RTO Retraction and Next Steps

Will HR make him send an email with an official apology or will 3000 RND employees be quietly told to ignore him? Either way confidence is lost.

He fired the testers causing an explosion in escaped bugs. BH apologed for him.

His rolling reorg has slowed work so badly that he thinks T-TH will fix the mess he made. Will the reorg ever be code complete?

He put US RND teams under the direction of an inexperienced director in another country with a 5 hour time difference. How does that help in person innovation?

He split Viya 3.5 and 4.0 RND teams putting them in competition ki-ling any chance for a smooth customer upgrade.

He has not developed one working GenAI SAS model after two years of trying.

He gave up a 19 point lead in the NCAA tournament.

Anything else?

#Culture #Layoffs #Leadership #RTO #Reorg

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@27g

Uh no, I'm well aware these are very much solved problems. Reading comprehension fail.

I'm saying that a lot of depts at the company are inept. For instance; try and get CIS to trace a customer request through our infra. It's been a little bit, but the last time I tried to help them out with basic observability, someone literally threw their hands up in the air and said "this is hard".

@25g You must be easily amazed since we are talking basic technology.
Simple comment from a simple person

@1fm

I would be amazed if SAS were competent enough to implement a system like that.

@fm - Don’t give the Televangelist any Hack-a-Thon ideas.

@1fm ParanoidYah

they dont need you to badge out to track when you left. the license plate reader probably has a good model for all cars, tied to the other bluetooth profile, that its not so hard for them to "auto track" your presence on campus. license plate/bluetooth ping/ login screensave unlock proximity probably has very few overlaps once they train the model for a few weeks. and the blue tooth scanner that pings you near the cafe checkout - yup now they can correlate the first three to your EMPNO, even if you dont carry a company phone :-(. You do pay in cash and turn you phone off before the company gates, dont you?

@1ba and @1bq deliver serious and useful warnings.

Most managers will never issue trumped-up charges. But at SAS, managers are allowed to lie; and when they do, HR supports them 100%.

All* managers will note violation of attendance policies. If they're told to lay off one person from their group, and you're the one violating policy, you'll be the one laid off.

When you know that management is looking to cut costs, don't give them any reason to cut you.

@1bq Finally an example of what goes on your “trumped up charge sheets”.

And in this case it isn’t trumped up at all but an example of disregarding the stated policies. Maybe what you mean by trumped up is doing things that are against policy but you just don’t happen to agree with? Like actually working instead of slacking off.

Take it seriously. It’s an easy entry on a trumped up charge sheet. Don’t give them free line items.

My boss said to take the mandate seriously because they'll be watching the badge data even more stringently than before. Back in the olden times, we were told that if we were leaving the building after 5, we needed to badge out because the doors were alarmed after 5. Now I'm wondering if they'll go as far as requiring us to badge out--like time clocks to make sure you put in your 7-8 hours during those mandatory in-office days. I mean, not adhering to an executive mandate could be a reason for dismissal, and if you violate a policy, wouldn't that mean they wouldn't have to offer you severance? Perhaps I'm reading too much into it.

@15b - The Almighty has blessed thou with an International audience.

@15d :) Im also old and had honestly never heard that phrase.

Was the RTO message only to people in R&D? I haven’t heard anything about this

"No mouse in my pocket that I know of. Weird question."

C'mon, man! You seriously have never heard of that expression? Although, admittedly I'm old and maybe one doesn't hear it said often anymore.

If serendipity requires proximity, why is one of the televangelists direct reports a VP of r&d across the pond?

@12s No mouse in my pocket that I know of. Weird question.

We refers to all the people on SAS thelayoff.com that think RTO equates to desperation in some way.

@113 - What’s this “we” sh-t. Is there a mouse in your pocket?

We seem to be defining the word desperate very loosely here.

You all seem desperate to cr*p on SAS at all costs.

Desperate to cut costs, Microsoft and Amazon have done massive layoffs. Apple has done small ones..

@y9 How does RTO seem desperate? Do you think Microsoft,Amazon, Apple, etc seem desperate?

An RTO declaration seems like a desperate move for a company that believes it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.

A call for serendipitous encounters also seems desperate.

“…and Next Steps…”

Please help me with this. Is the use of “Next steps” management code for something? Perhaps a termination process?

My manager used this phrase in meetings and emails during the “manage out” phase of my career. It’s use has always puzzled me.

Anyone else experience the use of “Next steps” in pre-termination communications?

@mq No they were written in German, a language I do not speak

@kw Depends on whether you created the bugs :)

"He split Viya 3.5 and 4.0 RND teams"

Did they? How come I keep getting given bugs / work for both? Should I be paid twice?

@k6 ahhhhh it was implied

@gz
Implied in all RTO mandates is that remote workers are less productive and that creativity and collaboration are only truly possible in person. “Studies highlight …” the exact opposite of what was stated as fact in an email. There are numerous articles from reputable sources freely available online, and notable is that no “studies” were actually highlighted in the email. Corporate speak and propaganda will always attempt to put a positive spin on that which “leadership” knows to be an “untruth”.

If serendipity requires proximity, that argument could justify RTO five days a week.

I'm surprised that SAS has not done this. It would promote more attrition, thereby reducing headcount without layoffs.

@gw That made no sense. If I had written it how the he-l would I have missed it?

I know exactly what email is being referenced. It just flat out didn’t say that.

You guys should hear yourselfs. I’d love to see a copy paste from any email that said people working remotely are all doing p-iss poor jobs.

I’ll wait.

@bp - You missed it because you wrote it?

All you people that have an office and have been coming in 1 day a week deserve what you get.

@b5 I missed the email where anyone said people working remotely are all doing a pi-s poor job.

RTO means more people in the cafe and healthcare and gym, gotta keep those folks working too!

If you want RTO or mandatory days, whatever. But maybe don't write a pi-s poor email that says that everyone who is remote isn't doing a good job.

Serendipity doesn't require proximity, it just requires employees who care and who are empowered to make the changes required to keep SAS going.

You people are toxic

Thou shall not blaspheme the greatest software leader in modern history!

This company is privileged to host one of the world’s most aspiring ideologues amongst its ranks! Who else amongst you could boast the motivational speaker talents of Guy Kawasaki and Simon Sinek combined? You employees should be grateful to have such a leader on staff, guiding you towards positivity, actualization and enlightenment!

Get into the office immediately and bow down in humility lest a pox will fall unto your house!

But he has the Book Club! Don't forget the Book Club!

And speaking of AI ... has anything come out of that new division that U.S. leads?

Thread regarding SAS Institute layoffs

RTO Retraction and Next Steps

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