Thread regarding FactSet Research Systems Inc. layoffs

After a nearly 20 yr career and 1s and 2s my entire career, I was laid off. I was well known as a top performer across the firm. Folks, its not the company doesn't care. They don't care and honestly never have. Ever since Phil 2.0, the trend has been towards becoming more IBM and quantity over quality. Years and years of bad comp resulted in having to make market adjustments several times in different high cost regions to avoid excess attrition. Millions and millions are being spent on cloud, AI, and security solutions, many of which don't pan out because they weren't properly evaluated and require expensive and demoralizing projects to roll out yet another "solution". In addition, sr leaders in finance stated that several hundred K in savings isn't a big enough number to break out in the P&L to ensure the business line gets credit. In short, FDS makes and has plenty of money is able to afford making multiple back to back poor decisions and absorb the costs.

If you listen to the public earnings calls, they are actively pushing more and more of the business to low cost centers.

Here is a question from Shlomo Rosenbaum: "And then just again, the Centers of Excellence, you've got 68% of head count over there. Is that kind of peaked out over there or is that another lever that can continue to be pushed and where does that max?"

Answer Phil Snow: "The Centers of Excellence, we have great employees there. I think the question is, just can you continue to go up the value chain in terms of what you do in those locations? So we're always evaluating our people and location strategy. And I think we've all learned in the last three years that there are even more options open to us than they might have been in the past. So overall, I'm very optimistic about what we can continue to do to drive efficiency and drive the top line through more product."

Phil, Linda, and Helen are united on the strategic effort to continue to shift more HC to COEs. Phil is not quiet about his love for the COEs. So while the talk is all about layoffs (which cost a lot of money in the short term), employee recognition programs, and snacks, its all a red herring for what is actually coming. Some have chosen to ride it out and essentially quiet quit, others are hoping it will get better. Whatever your position, good luck and thanks for all the fish

@azpe+1rbSPGnY

Because if you've been paying attention since since last summer, she has been consistently on our side.

She wasn’t “to the point”. She was fu--ing condescending as possible. Literally everyone thinks this. Why simp for Linda?

I appreciated Linda’s comments. Straight and to the point. Why sugar coat sh-t?

They started with underperformers and then extended to other teams and functions. Difficult to cut in some offices such as France and Germany. France office is low performing but no one was let go.

More to come in June or July

I’m pretty sure they said on the call “we started with the low performers…” but clearly they didn’t end there.

@2dhd+1rbSPGnY i dont remember the exact phrase and there is no recording but phil did mention people laid off were low or poor performers. If we get the recording ill post the timestamp.

RTO makes absolutely no sense when we work for a company that has exported so many positions overseas. I have to explain to so many people that they have to go into their office so that they can work with COE people on teams.

You want collaboration and culture? Onshore our engineers. Then projects will actually get done onstead of just opening useless tickets and closing them.

Can we have a follow up call to discuss few points? People in general need to get over snacks and RTO. Snacks were not good and just bring your own food. Also you need to be in the office and get used to it. But:

• we are encouraging everyone to come back to the office and they should. However there are exceptions to some of L3 and L4. Can you set an example with others? As far as we know there are no office in Atlanta but senior leader leading a large team WFH.

• can we have ELT and L3s be on the floor and not in the office and conference rooms? Most are in conference room all day in some

Of the offices such as Norwalk, New
York and Boston. Is there a reason Head of sales need an office?

• we avoided sales questions on the company calls. Can we please answer those questions you skipped yesterday?

It would be Nice if we know our budget. We did layoffs, cut back on T&E except sales but they continue to have HH and internal entertainments. It’s not appropriate for the head of consulting in Americas to invite everyone to drink after work In their local office after cutting the consultants and not inviting products and other teams? Why do we have to constantly do HH for sales when other teams don’t? What’s there to really celebrate? In another thread it was mentioned sales had offsite in NC spending a week celebrating in NASCAR hall of Fame. Not appropriate TBH.

@2rdd+1rbSPGnY I highly doubt that’s what was said. The separation agreements have mutual non-disparagement clauses so saying individuals were poor performers when they weren’t is in violation of the agreement and actionable. They know this & there’s no way they would have said this. Maybe there were low performing projects or initiatives that didn’t meet expectations, but I highly doubt they said individuals were poor performers. Do you have proof?

