Thread regarding CDW layoffs

Love how the Coworker Services and DEI goblin shills come out in full force to diminish OPs comments. This is not Reddit, he’s right, you lost the election, no tariffs will not ki-l us, and accusing OP of not being well educated is a logical fallacy and a ghetto thing to do. Also, let’s assume low class you are right about his education…. You just confirmed to the world that yes! DEI is a thing at CDW, and that classless people like y’all run the asylum…

The previous post was very interesting. There should be a greater emphasis on your writing skills. The lack of a quality education was on full display.

If the OP and the 100+ employees who up voted it actually left the company it might just save us!

So, go ahead and leave for "equal justice" or whatever, just do us a favor and LEAVE SOON!!!

Thanks for the information on the caste system. I didn’t know anything about that but it explains a lot.

Those two positions you named below report into the IT lead. The lead of those two programs are not black males. You named two black males reporting into the IT lead that leads those efforts. Indian descent. But glad you know the numbers twos

Love that the poster that says "We never had a diversity program" and then proceeds to name "some" leaders and also leaves off key information.

First of all - How do you list our Executives and not mention that the CEO (And really 4 of the top positions) are all female!
Second - Somehow they "discount" a person for being a minority based on who they married?!?!
Third - Asian or Indian decent all of a sudden doesn't count as a minority?
Fourth - Only 10% of all Fortune 500 companies have a Female CEO (even less in the Fortune 200). CDW is one of them.
Fifth - You can't only list some leaders at a level but omit some diverse ones that are their peers! (well you can but your argument is invalidated).
Lastly - None of that is what is important here. DEI initiatives are not put in place to make sure an unqualified minority is hired over a qualified white male. DEI initiatives are put in place to make sure an unqualified while males isn't hired over a qualified minority. And the reality is that CDW used CEI to setup an inclusive environment for everybody.

Global CISO - black male
Head of Infrastructure - black male

• "How come straight white guys had no chance of becoming DEI directors? Doesn’t sound very inclusive…"

Well according to that one webinar DEI town hall we had 2-3 years, the 3 different presenters talked about the "white middle aged man" quite a bit. That phrase had to be said close to 40-50 times that session and who are obviously the reason for all the problems of inclusion in the world. It was so ridiculous that an ex-security guard or army dude, I forget, actually spoke up at the end saying the "inclusion" part of all this seems to jump over and blame that demographic here at CDW.

• Because you have to be a straight white woman to be a DEI Director because who doesn't like ti-s?

Other fallout from DEI has been the absurd obsession with forcing a corporate policy (good intentions gone bad) to wipe out all possible words that may or may not be supportive in the name of DEI.

It’s very inaccurate and wildly subjective to assume you know everyone’s preference in defining what is DEI-offensive speech. Maybe all the positions that we filled with special considerations should be reopened to everyone to be interviewed based on their qualifications and understanding of how English-language idioms became commonly used over the past 300 years with no connection to present day DEI.
Please can we go back to speaking with generally accepted business terms that have nothing to do with DEI without fear of retribution– like the ridiculous email that ordered us to not use “all-hands meeting” for an all-hands meeting? I’m waiting for the next drop of no-no business phrases that also have nothing to do with DEI. Is it safe to use these phrases?

1. Shoulder a load
2. Walk a mile in your shoes
3. Put an ear to the ground
4. Turn a blind eye
5. Think on your feet
6. Keep an eye on the ball, goal
7. Laugh at adversity
8. Throw caution to the wind
9. Create a brain trust
10. Keep it at arms length
11. Bite the bullet
12. Hit the ground running
13. Throw in the towel
14. Have skin in the game
15. Raise the bar
16. Bend over backward
17. Have the upper hand

and are we really going to tell all the Swifties they can't "shake it off"?

"How come straight white guys had no chance of becoming DEI directors? Doesn’t sound very inclusive…"

Well according to that one webinar DEI town hall we had 2-3 years, the 3 different presenters talked about the "white middle aged man" quite a bit. That phrase had to be said close to 40-50 times that session and who are obviously the reason for all the problems of inclusion in the world. It was so ridiculous that an ex-security guard or army dude, I forget, actually spoke up at the end saying the "inclusion" part of all this seems to jump over and blame that demographic here at CDW.

"Just my opinion. The old perception of CDW was a sweatshop. Churn and burn. Back around 2008 (Recession) CDW burned thru entire new hire classes in a matter of 90 days. Dell wasn't a partner at that time. Leadership lowered the salary from $35K to $30K for Account Managers. That was some meeting that day for Katrina Williams in the Mettawa office trying to spin that as a good thing. CDW wants AM's with college degrees but unwilling to pay for the talent. All that mattered was growth. Eventually CDW tried to change its approach with new hires and placing them in "Academy" stretching out the program to 12 months. It didn't stop new hires from realizing CDW is a hard place to work and has a stigma. While CDW promotes itself as one of Fortune's Best Places to work, what it doesn't cover there have been coworkers that have committed su----e. As for DEI all it created was opportunity for people to get into positions they were not qualified for. CDW partners are reporting record earnings. CDW has missed 6 quarters on reported earnings. Those that are there I wish you the best."

