Blackstone signs contract to buy F&R, staff in F&R are no doubt sitting ducks.
Expect 25-40% job cuts especially in all high cost centres. Employees (black)"stoned" to the exit door. Rumour is that severance package, service continuity benefits may be dishonored going by the weasel words of the reigning CEO.
This day 30th Jan will forever be remembered as the Black day in the history of Reuters.
Hi Joe,
liked your post, however we can still do things and make sure all the input goes direct to blackstone.
i advise to send all those comments directly to backstone's via twitter and they have no option but read them....I'm in and I will start first jst watch this space:-)
https://twitter.com/blackstone?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackstone.com%2F
Blackstone aren't Saints, just wait till they start their firings in a few months time. As for TR, they sank (and sold) the ship, so they aren't our Savior either. You are on your own.
All Blackstone needs to do now is fire MDs, run an IQ test on LT team members (bec. I have seen some whose very sanity I doubt) and fire the incompetent ones, fire 50% HR & operations from every region.
Will they do it? Nopes. Very unlikely. They'll fire 50% of productive workers at the bottom earning peanuts, and retain all the toxic management at the top. Jeez, what a mess!
To all you commenting- i agree on all counts. But i dont think you should have any confidence in blackstone. They were dumb enough to buy F&R- do you really think they are going to do homework now??? They paid waaay too much.
So who are they going to listen to? The same stuffed shirt eurocrats that have already been sinking the ship for years probably
There's a glimmer of hope they gonna start with those fat salaried ones , if cuts are inevitable, which is going to be the case. If the BU was doing well then why sell it initially, answer: we were not doing well and could not even go beyond 1% profit. Bloomberg with half work force are generating 9 $billions ( 6 $billions for TR) that's what David Craig meant by leaner in his latest webcast....My bet is that they have to sack those responsible , those who could not even come up with a descent strategy to improve profit. We went all sales , GTM and these very same people were pumping the figures whereas the people in the background responsible for the product enhancement and operations work their a**** off , we need to turn the table and invest in R&D that's what a descent company should do not throw the $$$ on rediculous SKOs and CEO circle f---!,,,
ian is right!!! folks, do not take it lying down if you're given a bad deal and cheated by TR in connivance with Blackstone. Firings are inevitable for Blackstone to keep this leaking thomson reuters financial unit afloat -- but give us what we are due and do not try to cheat us.
And more importantly, as people below say - for GOODNESS SAKE do not get your firing list from the incompetent TR management. Do your research before you fire BLACKSTONE!
they did not let anything filter, thought all this stew started three to 4 months back. They know what they are doing but D.C was saying they we want to be leaner= more cuts, more cuts...not sure what benefit we gonna get but we have to make sure that if we have to go we should not spare a fight!!!!
Does anyone know what's the deal on the severance packages? assuming you'd be laid off in few months time? There's still no clarity on that, someone said there's an article out in the Hub somewhere that the benefits would be paid out if the firing was within 6-9 months of formal deal-closing date - true?
WHY THE HELL can't these Thomson Reuters people clarify that - they seem to hold Townhalls lasting for an hour or more, fill it with loose talk and corporate gibberish, and not answer this most basic question of all.
When CEO gives a townhall, it starts a tsunami of townhalls - upto 4 levels down want to hold their own little townhalls - F&R/GGO, then local office... every townhall is loaded with corporate bull and baloney -- none of them give any clear answers. They appear to blur and confuse on purpose to evade giving any meaningful or clear answers. Seriously, such incompetence (on purpose) is unbearable and is the height of corporate bulls***.
Though i could soon become a victim of layoff, i'm almost glad I've been sold off to Blackstone.
Indeed! HRs must be the first to go. Why do you need so many HRs, when all they seem to be doing is to facilitate the top management to act as their please, yet "appear" to comply with company policy? They act more or less like a Legal firm representing a shady mafia gang (i.e. management).
And why do HR need so many contractors and interns to do small admin tasks? HRs must be cut down by 50% at least, fire all HR contractors, and DON'T even get me started on the managers this morning, i've got work to do x-(
Why on earth should the local Management spend 2 weeks' time preparing dozens of PPTs every time a small delegation of 2-3 people higher up the chain fly down from another country to spend 2 days here? If you go about doing your work as you should, there should be no reason to spend 2 weeks holding dozen internal "Leadership Team" meetings every day, gathering info from all small teams, preparing PPTs, preparing briefing notes and what not. Corporate Communications, Strategy teams spin these PPTs in connivance with the Leadership Team - and they are paid, seasoned liars - what a royal waste of time and shareholders money!