Why is the head of HR always has that nervous laugh when she talks? Hello people... we let you go and let’s laugh “hahaa” really?

Where is the one in Europe/London? He is the one always sad and does not say much. He reminds me of Gareth from British “the office” who always enforced the rules but failed left and right.

Regardless of Linda or Phil, main problem here is top line growth which caused by the CRO. Surprised we didn’t see anyone from sales jumping on that call and giving bunch of fake
Weather forecast. They love spotlights and mic since they always jump on the stage with ELT.

Everyone moved on from sunglasses... shelter in place with this mess from sales leaders.

That meeting was horribly done. The biggest insult was definitely when they stated that the people laid off were low performers. These people have given 20+ years to this company.
Any mention of culture after that is completely invalidated.

That question was addressed, Norwalk is not closing.

I get what the one person is saying here, but she went over it 3 separate times like she was talking to toddlers. She could have said it once, and if that question came up again mention that we already addressed it, next one.

The question is who is making these decisions on the snack budget? I've never been asked or know anyone who has been asked for input on snacks. If it's a painful line item, then cut it. The snacks shouldn't have more dignity than the people who got laid off.

CHRO talking about a policy that came out in 2021, 2 years before she joined. There was never at any point a statement that there would be a mandatory RTO, it was open-ended, flexible, so for her to say "We're asking you to agree to what you said you would do 2 years ago" really was irritating, particularly in response to the childcare question. She must not have kids, or not care because as the poster said, it's very very difficult to make a change like that mid-school year. What difference would it make to FactSet to push back to July 1st, instead of April 8th?

Someone posted Norwalk office closing down on slido, is this true ?

Calling layoff a 'cost reduction exercise' really dehumanize the workforce. Well they can getaway with it because it's the employer's market.
The same day of the layoff happening I, and probably many, got a job referral email for the India offices. That's nice

My favorite part was the first slido question, where Phil openly admitted that the RTO was completely anecdotal and not evidence based. Before quickly getting cut off by the head of HR, for her to drop the usual buzzwords on collaboration and culture etc…

Absolute joke of a company

I thought Linda was the most honest and frank which is exactly how the ELT should be. She's rightfully annoyed at the stupid questions that we get every single quarter that amounts to "nuance of being a public company, with the info being publicly available" that just waste time. Want to know how the ELT is compensated? Literally look it up or find any of the other quarterly meetings where the same thing was asked.

She's also not wrong. You want to keep or up the snacks budget? That's going to cost people jobs. Honestly, she seems to be looking out for people and I appreciate it.

On the other hand we had the morale remarks being completely disregarded, which I think is a fairly big mistake. Reassurance was needed there and there was none.

Invalidating people’s opinions is not helping matters.

The ELT would have nothing without all us little worker bees or ants (go watch A Bug’s Life). The leadership has lost its tact and finesse, back when Dan Viens was here he knew how to talk to the people and even if you didn’t believe what he said, you felt good after hearing him speak. That’s a critical quality of what makes a good leader. Now Phil and his cronies are looking to gaslight and invalidate and it’s not resonating with people. The micro expressions, the scoffing, the rigid body language. You don’t need a degree in psychology to see behind the corporate facade.

Day of protest??? Be happy if you have a job and focus on it instead of suggesting this bs! You all suggesting this nonesense are likely underperformers, go to capiq and be happy there!!

Let's organize a day of protest to express our dissatisfaction and opposition. FactSet is not a good company and the way leadership treat people is nothing compared to its competitors.

Rather than the actual layoff (yes it’s a bad economy now), employees are venting here, inclusive of low morale, because of the unempathetic communication. The removal of slido, privatisation of first announcement in Dec, avoiding key questions, the visibly frustrated look of the ELT in every recording and the scripted speeches.

The whole process make us look like we’re a burden to the ELT :,)

Why is this on a public forum?
Is Linda wrong ? we are a public company and yes we’re not star bucks.
If you’re so unhappy that you’re posting here please leave.