Is this round only affecting FTE or as I have seen in the past is there some bleed over into contractor territory? Been around for a minute, survived a bunch of these, but got whacked by one, too...
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Reds are also being cut but isn't part of the restructuring. I think IT is aiming for 50-50 red-blue and cutting reds is one way of achieving that.
Layoff announcements from the ELT will always be around Blues. Cutting Reds would sound like "cutting OPEX" or "cutting costs." In the end, as a contractor, you're the same thing as a laptop.
Regarding reds, purely anecdotal from witnessing many rounds of this, but sometimes during layoffs groups will take the opportunity to get rid of low-performing red badge employees in the chaos - especially if they're attached to an individual or program that got whacked as part of the layoff. Other times, leaders, in an effort to reduce costs around them, get rid of reds as layoffs start looming (and they're always looming). It's not always a bad thing when they take the opportunity to get rid of some contractor dead wood. Usually though, the culling of the red badges in an effort to reduce OPEX is done in the lead-up to the layoff. Cisco has a cycle of putting everyone into panic mode in the quarter leading up to the inevitable layoff announcement, and during that time everyone slashes everything - software licenses, travel, red badges. Stuff you need to do the work.
However, since reds are OPEX, getting rid of them doesn't make the same splash with Wall St. that riffing a FTE does. And, in the end, Cisco still needs people to do the work, especially if that program or group didn't get completely dissolved. So sometimes, the only ones left standing are the contract employees.
Red Badge cuts don't factor in the announced LR numbers, only Bed Badge aka FTE. Red Badge cuts are strictly for cost cutting and many Red Badge employees have been cut over the last several months. Most notably by our new CX leader.
Red badge cut is a show off or just on paper
They are onboarded back in few weeks. See in supply chain and Commerce, they are tagged in some or other PO/SOWs by vendors and hanging around. Evident that red badges are rottening with no work since years in these groups no matter what layoff or what % reduction. After all it is laundering