Thread regarding VMware layoffs

Oldie but goodie

Ex-Broadcommer, ex-CAer giving you a couple of life lessons learned during his/hers tenure:

TL;DR: If WFH is really a deal breaker for you, start making backup and transition plans as you read this (if not sooner).

Lesson zero: DO NOT believe the HR lady at Broadcom. Nobody embraces anything at AVGO, when we're talking remote work!

Lesson 1:
The contentious debate between AVGO and home office boils down to the fact that the current AVGO governance (read: Mr. Tan) really hates variations in policies. To give you an example: COVID. Masks were required in the workplace long after they were repealed from all walks of life, just because there was one remaining AVGO office in one remaining geo where masks were still deemed mandatory by the local gov't. Why? Because the policy had to stay uniform all across the world, no need to go through the extra overhead of splitting and duplicating the processes.

Unrelated (but super related, really): a lot of science/tech VIP employees in the hardware divisions MUST (for real) come to the office, due to the security involved: when one works on the next gen WiFi technology (not yet patented, wink wink), one does NOT do it from home, but from a carefully supervised and controlled lab. One earns a c**p load of cash and RSUs for it, but one shall be in the lab every day (which makes sense, if you think about it).

Now let's put 2 and 2 together: if "those guys" must be in the office every day AND the policies are to be as homogeneous as possible, what does this mean?

Lesson 2:
After CA was acquired by AVGO (more so after COVID started), many higher level engineers with "connections" switched from an "R&D Sw Eng" to a "Customer Solution Engineer" position. Why? If all you do all day long is to talk, coach and train customers which are outside your driving distance anyway, you were allowed to do it from home, in the interest of efficiency and $.
Needless to say "someone" caught on. Just as FY22 began, there was a cull, where most of the people involved were reclassified according to their real responsibilities (and required to submit to in-office work policies once again).

Lesson 3:
No one in the initial acquisition was ever issued a WFH exception (see above for details). Some (very few tbh) of the subsequent hires got it, on the other hand. Yeah, it's based on the skills and the projected gains that new employee will bring. Cold, I know, but life has the exact same temperature. If the new hires were on a critical position, AVGO was willing to budge, just a little (i.e. 2-3 days/week in the office, instead of 5). You will see WFH-cleared individuals in AVGO, if you survive there long enough. No. don't think about bringing them into any discussion.

Lesson 4:
To make it clear: it is not so important YOU are in the office, but your badge MUST be there every day (and your company issued phone, if you get one). If your badge did not make it for a couple of days, your manager will have to mix your absences with other events and present a "synthetic" situation upstairs They will also have to justify why the situation is optimal and why nothing else could have mitigated it.
Take what you will out of this info.

Lesson 5:
There are timid forays into getting more freedom for pure software engineers in the acquired divisions. This might work out, but I would not count on it in the near future.

Conclusion:
Sooner or later (probs sooner), you WILL be asked to come to the office 5 days a week. You MAY be able to wiggle out of it for some time, IF you have the right position and IF you have the proper backing from your management. It will not be full WFH (unless you are an OG and you are really well connected). It will not last forever, because the AVGO cogwheels will catch on to that. Things may get better, but don't expect it before at least FY24.

As long as Mr. Tan is at the helm, this is how AVGO will roll. You will like it when you will get your RSUs (yeah, more $, baby), but you will hate it when you will start your car in the morning. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

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| 2944 views | | 9 replies (last ) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1mLvIJ5B

9 replies (most recent on top)

Go Hock! Scorch the earth and see you in he-l!

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Post ID: @1wna+1mLvIJ5B

The real question is what happens to the people who don’t come in 5 days a week, and their manager won’t make excuses for them?

Do they get fired or layed off? And how long does it take for that happen?

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Post ID: @1lnx+1mLvIJ5B

Unless your kids can bring in multimillion dollar deals or know how to increase operating margins for Hock and the rest of the shareholders, then he could give a sh-t about your kids.

Remember where Hock comes from, kids usually get their first job in a sweat shop when they are 4.

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Post ID: @1pak+1mLvIJ5B

The original post is gospel.

It will be fun to play this cat and mouse game. I’ll be sure to report back on Hock’s vintage playbook.

I wonder how he would take care of his kids needs if he wasn’t so rich to hire people to raise them on his behalf because he was required to go to the office.

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Post ID: @1aav+1mLvIJ5B

I was hired remotely for VMware but I see that there is a small Broadcom office about 1 hour away. Do you think they would offer me a job there and then fire as opposed to lay off if I don't accept? Worried about getting screwed out of severance.

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Post ID: @1ueg+1mLvIJ5B

Keep my freaking job I don’t mind sleeping outside Irvine office 7-days a week

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Post ID: @1gvp+1mLvIJ5B

I assume this doesn't apply if you're a remote worker hundreds of miles from a VMW office? Or would people in that position simply be let go because they can't come to the office...

Also assume this doesn't apply to customer-facing roles in Sales, for example?

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Post ID: @1zxd+1mLvIJ5B

everyone keeps talking about AVGO RSUs. How much is it are we really talking about? Is levels.fyi accurate? thx

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Post ID: @cag+1mLvIJ5B

WFH

There are a considerable number of people in my org that are not based out of California. Is there a 50-mile rule, that if you're farther than that from the local office, you are allowed a WFH exemption?

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Post ID: @uef+1mLvIJ5B

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