The fact that it is not mandated by law always has me thinking that it'll go the way of the dinosaur at some point, and most likely sooner than I think. What's the incentive for the companies to keep providing it? That's the only thing that worries me about future layoffs.
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I do not think T is mirroring Google....Google feeds its employees well. If you work at the Googleplex, you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner free of charge. There are several cafés located throughout the campus, and employees can eat at any of them. Last time I was in the office prior to Covid I was bringing in my own T.P. and paying $4.50 for a cup of soup with a cracker in the cafeteria.....Tell me once again how T is mirroring Google?
Stankey has stated "benefits at T are too rich". I'm sure he has Santone working on this.
Severance is T paying former employees to not bad mouth them to media or sue. T gets a deal compared to the cost of bad PR or a lawsuit. Of course T is penny wise pound foolish so who knows what they will do.
Two weeks max.
Severance exists to induce people who were pushed out to not sue the company.
So, the amount of severance offered necessarily depends on (1.) the legal environment, namely laid off employees' ability to bring successful suits against AT&T and (2.) the number of layoffs per quarter, i.e. the quarterly "Separation Cost" run rate.
The purpose of severance is not to be "nice" or "you earned it" or "fair". The purpose of severance is to remove legal uncertainty for the company.
I can see where having a severance benefit causes a problem for the company. People who are ready to retire stay longer hoping they can leave with the severance added on. So at a time where the company is trying to reduce headcount, people are actually incentivized to stay. Those people are partly to blame if severance is cut or reduced.
No crystal ball but Santone stated we are benchmarking all benefits against companies like Google, Facebook etc. and we will meet at their levels. I suspect within a very short time severance will be reduced to 30 days or less. Just another way to incent people to retire or leave voluntarily. This could be the "shoe to drop" if not enough leave in 2021.
@otu+1bwAzWhf
"start paying for coffee and water"??? LOL, where do you work? Down here in the bowels of the company, free coffee and water were discontinued so long ago (if they ever existed) that nobody can remember.
Just look at how Stink has handled T's commitment to employees regarding things like health benefits, pension, 401(k), and retiree perks.
See a pattern?
Severance will be on that list soon. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Stink begins to require employees start paying for coffee and water at work. After all, T has to generate revenue somehow, and it sure isn't going to be with wireless, broadband, or video customers!
Severance is not a guarantee for any company. ATT has reduced and modified their policy over the years. They could slash it next year or modify it at any time. But severance is just a stop gap meant to tide you over until your next job, it’s not bonus money. If you’re smart, continue to enhance your skill set, network and educate yourself so that you can be marketable when you decide to leave…or when your job ends here. I’d expect ATT’s severance to be modified well before ten years.
Yeah, severance will disappear eventually. Workers need to show share holders, board of directors and CEO's that without them the whole house of cards will fall. If everyone works together everyone can profit. Let's start with getting C level position salaries in line with reality and have the workers have a say on who is on the board of directors.
Today under the reign of Stinky, the purpose of severance at T is not to benefit any employee, and NOT to encourage any employee to leave.
The purpose of severance is to get the wackee to sign a legal agreement that prevents the employee from suing T for the age discrimination T routinely practices. The MBA bean counters in Legal and HR finds the level of severance that is cheaper for T than the legal bills required to defend T and the verdicts that would be handed down. Clearly from the spreadsheets T has handed out to wackees that I have seen, the majority of wackees are over 55.
That being said, would the Stinky like to reduce the severance from the current maximum of 6 months to 2 weeks? You bet if he could. All the $ would help him fill up his corporate jet fleet. The problem is at that 2 week level, a lot of people will not sign the waiver and will sue T.
Take a look at other companies and see what they offer. I know other big companies (IBM) only offer one month as a max.
The incentive is to encourage employees to leave, and fast, and now!
As a stockholder, I vote no severance. Just fire, layoff, force out.
Select the employees that need to leave and give them the S..hit work. Make them want
to leave. No money to go, from Executives to Janitor.
Swing the AXE and go on.
My opinion.