• Welcome to working for a publicly traded company. Is this your first?

CDW played the DEI game, and people ate it up. They put on a show: decked out their desks, their hair, the whole nine yards. Because, of course, everyone needs to know your s-xual orientation at work, right? Let’s be real—no white CEO, man or woman, ever saw that as anything more than a PR move. And now? They ditched it the second it wasn’t profitable. If I’d been used like that and then tossed aside, I’d be furious.

Just my opinion. The old perception of CDW was a sweatshop. Churn and burn. Back around 2008 (Recession) CDW burned thru entire new hire classes in a matter of 90 days. Dell wasn't a partner at that time. Leadership lowered the salary from $35K to $30K for Account Managers. That was some meeting that day for Katrina Williams in the Mettawa office trying to spin that as a good thing. CDW wants AM's with college degrees but unwilling to pay for the talent. All that mattered was growth. Eventually CDW tried to change its approach with new hires and placing them in "Academy" stretching out the program to 12 months. It didn't stop new hires from realizing CDW is a hard place to work and has a stigma. While CDW promotes itself as one of Fortune's Best Places to work, what it doesn't cover there have been coworkers that have committed su----e. As for DEI all it created was opportunity for people to get into positions they were not qualified for. CDW partners are reporting record earnings. CDW has missed 6 quarters on reported earnings. Those that are there I wish you the best.

How come straight white guys had no chance of becoming DEI directors? Doesn’t sound very inclusive…

DEI was nothing more than a Marxist movement that progressive globalists pushed for and the world fell for.

Equity is synonymous with socialism/communism and it was sandwiched between diversity and inclusion to guilt the masses into adoption.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with diversity and inclusion. We should celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of our nationalities, cultures and background.

However, talent should be recruited, hired, promoted and retained based on performance and merit only. Plain and simple.

Some people outside of CDW seem to associate DEI with "affirmative action" and hiring requirements. That simply is not what DEI is and certainly not what it has been at CDW. DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. At CDW that has meant we had BRGs (affinity groups) for people to get together and attend activities such as speaker events. Even if you were not part of that specific demographic, you were welcome to join as an ally. DEI at CDW meant we had town halls (that were optional) to bring people together and hear other's perspectives. For those of you so against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, feel free to state which one you hate more, Diversity, Equity, or Inclusion? Please don't hide behind an acronym. State which one of those 3 bothers you so much.

DEI=Dead End Initiative. The problem with DEI is that unfortunately it doesn’t foster a high performance culture and just about everybody is waking up and realizing how crazy it is. It’s a slow death sentence for any company.

Bring on the down votes!

Fun fact - “inclusion” at CDW never protected those aged 40 and up. Look at who was laid off the last several rounds.

I am currently out on leave caring for aab elderly.patent. was there a video abandoning the BLRGs overall.or one specifically?

I've long wondered how African Americans - people born and lived in this country their entire lives subjected to bigotry and attacks - would feel watching person after person from India (not born here, not subjected to the same troubles) being appointed to position after position of power. Leading people while talking about inclusion and challenges. The spitting in the face of American workers - white, brown, black, etc. - by outsourcing jobs and bringing in foreign-born executives while having the audacity to tell us how coworkers matter and our commitment to diversity (as long as it's abroad, for a cheaper price?) is insane. Also, if any of you actually thought CDW cared about this as long as they checked the box, you're nuts.

"People down vote because DEI doesn't help the business. Period! No matter how much you scream it. Computers don't sell faster because of the color of or s-xual orientation of the sales rep. There is no ROI on DEI except it makes you feel better. Just be a decent person and do your job."

^^This guy gets it!^^

People down vote because DEI doesn't help the business. Period! No matter how much you scream it. Computers don't sell faster because of the color of or s-xual orientation of the sales rep. There is no ROI on DEI except it makes you feel better. Just be a decent person and do your job.

So to recap I got over 100 down arrows between all my posts relatively quickly but not a single person proved any of my points to be wrong. As a leader you should be able to prove me wrong relatively quickly unless you used my money to go to the SB.

That said I’m done posting on here. Hope I was beneficial to everyone that’s been treated like garbage someone needed to say it.

I keep seeing these acceptance of ownership posts and really do want to believe it. But can’t help being curious if you’re actually sorry for all the hardship you caused so many employees and the anxiety for the ones you let go or if you’re just sorry that there’s a platform for people to post anonymously (really anonymously).

I see nothing from leadership to show they truly care about employees well being but when it came to golf oh baby did I see that drive and determination.

You went through the formalities when it came to situations like 2018 but with golf it was a different story because that’s more than a game right? Had to make sure everyone knew leadership can golf I guess.

