Thread regarding SAS Institute layoffs

I don’t think they are completely shutting down but there’s been a good deal of attrition. Lots of redundant positions.

Wow, Lane Cove is closing down?!
I'm ex-SAS Australia, so that's big news for me.
Is it because they are shedding staff so rapidly, or because everyone is working from home these days?
Fond memories of boozy parties up on the terrace at Lane Cove...back when DB was in charge.

Also Lane Cove office in Australia is going to be closed soon, not sure whether SAS is winding up the ops in down under.

"Don’t see how they could lease out E, separating E from H utilities would be a nightmare."

Actually, not even close to a nightmare.

However, it is not necessary to separate the utilities. Just include the utilities in the lease agreement.

Or both buildings could be demolished. JG has done that before. Neither are highly desirable and commercial real estate has been in a slump. Swanky townhomes($500k+) would sell. Location location location!

If the elusive IPO ever happens, townhomes could be a value add to the rest of the property. Big offices buildings are a thing of the past - mostly due to Covid lockdowns. NYC has already come to that conclusion. The property is worth way more if reimagined properly.

Comparatively, speaking, uninhabited(versus inhabited) buildings are a blight. Moldy too.

In so many ways, time has marched on and left SAS permanently behind. Both buildings E and H are symbols of that. Great went to merely good at a fast pace...sad.

Don’t see how they could lease out E, separating E from H utilities would be a nightmare.

Reedy Creek Investments LLC is a private investment vehicle for Dr. James H. Goodnight….According to published reports, Reedy Creek has primarily been known for its real estate investments. Source: Google search.

@5afc+1o3lK6OH Are you sure the buildings are leased from Reedy Creek? Wake County property records show the property is owned by SAS Institute not Reedy Creek (which does own some of the empty fields/forests on the outskirts of campus).

I started my software career in Building J. I remember how proud I was of working for the company back then. The Boss did a good job of making you feel like you were valuable then but of course he dropped that pretense when it became time to reduce headcount and the older people suddenly were screwups. I ran afoul of a young little diva manager and HR took his word that I was incompetent even though I just had been given a raise and a bonus. SAS is now just a sad memory for me.

SAS leases the buildings, etc. from Reedy Creek Investments, LLC. Seems like if they lease out the buildings then not only does SAS not pay rent (which they not be now anyhow) and Reedy Creek gets the income. The same guy owning both not withstanding.

Building E is in fact empty. And what’s curious about E was the entire building was renovated/updated right before the pandemic sent us all home. Of the 3 on that side of the campus, it’d be the most up to date feeling building. I saw contractors power washing the exterior last month. Somewhat surprised it isn’t being offered here, but probably has to do with the Umstead.

I recall getting my office in Q when it first opened and how great it felt to work in such a nice space. The Cary campus no longer feels like such a great perk and more like a monument to a once great company.

I wonder if folks outside of SAS would agree with your read?

The one thing that is constant with SAS is the need to deny "bad things", and then gaslight people with "you aren't perceiving what you're perceiving".

@4qvn+1o3lK6OH

once the darling of IT in RTP, who touted decades of "revenue growth", they now have office space available?

Yes. By offering a choice of in-office, hybrid, or remote work options, there are now un-needed spaces.

...leasing on-campus real estate while other companies are ordering employees back into the office simply indicates that SAS is dying, or is at the whim of their employees. Both read as indicators of failed management.

Both read that SAS execs are listening to employees, and making adjustments that are appropriate to make good use of company resources.

This really has to be embarrassing for SAS. Once the darling of IT in RTP, who touted decades of "revenue growth", they now have office space available?

On the one hand, it's a sensible resource utilization strategy, since those buildings are running utilities and otherwise depreciating.

That being said, however, SAS is all about image - In my opinion, leasing on-campus real estate while other companies are ordering employees back into the office simply indicates that SAS is dying, or is at the whim of their employees. Both read as indicators of failed management. And they want people to invest in an IPO?

Apartments (retirement community? 😉) sound really cool but it would probably be cheaper to tear down the buildings and rebuild than to renovate and add bathrooms and plumbing etc. Moving walls and electric probably not that big of a deal but adding plumbing between floors?? Ooof

Time to build more new buildings! /s

I remember the opening party for Building J. Except for outside guests, everybody knew everybody. We were all proud we worked at a company that could afford to build such a fine new building.

SAS offered unusually nice benefits, and was growing steadily. So one of the best benefits was that if you did not like your job, it was easy to move within the company.

I wish the kids working now could have had that experience. But good times, like bad times, don't last forever.

"
Repurpose those buildings into apartments.
"
Likely too close to The Umstead for that. Too much opportunity for drunk, unruly zoomers to get into loud mischief.

Repurpose those buildings into apartments. Way more demand for that. Versus trying to rent a 50 year old musty building in a commercial real estate market where the renter presently has the upper hand(and is going to choose a more modern building to rent).

@ciw+1o3lK6OH

Those folks could then be employed somewhere at SAS, maybe as 'walk on' employees somewhere in R&D. That would improve the DEI metric.

I’m curious about Bldg E, then, which is even more isolated from the currently occupied-by-SAS-employees buildings than are H and J. But given that (actually earlier this week, not last week as I said earlier) I saw an empty Bldg H lot, Bldg E (which shares the H lot) must be empty also.

Renting out the un-needed buildings is good business. There is no reason to leave them sit empty and not generate revenue. Alternatively, maybe a government contract can be created to use them to house some of Biden's illegal aliens.

Okay, you have to hand it to SAS for this - They did not force people back into open office hellscapes. That in and of itself is worth something.

I’m not surprised; I was on campus just last week and noticed that both the H and J parking lots were empty. I wondered if the buildings had been emptied.

It’s about time. They’ve had way too much real estate for too long. Better to offer the space to startups in exchange for a stake in the company since commercial real estate is in the toilet. But it’s something.