Thread regarding Intel Corp. layoffs

We did this IMPACT experiment with Focal in HR, back in 2011-2013 I think. When HR proposed expanding to the rest of the company, BK utterly refused so we quit doing it as well. It was nominally positioned as being more about career development rather than performance, but at the end of the day it didn't make much difference since FLM were still confronted with the bell curve and the assumption that someone on their team had to be the bad performer. As long as Focal assumes a neat bell curve on performance, and limits the number of Es and Os and stock shares, FLMs will still be steered into layoffs whenever the company wants them.

Annual FOCALs already consume a massive amount of time and energy. I can only imagine what monthly will result in (other than falling further behind the competition and more [political intrigue and gamesmanship).

It's clear that Brian from the Fab has no clue how to lead people (other than holding the threat of layoffs over everyone's heads).

Loving the improvements to the employee harassment program. But I think more can be done. 12x focals a year would go a long way to my ultimate goal: i want to spend 100% of my time explaining why nothing is getting done. This is the BKM for bring CEO..

Yep, I have witnessed so many fraudulent peer reviews at Intel. Basically, you write your own glowing review, send it to your Intel buddy, then he copies/paste what you wrote into an email to your manager.

Job cuts at Intel will sadly continue to be a way of life at Intel. Given that, Intel needs to relearn how differentiate it's truly solid contributors from it's BSers. I observed many solid players get ISPed out the door while watching unethical incompetents promoted to grade levels that could never be justified. There needs to be checks and balances to prevent this from happening. Do this by requiring feedback on employees from 3 sources -- the employee, their boss, and the boss' peers, and encouraging stakeholders that aren't selected by the above to provide unsolicited feedback. Input cherry picking and old-boy(girl)-network collusion must be rooted out as vigorously as possible.

The year started, still no information on the new focal process. Will things at Intel change for good? Bring on the quarterly reviews, I just see more employee engagement if it does happen.

This is what Intel is good at, lots and lots of planning, They have been working on the new focal process for more than 2 years and It seems this year won't be any different.

The year started, still no information on the new focal process. Will things at Intel change for good? Bring on the quarterly reviews, I just see more employee engagement if it does happen.

This is what Intel is good at, lots and lots of planning, They have been working on the new focal process for more than 2 years and It seems this year won't be any different.

OP here, jk guys. We're going back to R&R.

OP here. I made up this post and see how many people I fooled and how much time I wasted of yours.

@1gwr

You're goddamn right!

Fcuk those slackers

OP here... talked to my friend a little more, and had a few more interesting tidbits.

1) The 3x3 focal brag sheet (e.g. 3 accomplishments, 3 strengths, and 3 development areas) was gone. In its place were different descriptions that you had fill in. Teamwork and Collaboration were the only things they could remember off-hand, but i'll get more details on the rest later. Essentially though, you could weave in your normal 3x3 info into these new areas.

2) The EDA where your write-up gets archived is no more. This was the biggest surprise. I don't know how HR will deal with issues if there is no more documentation. Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

3) So with all that said, the friend said that they weren't sure if this was a pilot to test out the new system with tweaks to happen in July when it gets officially rolled-out, or what. Their 2nd or 3rd level manager introduced the new system to them.

So i guess take this all with a grain of salt, as nothing surprises me anymore about Intel. Every time when you think the dust has settled, the earth shakes again. What baffles me is that another friend in TMG sent me some minutes from an Open Forum that they had in the ATTD area where the speaker went on record (he even sent me the minutes of the meeting) where he said that the stock grants were going away. So i'm not sure if thats a TMG thing, or if Intel is still trying out new focal methods and trying to settle on something helps them find the under-performer quicker.

One thing i am certain of though... its very clear, from all the actions that have been taken so far, that BK believes that this company is full of slackers.

I'm kind of excited. I can think of dozens of ways to exploit a system like this.

We will do pass/fail review every week until the 12k+ cuts - minus backfill are met.

BK and Murthy

I'm looking forward to this free for all. Let the battle commence.

@sbw - Changing the review system is doing nothing to fix the execution problems. It will actually hurt execution - above and beyond the lying and deception that BK has already committed. If the goddamn bar is going to be raised, it needs to be raised on the management. The review system is scorekeeping, it's not scoring.

@lwd - let me guess - at Apple, do the engineers make decisions and act upon them? Without having to pass through one or more approval forums where the decision has to be justified to one or more ignoramuses? Does Apple push decision making down to the lowest possible level? Do the managers have the back of their engineers? When setting up a new organization, is most of the discussion on how to get the work done and how to satisfy the customers, or is it on how the many review forums will be structured?

