I was laid-off in February after a 2 week notice.
60 days of in lieu pay
60 days severance pay
PTO converted into cash
4 months payment for COBRA coverage
Received mid-year bonus b/c I was still an employee when Q2 closed
And I'm still looking for a job.
This is outdated now
Only 1 week for each year? Holy C-ap! I am still employed, but worried about the next LR. I thought I would get a month for each year. I've been here 20 years! I don't think I could find a job in 5 months. I've already been looking for a few months and I've only gotten a phone interview! C-ap!
In the experience/relieving letter, will there be any mention of the limited restructure?
Cisco + Summer = layoffs its been going on for 7 + years. The leadership team was 80% excellent and now only 20% . My VP was worthless and is still there with no direct reports. But she laid off good people. The channel leadership is at a all time low. With ego maniac Hill running around acting like king Joffrey. Glad I dont have to deal with people like that. Cisco was great because of the people but the people in charge now only care about themselves.
Regarding the cobra payment question: they pay you in cash and you can use it for another plan. That's what I did.
They know that in the toxic environment they have created, great, ethical older workers will take the ER in a heartbeat.
Cisco is replacing their senior workers with foreign contractors (why is Cisco spending 3 billion educating 24,000 Indians? You're right! To give them your job at a fraction of what you earn)
The one thing Cisco had going for it was an army of fiercely loyal employees. The annual layoffs and lack of Early Retirement effectively kill that loyalty. Many of us work at Cisco not for the money or the technology (primarily) but for the thought that we work for a corporation that has a soul. That soul is becoming lip-service and the actions of "leadership" (god I hate people who call themselves "leadership") is increasingly self-serving and unethical
Cisco's brand was:
Exceptional technical/engineering talent. A hard but rewarding work environment
A large amount of employee autonomy.
A great place to work. Above average pay, relatively good job security. Excellent benefits and perks
Now
That company that lays off a sh--load every summer.
What do they sell? Sour cream? Routers? Software licenses? Big Data? VoIP? Firewalls? Video screens? Meraki? Wireless?
Having a Cisco Certification and $3.00 will buy you a cup of coffee.
I disagree -- there are plenty of reasons to offer ER, but the main/obvious reason is to combat the bleak outlook that getting LR'd is inevitable.
The prospect of an ER option gives people something to shoot for.
Every time they dump long-time, formerly valued employees in an LR, they put another nail in their own casket.
COBRA payment was direct to ex-employee.
@IDnyCLb. Thanks for the info. Question on the COBRA payment - was it paid in cash to cover 4 months of insurance or were you require to enroll in COBRA and Cisco paid the first 4 months? Could one use it to pay other health insurance instead if you have other options?
There will be no ER, it's as simple as that, and everyone who hopes for it, just gives themself a false hope.
There is simply not a one reason for Cisco to do it, and there are many reasons not to do it:
LR is much cheaper then ER
with LR, they are in full control of who's leaving with ER - they're not
it will not boost morale in any significant way either - new employees, know they won't be able to work there till retirement, so they don't care if the company offer the possibility of ER in the future for them. They just see that once they reach grade 10 or higher, they will be LR-ed within two years, unless they start s---ing.
they don't have to - no one important to them, expects them to do so. Cisco has developed a brand of company doing regular layoffs, not ERs.
so give up a hope for any ER.
If you feel you may be hit during LR, try to quickly move to different team/project (don't know though if that's possible now, or are all the reqs put on hold now). You're much less likely to be layed off immediately after joining a new team.
I'm still at Cisco but probably just barely. For those who just got the package, did it reflect years of service in the calculation? Or was it the same no matter how long you worked there?
For RSU's that vest September 11, I'd guess I'd lose out if I'm cut in August? Or would the "60 days in lieu of pay" keep me vested until September 11?
There were a TON of rumors about another ER offering about a month ago, but that has totally gone quiet in the past week or two. Does anybody know anything real about that beyond the rumors?
Thanks and good luck to all!
I was also laid off in Feb and am still looking. Non manager and not technical. There's a great deal of competition for non-technical roles with many companies having done layoffs within the last year (Intel, Intuit, Symantec, Vmware, Broadcom, etc -- just check WARN). Companies are taking their time to hire and marketing organizations are running lean. Contract rates have taken a hit as well.
@czr- just stating the facts in silicon valley. It is a very small society, and everyone knows if a manager screwed his employees and was a jerk or not. Reference is ALWAYS taken. karma comes back to bite, these guys. If we cant learn to be fair and ethical to all, then we will face the same scenario.
why feel bad, to hear the fact, when they dont hesitate to execute those attrocities.
@rtc - that was LOW bro, very LOW
@bor.. non technical is the main problem, not the "age". if you were a manager and did "politics" in cisco , then everyone knows about you, and will avoid you like a plague.. you have option to change yourself and do some good to society.
I got laid off in 2015 and I'm still looking. I was not in a technical role. And I'm interviewing like crazy. Must be something wrong with me. Oh yeah. My age.
I was hit in February, too. Got the same package. Still looking. Looking for a job is a F/T job.
whats your area of work?
I believe the only other add-on is you got 1 week's severance for every year after 10 years of service.