Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

If you stuck around cisco so long that you still remember the glory days of pre-dotcom crash, sorry but you're part of the problem

Um. This has been happening at Cisco since 2008.

Um. Cisco went from 48,000 employees and contractors to 35,000 (a 27% loss) in 2001 and layoffs small and large have been occurring frequently ever since.

As with every layoff the proclamations that everyone would leave because they won't accept being treated this way never happened and now that the latest layoff is a done deal new posts have died down. Most of the sheep will baah and p00p until the next round having learned nothing and being no more prepared for it should the next round take them out and the cries of "woe is me" will return.

"Good people were impacted just to save costs."

Um. This has been happening at Cisco since 2008.

I wish I would have lucky enough to have gotten the package. Cisco tries to position ourselves as above the rest of corporate America, but Executive actions show we are not, and in many cases, worse. Over COVID the Execs laughed and played on the company check-ins from their mansions and have been so delusional. This last layoff crossed the line for me. Good people were impacted just to save costs. I'd rather leave than live in fear my next increase or promo will put me on the list. Some of us that were not impacted are slowly starting to speak up but some in fear for their jobs. Chuck will likely remove the chat soon in the company check-in to try to control things rather than address their blunders. They always have a spin on things to make an excuse instead of owning up to their mistakes. But, no, we hire celebrities for our check-ins and leadership training to help paint a pretty picture that doesn't really exist.

After over a decade of yearly layoffs, there can't be anyone with an ounce of common sense at Cisco that doesn't realize there is no strategy beyond managing Cisco's decline.

Compare the downvotes here for realistic comments about what Cisco is and that people have to be responsible for their own career and the upvotes for "everyone should be employed for life and get free cotton candy!"

BTW, the layoffs have been going on for more than two decades in big and small batches and in many periods were more often than annual.

After over a decade of yearly layoffs, there can't be anyone with an ounce of common sense at Cisco that doesn't realize there is no strategy beyond managing Cisco's decline.

Everyone in senior management knows there is no way to stop the decline given the disastrous business decisions that have been made over the last 15 years. Those senior managers are just extracting as much money from shareholders as possible before they get their nice exit packages.

Employees need to have an honest perspective about why they're at Cisco - long-term career growth is not a realistic choice - and then make the appropriate decisions about their own careers. Cisco can be a good place for certain people at certain times of their lives, but it's not a place to stay for too long.

1. If you focus on saving and investing your money, for the long run; you won't care if you are LR'd.

2. If the people in high growth areas are indeed skilled, they won't have to worry about a replacement job; heck it might even be better for them the long term.

3. Once you are shunned; wear the LR badge with pride. You won't care once working elsewhere. Heck it even become a good joke. Most people get treated like cr@p in their career, one way or another. Whaa.

4. Welcome to Corporate America. If the older workers followed #1 point above; they wouldn't give a sh! t, because at late in career older workers SHOULD have s substantial nest egg. If not, they spent their career pi$$ing their earnings away on stup!d stuff they don't really need.

5. "Greed is Good" -Gordon Gekko.

Again, welcome to Corporate America, Children.

6,7,8. Maybe Gordon was right. Either learn to play the game; or not. If you do want to roll-the-dice and go for the big bucks of Corporate America; be prepared for an exit plan. Always. Never be unprepared to walk away. Ever. Do not trust any company. Trust yourself and a close circle of friends or family. We are pack animals by nature. Beyond that, believing in Cisco vision for its employees is like believing in Santa's elves.

People need to know:

1. Whining does not change the world
2. Attacking a company that employs 0.01% of the US population won't change the world
3. No one cares about your career - if you aren't proactively advancing it you don't either
4. Advancing your career includes developing new skills on your own time
5. Both companies and employees often benefit from changes in employment
6. Voting against the teaching of critical thinking is why many are easily "brainwashed"
7. Layoffs have been a reality for 40 years overall and 22 years at Cisco
8. If any of this is "news" to you you should not be employed anywhere

FTFY.

All of this is probably true. When I first was notified of my LR, I was scrambling to find something internal. Then as each day went by, I became less upset but also realized that I no longer wanted to work for a company that operates like Cisco. But also, I did not harbor any hard feelings.

I’ll give you an analogy. Say your spouse lied to you about finances, infidelity, and their background, would you want to stick around and still be with them or move on because you realize you deserve better? I would choose the latter each and every time. Essentially, I realized that I deserve better and have moved on. Sticking around and bashing Cisco, even if it is warranted, is literally only going to hurt you personally. Just like with every other LR, we are now a distant memory and the company has moved on. You should too.

We all know these to be true, at least unofficially. If you’re so confident about the potential case against Cisco, then I think legal discovery could yield the hard evidence. If you do file suit then please post the docket number. I’d like to follow it.