@pyl - the sad truth is that employee performance doesn't follow a Gaussian distribution [why should it?]. Recent research concludes that a Pareto distribution is a better fit. A pareto distribution really changes how a fair and appropriate review system would be run.

@lwd: you are also correct but because of the way it was done, Intel just shed more muscle than fat. And now they're binging on the cheap sugary carbs which will just make Intel gain all that weight right back without the muscle to support it. You know how successful yo-yo dieting is, right?

Oh the hilarity. I was also let in that this is the type of system they are going too.....think about that a second......How f---ing many more managers are they going to hire to execute 4x the number of focal sessions.....this is just another indication of hard Intel is circling the drain.

LOL folks aren't even aware of how much fat there is at Intel. You could cut half the workers and see zero change. Intel is one of the slowest most inefficient organizations in the industry.

Have a look at what Apple's SEG (silicon engineering group) can accomplish. Look at their headcount and schedules. It blows Intel away.

-pyl has it exactly right -- prior to accepting the VSP last week, I was the one doing all the massive tactical work so the pinch hitters could focus on strategic matters but now they will be laden down with doing it all; maybe they can keep up that pace while still get their rave reviews, or trust the rcg, h1b visa, and any other newbies to the work after they get over the learming curve, low morale, and re-inventing of the wheel. I really do wish Intel well even after all this...

@fyo - I don't doubt this info at all. Have already heard similar even from few mgrs who have spilled the beans. Hunger games are coming!

Backstabbers inside Intel just increased by 4X.

"Bring artificial intelligence for doing project management. This will be far more efficient and than doing manual management and performance tracking."

Or just throw darts at a dartboard...

Want to see employees politic and stab each other in the backs and see your best employees leave or get pushed out? Keep up with this approach to rating.

Bring artificial intelligence for doing project management. This will be far more efficient and than doing manual management and performance tracking.

@pyl - well stated - couldn't have said it better.

The approach described by the OP will result in at least 4X time wasted by employees on writing up BS, 4X the game-playing, 4X the politics, 4X the amount of meaningless (but concrete!) MBOs...and 1/4 of the actual work getting done.

Those who are best...or best positioned...to play the game will excel. And the rest will live in constant fear and reorganization.

When the reality show "Survivor" wants to ratchet up the action, they increase the frequency of tribal councils. This is no different.

Folks, a company can't run on high performers alone, they can form 10, 20, maybe 30% of the workforce, depending on the criteria, but at some point you'll need more people, even if they're average. There's too much work not getting done, and you can't push your aces to do it all, or they'll quit out of boredom, overuse, or simply no room to progress.

Sure, we don't need real slackers with negative impact, but if you constantly trim the edges of the Gaussian curve, you'll start running out of the "mostly useful" soon, and then it all starts crumbling down..

Reduce the number of managers by 70-80% and you will get good execution again.

AMD is irrelevant. Wake up.

@trw - are you a bitter amd employee trolling this site with your vitriol?

The jokesters on this site are hilarious!

Murthy wants us at 80k. Nice and lean like him

golden handcuffs baby!

There are so many jobs out there. Do you enjoy suffering?

I'm sure this will enable many people in HR to get their exceeds (or whatever it is now), no matter how much the idea sucks. Kind of like the IT person who reboots you during a presentation or a long compile. He installed a critical patch and worked around uncooperative users by forcing the reboot without an option to delay. Exceeds to him.

@kje welcome to every other company in the world that has to compete without a monopoly.

dude.. tone it done brutha - we're all trying to do the best we can in a toxic, fear-induced environment, where "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" rules the day. If the CEO of this company thinks that he can motivate the rank-and-file using this technique, then so be it. we're all trying to make the best of the new normal at intel where you constantly have to look over your shoulder to see how far reaching the grim reaper's scythe is swinging. Even the best among us has to admit taking a few ganders back.

@xse - When (not if) it's your turn, I hope there will be people around to show you compassion. There will be plenty of people who will be douche bags towards you, just like you have been towards others.

LOL at the replies here.

Sales are down, schedules are missed, products have failed - and all you can do is whine whine whine about management trying to fix the execution problems!

People discussing how to game the system instead of fixing the execution issues.

No wonder Intel is such a sh!tshow.

This used to be a center of excellence. Now the slackers and moochers have taken over.

Bring on the ISPs for low performance!

How about raising the goddamn bar!

How many suckasses can you get on one website?

A: As many as work at this f---nut company.

Soooooo glad I don't have to deal with you fn jerkoffs anymore. Now you have to suck harder and f your coworkers quarterly. If it was jail all of you would have the same first name, BITCH.