Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

Nov 23 LR : Post questions/experiences here

The day is coming, already i see a direct deposit. I thought it will initiate only after we sign the docs. We can even decline tomorrow or upto 1 week from tomorrow. I think it is PTO+last 2 weeks pay+ESPP balance.

yet to find a job, market has been tough. bad timing from cisco, will never forgive them after working so many years there. Thankless folks. What a way for thousands to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Unempathetic souls who cry for SJC homeless.

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Post ID: @OP+1838aIZK

11 replies (most recent on top)

Oh, you mean theft?

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Post ID: @Dhgm+1838aIZK

whats the penalty of NOT returning the devices if you've already received all payments and no one has even tried to contact you about it?

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Post ID: @Dled+1838aIZK

I printed a tracker and dropped off my laptop at Sycamore directly. Then I went to Building 2 and gave security my badge.

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Post ID: @3szo+1838aIZK
are you dropping off in SJC or at fedex. how long do we have time to return laptop. i don't want to risk in this covid situation. if we are all WFH why should LRed people go to fedex and drop off

To the best of my knowledge, the Technical Support Center (TSC) in RTP is closed, so I'd think that the one in SJC is too.

I don't understand how WFH has anything to do with going to FedEx to drop off your laptop in order to return Cisco's property. Simply put a mask on, keep 6 feet or more between you and any other customers, and when it's your turn, set your box on the counter, get your tracking # and leave. Easy Peasy. Most shipping locations I've been two in the past 6 months haven't had more than two customers. If you really don't want to drop it off, you CAN schedule a pickup at your home by FedEx.

As to how long you have to return it, I don't know. Your termination paperwork should tell you. Pre-pandemic, you were supposed to return in on your last day of employment. I don't know if you're supposed to ship it such that they receive it on your last day, or if you're supposed to ship it BY your last day.

I'm OCD enough that I'd have contacted the nearest local TSC and made arrangements to go in and return it and get a receipt for it. I made sure to get a receipt that showed the serial # of the laptop I turned in to the TSC on my last day. Then I put my badge & my company credit card (cut in half) on my manager's desk with a copy of my laptop receipt and left the building.

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Post ID: @2esx+1838aIZK
I'm off to return my laptop and badge

are you dropping off in SJC or at fedex. how long do we have time to return laptop. i don't want to risk in this covid situation. if we are all WFH why should LRed people go to fedex and drop off

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Post ID: @2xli+1838aIZK

When this Blumberg article was posted there were already lists ready, Cisco decided to put standby because they were afraid of bad publicity. Cisco isn't anything but an overblown bubble, they make things look better than they are and cash on it one way or another. It was a cheap advert, they showed themselves as good guys who won the best place to work, and campaigned for no layoffs just to have it on file. No one will talk about how people were LR'ed but if any candidate asks a question tomorrow, the recruiter has ammunition to talk to yet another victim about how great this company is and all that sh–.

I would never recommend Cisco as a solution or company to work for.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-27/coronavirus-nvidia-cisco-paypal-are-smart-to-pledge-no-layoffs

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Post ID: @2ika+1838aIZK

Just signed my release form, now I'm off to return my laptop and badge. How fitting that my last task at Cisco is posting to this website from my company laptop.

No bitterness from me. I've spent many years here doing absolutely no work unless extended training sessions in Building Q is considered work. With the money I've squirreled away over the years plus the severance I can take my time transitioning into a new career.

It would be nice to find a company that I would be happy working for. A place where I would take joy in contributing rather than just collecting an easy paycheck to show up for four hours and surf the internet. So long!

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Post ID: @1pso+1838aIZK
... bad timing from cisco, will never forgive them after working so many years there. Thankless folks. What a way for thousands to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. ...

Yes, it's bad timing, especially with the pandemic. But at least you're getting a great severance package. If you've been with Cisco for more than a year or two, you know that Cisco has been having frequent LR's and what the package is, so if you didn't want to risk it, why did you stay at Cisco and not look for another job before the pandemic hit? And since the pandemic hit, you've still had plenty of time to interview for new jobs at your leisure because working from home, it's very easy to interview now without having to take time off to leave the office to go interview.

My first LR from a company was when they got bought out and merged w/ another company. I was given 11 months notice that I would be LR'd in Sept, but as a new hire I'd signed an agreement that I wouldn't voluntarily quit for 12 months or I'd have to pay back the relocation benefits, so I only had from April to Sept to look for a new job before getting a lousy 2 weeks severance plus 2 additional weeks pay if I agreed not to sue. No COBRA benefits, nothing. I got my 4 weeks pay plus 11 months of accrued PTO.

My second LR from a company that decided to close the office I was in was especially cold blooded. They let 5 people go in Oct. Then they let me and 6 others go in Nov. I was called into HR the Mon after Thanksgiving to be told I was terminated and escorted out the door immediately and told to return at 5PM to pack my desk under supervision. I got the same 2 weeks plus 2 weeks for agreeing not to sue. This company, however, paid it's 401(k) match as a lump sum to all employees who were employed on Dec 31st, but my employment ended on Dec 28th! Then, 195 days after my employment ended, they LR'd 49 people from that office to close it and because of the prior 12 people layoff 15 days more than 6 months ago, they managed to avoid the WARN act's requirements to give 60 days notice and outplacement assistance.

You're getting 5 months pay, 5 months of grossed up COBRA benefits, and had 60 days notice that an LR was coming and you think they're unempathetic. I mean, yes, it's pretty sh–ty that it's a pandemic right now, and no one likes losing their job at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. Yes, Cisco and HR/ELT don't care about the impact this, and the other LR's, have on people and their families because it's just business, but be thankful for the package they are offering you. It's a lot better than many other companies.

I'm getting 2-3 contacts a week from recruiters. Many aren't a great match and, in my opinion, most are for a senior role in some skillset that I barely have that is tangential to what my senior level skills are, but at least there's some potential for jobs.

Damn, how did I end up defending Cisco? Stop whining and put your "big boy" pants on.

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Post ID: @1pvq+1838aIZK

A pledge is not legally binding. My gf pledged to give me "something" but did not. Can I sue her?

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Post ID: @1quh+1838aIZK

I am noticing mostly the companies who pledged are the only ones doing layoffs now.

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Post ID: @1xkt+1838aIZK

I'll never forget this....

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-27/coronavirus-nvidia-cisco-paypal-are-smart-to-pledge-no-layoffs

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Post ID: @1svx+1838aIZK

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