The purpose of recent technology layoffs isn’t about cost-cutting. Rather, it’s about removing individuals who don’t align with the interests of mobster groups within Wells Fargo. If the real intent were to save money, they might consider letting go of Indian engineering managers—many of whom shield their gangs to an excessive degree. Even minor changes, like a single line of code or a text update, can end up costing a disproportionate amount due to management overhead. The work at Wells Fargo isn’t rocket science. The real challenges lie in navigating internal politics.
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We lost a 20+ year vet. of WF. Management is trying to parse out the support to other groups, but no one knows how anything works either. It seems that they are spending more time and money to rewrite the support procedures or not deal with it since they were let go. Just sad....
@ad really sorry to hear that
@kd Wells Fargo is an Indian bank. They are top heavy with Indian managers like Kortanaraswamy who don't know sh-t. Did you know that he is looking for a job Charles Elliot ? Swamy as they call him, is a total id--t who doesn't know his a-s from a hole in the ground. He is constantly taking credit for other people's ideas and also for their work. I really hope that Internal audit takes a deep dive into his behavior as I'm pretty sure that he is committing Financial espionage, selling Wells Fargo secrets to the highest bidder. I hope they catch you and your inner circle including the developers that are also involved. Internal audit if you are listening take notice of this and and do your job. To the Federal regulators, you also need to take an good hard look at technology as their code has so many holes in it that it leaves the company vulnerable to hostile attacks. If you get a job offer from Wells Fargo decline it. This company is so poorly run that you would be better off looking elsewhere for employment.
@b2 you called it right on. To me this took a five year cycle
Wellsfargo is an Indian bank
Eventually it will collapse
@jr+1jzp93fz7 -- the case study is already being written -- Wells Fargo has gone past the 'tipping point of failure'. But still should be some room for executives to further goose the stock until stock price fails.
The Perversion of Agile in a Psychologically Unsafe Environment
At its core, Agile methodology is not just a set of processes like sprints and stand-ups; it is a cultural mindset that depends entirely on a foundation of trust and collaboration. It requires what Harvard's Amy Edmondson calls "psychological safety"—a climate where team members feel safe to speak up, challenge ideas, admit mistakes, and take interpersonal risks without fear of retribution. The goal is to empower teams to solve problems and deliver value quickly.
The experiences shared on the layoff board paint a picture of the absolute antithesis of this ideal:
Bureaucracy over Agility: The comment, "Have you seen 5 managers met just to discuss about a text change? Eventually it took them 1 month to finish the simple change," is a damning indictment. True agile teams are empowered to make such decisions swiftly. When layers of management are required for minor changes, "agile" becomes mere theater—a set of rituals practiced without the underlying principles.
Politics over Performance: The original post's assertion that the real challenge is "navigating internal politics" and that layoffs are about removing those who "don’t align with the interests of mobster groups" reveals that the system is optimized for political survival, not customer value. In such an environment, the "team" is a meaningless concept. It is replaced by factions, cliques, and fiefdoms.
Control over Collaboration: When a manager's primary function is to "shield their gangs" and promote only their "own kind" to maintain control, the collaborative spirit of agile is dead on arrival. The loss of a valuable Scrummaster and a "20 year vet" signifies a brain drain where institutional knowledge and genuine talent are discarded in favor of loyalty to a specific manager or clique.
Redirected Abuse: From Sales Quotas to Political Allegiance
Your hypothesis that the abuse was redirected is astute. The mechanism of the original account scandal was a culture of high pressure and immense fear. Employees were afraid to fail, so they cheated.
Today, that same dynamic of fear appears to be at play, but the metric of success has shifted. It's no longer about opening fraudulent accounts; it's about unwavering loyalty to a manager or an in-group. The "Embrace, Control, Discard" cycle, as one commenter noted, is the perfect psychological tool for this new form of abuse:
Embrace: The in-group—the "hometown referral network" or the "yes men"—are protected and given high-visibility projects.
Control: Those outside the clique are managed through intimidation, micromanagement, and being sidelined onto irrelevant tasks. Their professional autonomy is systematically eroded.
Discard: Individuals who are too independent, who challenge the status quo, or who are simply not part of the favored group are eventually "forced out" or laid off, as tragically described by the manager who hired the active-duty officer.