Mrs. Leahy. Do you see what is happening? We are more divided as a company than ever. Please stop reading what legal and communication recommends and speak to us from your heart. I have known you for over a decade and you can bring us together with who you are and with the beliefs that you once told us at a dinner came from your parents. We love you Chris and we see our company burning. You can pull us out of this if you speak to us in the way you do when you are speaking from the heart and sharing your true feelings and leadership. We can unite and fly out of the ashes and dominate but it will take you. The true you. Organize a call and be you and speak from the heart and bring us together. It will take heart and bravery but you are built for this. We always had different ideas but we were one CDW. The toughest times need the toughest leaders. Bring it Chris!

Yes agreed. And our diversity leader named Keith was just taking the salaryand doing nothing to address jokes and bad treatment. In fact, most minorities that he allowed into the executive team were descendants of a country that has a horrible cast system and is considered the most racist and biggest violator of women in Asia . And Keith stood by while only the only other minority on the executives is half white and married to a white gentleman. I have no problem with people being with whomever they want and actually welcome it. So true diversity never existed here. Keith collected his salary and supported a program that provided low paying jobs and terrible housing to African Americans and Latinos rather that trying to include them into the leadership. Look around everyone. Even the distribution centers are run by a member of that country with a cast system. Look it up and see what that meant. That does not mean they have the same beliefs but it is not a good look. Even the risk and IT departments. It was insulting to all of us. So getting rid of DEI only means that the useless diversity leader will go away and we can bring in the best and hope that diversity takes care of itself that way. Our leaders even failed managing DEI so why have it?

And to the coworkers that are DEI advocates I don’t mean this toward all of you. But I’m a minority myself and found the most racist and offensive comments coming from heavy DEI advocates.

What was weird was the white male AMs who were shamed and scorned by leadership were the ones who treated me with the most respect.

I found it ironic that all these humanitarians promoting equality were the ones making ignorant jokes about my cultural upbringing. Normally I wouldn’t care but with these people impacting my personal income is where I have an issue.

I wasn’t given fair opportunity but it was by the people who promote equality and blame white men. Instead I heard jokes behind my back as if I wouldn’t notice.

Want to hear a joke here’s a good one…what do you call 8 straight quarters of declining performance?….bad leadership!

Post ID: @ds+1jkh1681w 👏🏼👏🏾👏🏼👏🏾 well said. Amen to that.

Whoever is hitting down arrow on all these can you please explain your reasoning since it’s anonymous and would love to be educated on this?

$3.6B investment in DEI I’d expect a melting pot where everyone sings kumbaya but seems to cause division. A $240k check for everyone my guess is would have the reverse result.

Also, the down arrow was clicked on the post about most of leadership being DEI hires. Are you saying they were leaders based on merit? Because the leadership didn’t seem to understand technology the way they understood BRG’s and golf they were well conversed in those topics.

CDW website says they “invested” $3.6B on DEI initiatives in 2022 and had 8 straight declining quarters shortly after.

Let’s say there were 15k employees, the $3.6B divided EQUALLY would be $240k/employee.

Are you telling me you would turn down a $240k check so you can have a support system for underrepresented groups? Or would you just take the $240k?

Who wins when you leave. If you can afford to leave, fine. If not, understand most companies are taking similar actions. You do not need DEI. It was nice to have for those who participated but DEI not essential. DEI was a corporate pledge they did not mean. It is like those stock options that are no longer in our accounts.

I’ve always assumed 50%-75% of managers, directors and executives were DEI hires. Wouldn’t this policy change terminate their employment and give everyone what they wanted? Am I missing something here?

Don't worry corporations are switching from the DEI cultures to Psychological Safety so you can still have your culture. Some of us just want to go to work and then go home without having fast moving and changing cultures forced on us.

a step in the right direction. Hire and promote based on Talent period.

The rapid dismantling of DEI departments across all companies makes it clear that corporate values are just narratives shaped by business incentives rather than deeply held principles. When DEI was a competitive advantage, for talent acquisition, investor sentiment, or brand positioning, then companies leaned into it. Now that the political climate has shifted, companies are abandoning it just as easily. The moment they lose their edge, they’re discarded. Corporate values are function of market forces, not a moral compass. It’s laughable how people don’t see through the corporate jargon.

What video did you watch? The entire video was about how CDW will continue to be inclusive. Maybe watch it again?

We have a massive CDW-G program and they didn't want to lose that revenue and cause more layoffs. There is a University that combated this trend by having program that supported student acceptance based on their income challenges which removed the race, gender and religion focus. Due to many minorities fitting in the economically challenged area, their diversity grew and did so without violation of the DEI elimination mandate. I believe one of them was the university of michigan. George W Bush also did it by accepting the highest 10 percent of graduates from every individual school which meant they would still have diversity as many schools were heavy minority based. I used to work for a company that instituted the program for the least economically fortunate and it is working. While I believe that we have some executives that are happy that happened like Legal, I know Chris Leahy will find a way. Eventually this will move back to the other way and having a method to still address its need won't hurt us in the future.

If you were hired for your talent and not your blue hair you're fine