https://www.goingconcern.com/layoff-watch-20-apparently-doomsday-for-some-ey/
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E&Y SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
Layoff Watch ’20: Apparently It’s Doomsday for Some at EY (UPDATE)
by JASON BRAMWELL
ey orlando
[Updated on Sept. 23 with additional information.]
EY management stuck to their narrative today that the recent layoffs at the firm aren’t layoffs but performance-based separations that were justified, even though many of those who have contacted us after losing their jobs said they weren’t on any type of performance improvement plan.
First, before EY U.S. Chair Kelly Grier led an all-hands webcast this afternoon, we were told by a source that John Short, Government and Public Sector partner at EY in Tysons, VA, said this during a call with about 200 people:
He could not stress enough that individuals are not being laid off, they’re being fired for poor performance and there’s no rule saying they need to be on a PIP. Whether people believe him is a whole other thing.
How can you tell someone you’re losing your job due to performance when you didn’t provide them with the opportunity to improve their performance via a PIP? What the hell’s the point of offering a tool like a PIP to employees if you don’t let your employees use it? I don’t get it.
During the webcast, Grier apparently called the definition of performance “relative,” according to a source, and showed a few slides with a bunch of stats about turnover at EY.
One slide seen by Going Concern called “Turnover: Definition and Historical Context” showed this data:
Voluntary: Historical average: 15%
Involuntary: Historical average: 2%
Conduct: very low numbers
Business changes/transformation: highly unusual
Performance based: comprise the majority of involuntary
Excess capacity/layoffs: highly unusual
17%: historical average annual turnover
40 hours on the client, which asks how the employees like the client, team environment, culture, executives, and various other engagement team related items). I called the partner of the engagement after my call with HR who told me he believed it was BS and that it’s a corporate decision made above him. I was then set to fully transition my knowledge, open tasks, and plans for year end to the brand new rising senior on the account.
I have never been on a performance improvement plan and have never had negative feedback in my career at EY. It was never eluded to me that my position or status with the firm could be in jeopardy.
From reading the article I can most certainly confirm these layoffs seem to have no merit to being “performance” layoffs and it has confirmed that EY does not care about their people. I started my career at a smaller EY office where I began to believe that I was not just a number; however, transferring to a larger office quickly brought me to reality how small everyone is in the grand scheme and that everyone is replaceable at the firm.
This person said (s)he received four weeks of severance, two months of talent search help, and benefits continuing through the end of the month with $1,000 to be provided at the end of the month to help cover benefit needs. All vacation is also paid out.
Similar story for a person who worked in advisory (now EY Consulting) until Sept. 11. This person was told (s)he was being let go for performance reasons, but (s)he told us, “The work is just not there.”