Last Month Had Most Job Cuts Of Any February Since 2009
In February, Cisco blamed a decrease in corporate tech spending for the cutting of about 4,250 jobs (5% of its workforce).
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/03/06/february-most-job-cuts-since-2009-cisco-expedia-rivian-layoffsrivianrivian/?sh=4ceb605ce876
We are running a marathon, we don’t need the referees to pull us up every 200 meters for an all-hands, project milestone review or mandatory training.
How will removal of director layers create growth when we will then still have the same technical folks?
Because having too much management is like pumping flour into your veins. They compete for your achievements to claim them for themselves. They try to enlist you on their brain-dead projects. They try to build you into their empire. They want to show the VPs they are “managing” your issues and that you cannot possibly function without their guidance. They create “change” and “churn” when what is needed is execution.
We are running a marathon, we don’t need the referees to pull us up every 200 meters for an all-hands, project milestone review or mandatory training.
Cisco needs to do a complete top to bottom skill assessment and reduce redundant management layers.
If management knew what management incompetence was they would have taken care of this in the past 23 years of layoffs.
...the actual work is being done by technical folks.
The actual creation of so many bugs that most of the development budget goes to failing to fix those bugs while creating new bugs is why Cisco needs to "reduce" the "technical folks" as well.
Taken one step further, most of your technical and managerial "talent" is so lacking in experience in your customer's businesses that you can't develop the complimentary technologies they'd pay for to solve some of their ongoing business problems. Technology is meaningless if it doesn't improve things.
Here is another exploding issue- the collapse of the commercial real estate market in the large cities. This will lead to even less IT purchasing. Corona shutdowns and money printing.
Makes no sense to have layers upon layers of management with directors reporting to directors, when the actual work is being done by technical folks. Cisco can be in growth mode with layers removed [..]
How will removal of director layers create growth when we will then still have the same technical folks?
Cisco needs to do a complete top to bottom skill assessment and reduce redundant management layers. Makes no sense to have layers upon layers of management with directors reporting to directors, when the actual work is being done by technical folks. Cisco can be in growth mode with layers removed like it was 20 years ago.
In 2001 Cisco shed 13,000 of 48,000 employees and contractors which was 27%. Cisco has been laying off in both small and big batches, sometimes as often as quarterly, for almost 23 years. Saying there will be more is like saying the ocean will continue to be wet.
Few of you seem to know/remember when part of this was done using Jack Welch's "vitality curve" (aka "rank and yank".) Annually GE fired the bottom 10% while Cisco fired the bottom 5%. As we've seen many times with Cisco they hire at a rate to make up the loss and more fairly quickly. On top of that hiring Cisco will add what, another 7,000 employees with Splunk?
The infinitely more important issue is how much of Cisco's staff needs to change to both fix the vast majority of the technical debt once and for all, then acquire the business, engineering and management skills to do development in whole new areas. While I don't have a specific number I'm positive 5%/year won't get you there.