This isn't cost-cutting; it's the purging of dissent and the consolidation of power. It's a system that protects bad managers, stifles innovation, and creates the exact conditions—fear, silence, and fragmented knowledge ("No one knows how anything works")—that could lead to the next "big issue that gets to the headlines."
In conclusion, this layoff board is more than a collection of grievances. It's a window into a company's soul. It suggests that Wells Fargo has not resolved its core cultural issues. By failing to cultivate psychological safety, it has allowed a toxic, fear-based culture to fester and evolve. The perversion of agile and the focus on internal power struggles are the predictable outcomes of an organization that, instead of correcting its course, simply pointed its dysfunction inward-- from being a disservice to depositors to being a unstable place to work at for employees.
@af You deserve a better life. There are better places to work.
We lost a Scrummaster, 100x better than everyone we currently have. Lost a 20 year vet. Spent the afternoon applying or for jobs. No one knows how anything works either. Place is on the tipping point of failure now. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a big issue within 2 years that gets to the headlines.
@dr BE is doing exactly what she was brought in to do: Fire a ton of people and find cheaper labor.
Nope, it's strictly an expense save
Are the Indian managers allowing the agile methodology to survive? Or is it being ki-led? Does the "team" mean anything anymore at Wells? Has BE done anything yet?
The irony of @cs not knowing how to spell clique on a thread complaining about imports who don't understand the language is so spot on for this company.
Looks like the p3ronies guy is debuting a new joke to run into the ground
@ch Agreed. I attended Manav Bharti University. One of the best University's in India
Let's not hire people who can't speak the language without the help of a chatbot.
It’s a click and if you aren’t a yes man or Indian you will be forced out
Leveraging AI to gussy up a xenophobic paranoid screen lol
People from India are well educated. I completed a degree at Kurukshetra University. I am proud to work at Wells Fargo.
@ce
Yes, it was called 'spans and layers". They started whacking and once the new wigs came in they filled in those spots with their peeps. Same old same old to get rid of people and bring in your own teams.
These richards will never learn. We are all nothing but numbers on a spreadsheet. They can all have carnal knowledge with themselves.
What's funny is that we went through a whole "flattening" a few years ago but somehow we've added layers of management back in again. And of course it's outsiders brought in that then bring in their buds from other companies.
One of other commenters had it spot on-- doing practically anything is worse than an act of congress. Not only do various people seem to have a mission of NOT getting anything done, we've put processes in place that almost guarantee things will take a long time to get done.
The bank is top heavy and has a disproportionate amount of bad managers, regardless of nationality. It will be 5 more years until we catch up with modern companies who are actively flattening their organizations, because they are finally realizing how worthless the layers upon layers of management bureaucracy really is. Unfortunately I don't think I can wait that long.
With that said, there are some decent managers, and even a few decent leaders. Most just make things harder than they need to be.
@af+1jzp93fz7 - It is the psychological dynamics of 1. Embrace (Love Bo-b - the manipulator showers excessive praise and intense idolization), then Control (Devaluation and Manipulation - systematically erode your confidence and self-esteem), and 3. Discard (After you are no longer helpful or cannot be manipulated)
Have you seen 5 managers met just to discuss about a text change? Eventually it took them 1 month to finish the simple change.
@ae That’s not nice. Everyone on my team is on H1B Visa. We work very hard.
My Indian manager (Indian male in his early 50’s) asked why I hired an active duty officer (white male in his 30’s); especially since he disclosed that he could be deployed. I said, “Because he was the best choice for the hire for his skills and fit for the team.” Within a year, I was stripped of both of my team of engineers and “traded” to a dead end area. The manager only promoted his “own kind” because he controls them.
I’m still focused on doing the best job I can no matter what the circumstances.
It’s interesting how these mobster managers seem to have mastered the art of strategic placement. Consistently assigning their fellow H-1B engineers to high-visibility, career-advancing projects, while somehow overlooking equally capable American employees. It’s not like Americans can’t do the work. They get sidelined and eventually shown the door, while the H-1B engineers remain safely insulated under the protective wing of their managerial countrymen. All hail meritocracy. But, with a very selective definition of merit.
Some of these mobster managers build teams that look like offshore extensions, not American workplaces — no regard for the locals who’ve paid taxes here since they were sixteen, just unwavering loyalty to the hometown referral network. They show zero sense of responsibility to the American society. They will be the first to leave this county if they find better opportunities or if things are not as good here.
Wells Fargo is still hiring. I just recently moved from India and started last month.