Layoffs aren't the real fix

Organizationally, nothing has really changed inside of Oracle. Some people have been let go. Some have been shuffled. Some groups (e.g. Oracle Digital or India) are growing. But it is, largely, the same organization that it has been for quite some time -- a pre-Cloud, on-premise focused organization.

The biggest change within Oracle recently was to create a technical role that is tasked with learning all of Oracle's core offerings and with "leading" the effort to create larger, Cloud-based solutions. While that is a good step, there hasn't been a larger organizational shift to enable this role with any real influence/power or to incentivize groups to work together. At an even more fundamental level, this role is constrained by not having easy access to the tools necessary to learn/do the job and, even if that wasn't an issue, the majority of Oracle's Cloud solutions are lagging behind the competition. It is probably the most difficult role in Oracle today -- trying to herd disparate sales teams towards a bigger vision, trying to figure out what products are even close to being viable and influencing customers to take a risk on Oracle instead of using the competition. And doing all of that while seeing peers lose their jobs, having benefits taken away and having total compensation shrink.

Conway's law indicates that organizations which design systems are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations. Oracle's organization is a reflection of the old, centralized, vertical scaling, on-premises products that have, largely, come into the organization through acquisition over the years. Add in how compensation/incentives drive behavior and it is no wonder that Oracle is struggling. The compensation (and the internal culture) continues to incentivize each person to look out for themselves, compete against other internal teams and to do whatever it takes to get the customer to spend some money. It doesn't matter whether the end solution will solve the customer's issues or if a bigger win for Oracle could have been reached with some internal collaboration. All the customer ends up hearing is "Hi! I'm your single point of contact for Oracle!" (a lie) from the...

Cloud Platform sales rep
Telesales Cloud sales rep
Telesales On-premise sales rep
Security sales rep
Analytics sales rep
Integration sales rep
Hardware sales rep
ERP sales rep
HCM sales rep

etc.

At this point, future layoffs are a given because Oracle's margins are being squeezed and leadership seems solely focused on cost cutting as the only answer. However, even if Oracle shifts its workforce to all college graduates and/or teams in India to lower the overall cost structure, that only buys time as the fundamental organizational issues remain. Oracle is still thinking and acting like the siloed product company it has been for decades.

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"even I can see they know what they're doing in terms of what a company is about"

Yeah. They are SO brilliant and it is so evident.

Like how MH introduced the updated ethics manual recently? You know -- the guy who was fired by HP for misuse of funds and trying to force a subordinate into having s-x with him. And who went on CNBC this spring, lied by saying there wouldn't be any layoffs and has been phasing the layoffs in order to avoid filing WARN notices or being written up in the press?

Or how LE shut down Sun's early lead into Cloud computing after the acquisition? And then called Cloud a fad? But now claims that he, brilliantly, invented SaaS 9 years ago.

"Returning shareholder value" is not some noble or brilliant pursuit on their part. With LE's stake in Oracle and executive's pay heavily weighted with stock options, it is simply self-interest.

Where you are right is that they can run the company however they want. It is just increasingly apparent that will use age and race discrimination to cut costs, prop up profits and line their pockets. For those of us who aren't recent college graduates or who don't live in India, it means that layoffs will likely impact us sooner or later.

It isn't "complaining" to sift through all of this here. While it may be "just business" for those at the top of the organization, it messes with people's lives and appears to be ready to impact more in the months to come. Isn't that the point of this site? To try to discern what is happening and how it may/may not impact each of us? Taking account of all of this isn't idiotic. It is evaluating the circumstances, applying it to one's own personal situation and then making proactive and wise decisions.

The point of this particular thread is that until Oracle does more than make surface-level changes, things won't get significantly better. Oracle is looking more and more like IBM -- it has turned into a legacy company, still has a bloated organization and is grasping for ways to avoid flat or negative growth. If you believe you can survive or even thrive in that environment, more power to you. If you are in OD, one of the new hubs, in India, bare metal Cloud or senior management, you might be right. Otherwise, it is time to take inventory of one's career and skills and to be very thoughtful and proactive about what the best path is for one's own future.

You guys are idiotic. This company's more or less at an all time stock high and y'all are complaining they're jacking up.

My division is about to get whacked and even I can see they know what they're doing in terms of what a company is about; returning shareholder value.

Grow a pair. Stop complaining you're not making money because you're bottom 70% or we're laid off or PIPes.

LE, MH, SC reinforce each other's worst qualities and ideas. With these three in charge its game over for oracle, spiraling down the abyss.

Although the KAD role is also a step in the right direction, it is, largely, another powerless position. Some teams do better than others, but trying to get a coordinated effort for a larger overall solution is extremely difficult. Even if a big deal is landed, some reps walk away disappointed because of the games that are played in terms of how credit (and, therefore, commission) ends up getting paid out. Oracle, at its core, is very much a dog-eat-dog world and, as a result, lots of energy is wasted on trying to survive instead of being devoted to growing Oracle deals and meeting the customer's needs.

The KAD role is what you describe. These guys (and a gal or two, maybe) have to try to corral the gaggle of sales reps across the pillars. They don't know the data cloud or other CX products and they don't care either...it's just a survival game.

What you wrote in your post is 100% accurate in my observation as a rep.

Thread regarding Oracle Corp. layoffs

Layoffs aren't the real fix

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