions that literally no one in the room agrees with. But, nearly every single one of his DRs are terrified of him, so they do not question nor dare to speak the truth. I've had a vantage point for a few years now and I'm popping more popcorn than ever.

If you're still there, at least in the name of self-survival, start updating your resume. This ride to the bottom ain't gonna last long.

Yes, you are missing something, you called him a leader. Not even close.

I'm an L3 individual contributor and hate every second of my job, twice the work and three times the stress for a 10% pay bump from L2, and stock grants that are quickly becoming worthless; but the pension benefit of reaching MR 75 is keeping me around for a couple of more years.

This is an easy one to answer. If you had been promoted through the ranks and were given that opportunity to be a L3/L4 you would probably think this is a great place to work also. However for the rest of us looking up, we know 90%+ of those people didn’t get there because they were awesome and knew their stuff, just that they checked boxes and/or had the right friends. Rarely are any of those folks at those levels having done anything meaningful. It’s also their job to rah rah and toe the line.

Big beautiful debt, to make AT&T great again.

AT&T has a huge morale problem. This is a known fact. You are J.S.... do you:

1. Try to quantify and solve the issues and raise morale?
2. Lead and encourage people, in a genuine way?
3. Blame it on the employees and tell them if they don't like it, they should leave?

It is just not right that Stankey makes so much while I do not.

What is this debt you talk about?

What do most people do to get to work? They DRIVE or take mass transit. Why do you have to be different?

@1npp+1p4OcUSU

as of June 2023 Verizon had just over 177b in debt and still in business. Another so-called "leader" and BoD that need to go.

One word: Myrmidon. "Someone who follows and obeys a powerful person or authority, even when this means doing bad things for them."

OP, I am an L2 and was in the same meeting you were today. thank you so much for posting this. It’s both relieving and depressing that there were others in the audience who felt the same way. The L3 is probably a good person but definitely does things specifically for how they are perceived and she makes sure her people are always set up to be perceived and be promoted. I also have zero trust or respect for our L4 and his constant droning on and on barely listening to anyone but only hearing himself talk. newsflash: you don’t need to comment on everything. not everyone needs all your opinions.

To the person who said you have been here a few years! Nope! 23. I’m guessing you have been here a few years and hopefully you will grow the f up and shut the f up until you are left in the position that so
Many people that have given everything to this company are in. Now go get some koolaid you a-s hole

You are not missing anything. John Stankey is not a leader. He has demonstrated this more than a few times. Unfortunately John Stankey and Randell Stephenson have placed AT&T in debt that is unprecedented in the history of American capitalism.
Find me one company with 50 billion dollars of debt that is still in business. Find me one company with 75 billion dollars in debt that is still in business.

AT&T has over 125 Billion dollars in debt.

Let's take a poll on Stankey. If you approve of the job he is doing then give me an up arrow. If you don't approve of the job he is doing then give me a down arrow.

You've been here a few years and you are whining about something before your time. Just continue to be unhappy with your life and keep on looking for things to whine about.

I think a lot of people are afraid of him. He leads by intimidation and fear as do all of his team. It’s just about the money that he lost and is too arrogant, stubborn, selfish to admit. Shame on him and shame on everyone that is drinking his koolaid! I know several of them and I’m embarrassed for them. Don’t move for this company. They are going down. Don’t ruin your life or your family’s lives

Re:
Honestly I feel he had a speech writer who wrote the words, so he could be arrogant and get all the credit.

His comment saying all the generations (milenial, gen Z, etc) were all “perennials” was nothing more than to cover his former comment on getting rid of old people.

“100%” you are not alone. Many believe it was a speech written for him on a concept already known and most of all, a way to make up for what he said that has been kept under wraps.
At best, it was insincere and his best attempt to portray leadership.

Stinky inspired me to use my expertise to simplify my life by shopping at Costco all afternoon. BTW: Ken Fenoglio from T University did that same speech in 2012 and he did it better.

Sorry that you work in an org with such foolish and disingenuous leaders. GET OUT or at least watch the movie so you understand what I mean.

Stanley’s speech was nothing spectacular and to me it sounded like he was taking credit for the idea of continued learning that most people already do. Honestly I feel he had a speech writer who wrote the words, so he could be arrogant and get all the credit.

His comment saying all the generations (milenial, gen Z, etc) were all “perennials” was nothing more than to cover his former comment on getting rid of old people.

“How old is your L3? I bet they are still angling for a corner office.”

OP here: L3 is in my group but not my direct boss. Probably 40s and has the kind of personality that generally gets people promoted. Don’t have anything personally against this person but can come across as almost too chipper to be believable.

L4 is likely late 40s and high IQ but often feels like they have their head in the clouds. Today they literally said that we should feel overworked. Why would you say that? That’s a great way to burn people out especially when more layoffs are expected and everything here is such a sh-t storm.

L4 also let slip earlier that Q4 layoff totals were dependent on how many people quit due to RTO, basically acknowledging that the whole thing was a layoff without outright saying it and the culture junk is exactly that, junk.

Stankey is an imbecile. He could not have done a worse job leading at&t if he deliberately tried. He wouldn't qualify for an entry level job at most any other company. If he did get a job , he wouldn't last three months before getting fired.
He has learned the fine art of bullying and intimidating anyone he comes in contact with. I firmly believe the BOD is scared of him! No joke.