If you want to be a “hotshot” and triple your pay working for Amazon, then go right ahead. “Good luck to you.”
Has this joker been fired? How much reputation damage and business loss has he done because he couldn’t keep his cool. Our system really does a great job of identifying leaders doesn’t it!
I was on that call too and agree that it wasn't as dire. Not sure why people make this so dramatic. It's true that BK lost his cool, but that was what, early 2021 when situation was extremely tough. The leadership was pretending everything's well and dandy, because that's what they always do on townhalls - celebrate successes, repeat the mantra "our people are our greatest assets!!", but the workers were all angry and anxious. Before the townhall, we already saw hundreds of upvotes on very direct questions regarding layoffs, careers and attrition on Slido for many days. BK fielded attrition questions before his outburst, but similar questions kept coming in and got voted to the top in minutes. It wasn't as sudden an outburst as it was made out to be in the Bloomberg article.
I don't think BK is a particularly great leader; no love or hate for him. And I don't think BK has an easy job as EMIT VP. The corporation has always treated EMIT as a stepchild/ afterthought/ laptop fixer. EMIT is expected to be your all-in-one IT partner for digital transformation, labs systems, plant processes, supply chain initiatives, trading systems, sales and marketing, closing the financial books... and on the backend, to take care of infrastructure, network and cybersecurity. Any function can go on strike and the rest of us will still be able to get on with the work day, but try having the whole of IT go on strike. We have a workforce with diverse skillsets - your software developer doesn't set up the network, your digital transformation lead doesn't configure SAP, and some skills are more valuable or commodified than others. When push comes to shove, and cuts came down hard on EMIT, BK had simply let us know the truth - ExxonMobil does not value its EMIT workers. If you can leave and earn 3x elsewhere, yeah great. The only wrong with him saying that is the truth hurts our ego. (Which is why leaders don't tell us the truth...)
I'm still in EMIT, in a non-GBC location, and for the 2nd year now, my Christmas wish is a retrenchment package. I have E&O rankings past couple years, but my CL and pay isn't that great compared to others cos that's just EMIT for you; but I work with more than decent people in EM, so I'm slowly working my exit. I'm under no delusion that I will make it to retirement in 25 years, despite what management say about people being our greatest asset. At 20%+ attrition in many places, we lost a-fifth of our "greatest asset" from end 2019, and XOM is $107.38 as I type this, up more than 200% from the bottom in 2020. ExxonMobil does not value its EMIT workers, and maybe that's the right thing cos it doesn't have to. Culture eats strategy for breakfast? In our business the oil price eats culture all day.
Some great EMIT leaders have been PIP'd and PIL'd or quit in disgust, too few left to prevent BK (clueless) and a team of b-nosers giving the biz the IT solutions they deserve.
BK didn’t blow up at a town hall… I think he made a gaffe (he’s made at least one other big one since then) that has caused much of his organization to lose confidence in him
he's still in the same position
If IPTS software is what you are capable of, you won't survive a single day at AMAZON.
I came from another company before joining ExxonMobil. Honestly speaking EMIT is not competitive at all compared with other companies IT. Look at the cr---y IPTS software, a complete joke.
I was there too. No longer at XOM. Even if he was just addressing the software devs (which I am not one of) it showed a complete lack of composure and represented leadership's ability to handle, not handle, a very tough environment. That on top of the 401k being stripped away, I lost all faith in the c-suite. Not my awesome coworkers or decent middle management. But the C level leadership of XOM.
How come EMITs compensation strategy was so poor? Did HR manipulate who the comparator groups were? Did they put companies who we don’t compete with talent to fudge the data…….again…..
It’s not just developers, most positions can go get paid much much more. SRE, SA, CSM, TAM, PM, etc etc plenty of positions for people of all technological backgrounds to leave and x2 their salary. Even managers.
It wasn’t AS dire as the story sounds, but it was pretty bad. Although I wasn’t as mad about it, it was the only time I attended a meeting where an executive gave an unfiltered and honest answer, which he should have been applauded for (so long as people also still quit for more money as they applauded)
I was on that call. It wasn’t as dire as the story makes it sound. He was addressing software developers, who frankly can go out and triple their pay. Those that are still here and bi-----g about the hot shots comment aren’t good enough to get hired somewhere else.