Thread regarding Thomson Reuters layoffs

Nothing good came out of 2018 even if you include those who found better jobs. Peoples lives were upended all in pursuit of the mighty buck. TR showed all the sensitivity of a mafia hut man.

The fact that we had to install programs on our new computers instead of as was done in the past having the in-house IT Department do it for us tells me that in order to save a few thousand dollars (which is pocket change for TR) management preferred that we waste many hours of work time trying to figure out why things weren’t installing correctly, combined with the stress of feeling helpless since we are not technicians. They really do not care about quality and are prepared to nickel and dime us.

You are not alone! Lots of people are saying the same thing. The products and the customers are suffering due to a lack of resources and chaos. And, of course, after years of layoffs, everyone thinks they are next. It all creates a toxic culture.

TR disbanded the Global Creative Services (GCS) Unit in 2018, who created advertising, collateral and other marketing communications for the Company, without any regard for how that work would be performed. Outsourcing to agencies who didn't understand the products cost more. In 2020, they needed to re-create (sorry McKinsey) a 40 person internal studio which I assume will grow over time, until they sell something else or institute more layoffs this fall.

The sad thing is that there are no winners, coming out of the 2018 layoffs. The company either can't see this, or it chooses to ignore it. Yes, there will be some short term financial gain for the company out of the latest layoffs (a simple rule of ecomomics). This has to be countered with a deterioration in product quality - as another poster has said, there appears to be greater inefficiency within the company since the latest layoffs. There is a decrease in staff morale, which directly affects output (I'm seeing this too). Staff don't want to hang around under these circumstances. They will bide their time and ultimately go elsewhere. There is a huge loss of institutional knowledge with layoffs, especially on the scale of the 2018 layoffs. Then you have loss of reputation for the company. Regardless of the way layoffs are handled by any company, they don't look good whatever way you look at it. Regular layoffs; a company top heavy in management on large salaries; a lack of resources where needed etc, etc tells me a lot. Draw your own conclusions.

You hit the nail on the head, nothing significantly beneficial happened other than cost savings and that was mainly based on eliminating headcount. The most disappointing thing is that they really blew up the Tax Professional segment and put leaders in positions they were not qualified for and now employees are paying the price. I am just not sure how they got the roles they got. The segment approach makes sense from a customer lens, but you need to have capable people running the show, and that is where there is a significant breakdown. Maybe 2020 will be better, but it hasn't gotten off to a good start at all, probably just chalk it up to "restructuring" again. The people they let go the past 2 years has set a tone that no one is safe and although Orlando helped for a few days, weak leadership can't follow up on the momentum and actions speak louder than words.

You're not out on a limb. I can't see any cost savings or efficiency improvements, myself. It feels like a ghost ship, and those of us who are left are holding the line because we are conscientious and possess the institutional knowledge / memory for how to serve our users, and so we carry on. People still don't know what to do about technological impediments or how to solve support issues.