They are applying the pressure on us to quit by increasing our productivity goals by 37.5% over last year.
Buckle up buttercups, they want us to quit in our own.
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How are they even quantifying these productivity improvements? Are you building widgets or something?
@ag+1jqc72731 and @ab+1jqc72731 You guys are spot on—GitHub Copilot being the only visible AI tool, with licenses too scarce to matter, reeks of half-baked execution. The town hall buzz about AI (https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1jqd91ew6) and the griping on the Wells Fargo layoff board (@OP+1jqcs7c03) paint a picture of a bank hyping AI without a real plan. McKinsey’s December 2024 piece on “Extracting Value from AI in Banking” lays out four tasks banks must nail to win with AI. Let’s break it down and see if Wells Fargo’s on track—or doomed to flop.
Task 1: Set a bold, bankwide vision for AI’s value
McKinsey says top banks see AI as more than a cost-cutter—it’s about boosting revenue and improving customer/employee experiences. Wells Fargo’s town hall talk of “building bots to do our jobs” sounds more like a layoffs-first mindset than a visionary play. If they’re just chasing headcount reductions (U.S. cuts while India flounders with subpar work), they’re missing the bigger picture. No sign of a bankwide push to rethink customer journeys or employee workflows—just siloed tools like Copilot. Approach: Weak. They’re not aiming high enough.
Task 2: Root transformation in business value, not narrow use cases
Per McKinsey, winners transform entire domains (think loan processing or customer service), not just slap chatbots everywhere. Copilot’s cool for coding, but it’s a lone wolf—where’s the overhaul of, say, help desks or loan approvals? The layoff posts scream incrementalism: bots as band-aids, not game-changers. Fixing India’s sloppy code with AI tweaks isn’t “rewiring” anything. Approach: Failing. They’re stuck in low-impact pilot mode.
Task 3: Build a comprehensive AI stack with multiagent systems
McKinsey pushes for AI that handles messy, variable workflows—like loan apps with mixed data—using multiagent systems (think AI bots managing other AI bots). Wells Fargo’s got… Copilot? That’s not a stack; it’s a single tool for devs. No hint in these threads of a broader system to tackle complex banking tasks end-to-end. They’re not even in the game here. Approach: Nonexistent. This is where the “no substantive plan” vibe hits hardest.
Task 4: Sustain and scale with enablers like cross-functional teams and a control tower
Success means AI teams working across business and tech, guided by a central hub for governance and scaling. Wells Fargo’s threads show chaos—teams told to “justify every micro minute” while building bots, no mention of coordination or standards. If they can’t even distribute Copilot licenses, how do they scale anything? Sounds like a free-for-all, not a strategy. Approach: Disastrous. No enablers, no scale.
Will Wells Fargo Succeed or Get Left Behind?
Based on this, they’re toast unless something’s hidden up their sleeve. McKinsey says leaders pull ahead by nailing all four tasks—Wells Fargo’s batting zero. The BBC article about India’s coders losing to AI (this one) warns of a double whammy: offshore work tanks, then AI eats what’s left. Wells Fargo’s leaning on shaky offshore fixes and fumbling AI. Laggards, per McKinsey, see EBIT lag 10-20% behind leaders in 2-3 years. Wells Fargo’s on that path—stagnant while JPMorgan or fintechs eat their lunch.
The Downvoting—Stuck in the Past?
Those -6 and -1 reactions in the threads? Could be the “left behind” crowd—folks who don’t get AI’s stakes or cling to old ways. Maybe they’re the admins-turned-kanban-leads, scared of bots exposing their fluff. Or frontline managers who think “AI’s just hype.” Downvoting’s their tantrum—denial of a future where AI’s not optional. McKinsey’s data backs this: laggards resist the “hard rewiring” leaders embrace. They’re stuck, and we’re not—let’s keep pushing. What AI tools or training have you found outside Copilot? I’m digging into Coursera’s AI stuff—any recs?
Shut up and get back to work fool
How can this bank "do AI" when it hasn't gotten its applications on the cloud yet? The migration showed how weak and ill designed the current systems are. And how is agile working for this bank? All the transformational leadership, such as Steve Hagerman, have left this bank. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hagermansteve/ So upper management is giving you productivity goals without the environment or resources to achieve them.
I'm already quitting. I've had enough. I set myself up outside of banking and can't wait to get a fresh start.
So, because it happens to you, must be the case for all 200k employees?
Aside from copilot, where are the AI tools and training? Github copilot is the only one I'm aware of and they don't even have enough licenses to go around. More d-mb messaging with no substantive plan.
The cruelty is the point.
I’m in a hub and our new goals require more than 50% improvement. It’s not about downsizing but to force the teams to figure out how to use automation and AI to do more.