Every time a small delegation with the Head of "GGO" or some "CXO-level" flies down, the entire local management freezes over for 2 weeks - and appear to be doing NOTHING BUT holding tonnes of emergency meetings, spinning PPTs after PPTs, refining it etc to pull the wool over the CXO eyes.
What a tragic state the company is in - and, Blackstone how on earth are you going to tackle this mess??!! A good place to start is by firing the top level management in local offices who have turned it into a free-for-all, as well as putting in place simple and clear reporting processes, and a flat structure, not a steep hierarchical chain.
Don't rely on local management PPTs churned out by qualified corporate-communication liars. Good luck with your investment, Amen!
entirely agree with you dude, HR oh my! one paper to process takes ages and they say we are busy, they keep doing calls and meetings for nuthing , HR are useless!!!!!!
I also agree. Hey blackstone- here is your new all inclusive org structure:
30 ppl for eikon dev
30 ppl for elektron dev
10 ppl for networking
10 ppl for running datacenters
50 ppl in ops for all above
Everyone does there own pm work, etc
Fire all exec managers and 99% all other managers
Fire all hr
Fire all contractors
Fire all purchasing
There you just saved how many millions? Its going to happen one way or another.
I agree with the below posts... Layoffs are coming like a thunderbolt and there's no question about that. But It would be a disaster if Blackstone purely relies on feedback from the existing incompetent TR management to base their firing decisions. It would be a disaster for Employees AND Blackstone!
Hope they are sensible enough to send in their own management to do a study and not be swayed by the existing management's tricks that sank the company in the first place. Take your CV out folks, dust it up, start posting meanwhile. good luck
Recently they cut our pantry budget down to ZERO literally. Even before that all we had in the pantry a couple of bread & biscuits packets, and a couple of dozen bananas/fruits - for over 200 employees in this (high cost centre) office. A few months ago, they removed even that (and I hear this is "global policy" now). Billion dollar company with no "biscuit budget" hmmm... you know why? Because Millions of Dollars are WASTED every year on useless SKO meetings where they fly in people from other countries, put them up in expensive hotels for a week, rent out expensive hotel venues - all in the name of "Sales Kick off". An average employee wouldn't retain even 1% of the corporate nonsense that's churned out of these meetings a week after. And then they scratch their heads and wonder why they cannot afford a BISCUIT packet or two a day.... SHAME ON YOU THOMSON REUTERS. Blackstone, please fix this if you care about your employees any better!!!!!!!!!!!
A fantastic place for Blackstones to start would be to clamp down on the 1000s of USELESS meetings conducted by the management. For e.g. in some regions, the same group of 20 odd people of the local top management could hold anything between 5-10 meetings EVERY DAY amongst themselves on different topics in different rooms.
The mgmt hardly ever reads emails in full, and 3 lines appears to be their absolute maximum patience (or mental) limit. Another challenge is to get them RESPOND to an email even if they've read it!!!!!!!!!! The culture has gotten so bad that for even the SIMPLEST of matters, the management people expect to set up a meeting or walk over to their desks begging to get their attention (talk about self-inflated egos).
No wonder we've landed in this mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blackstone have NO IDEA they've ended up with a hot potato on their hands. This would be an acid test for their mettle - to separate the wheat (the productive workers at the bottom) from the chaff (you know the 25 levels of ego-bloated management) and to fire the chaff.
It is going to be very difficult for Blackstone to do this, simply because they'd have to rely on the information provided by the existing management to make their initial decisions of layoffs. That's where the danger is - the existing management would protect the chaff, and provide a list of wheat grains to fire.
F&R people, start looking before its too late. And good luck Blackstone, you have NO IDEA of the mess you've got on your hands.
Blackstone got s---ered. TR F&R is so fat and bloated- negative growth and huge costs. Management is been inept forever- euro style decision making and layers upon layers of execs and tons of fifdoms. Market data products in the future are a niche play at best- for those that really need low latency and will pay for it. Everyone knows TR has been desperate to unload F&R forever!!!
And once Blackstone finds out how much legacy infrastructure and bloated staff (esp the management) it bought it will soon see there is no hope.
There is no way they could or can compete with bloomberg. Best best is to migrate to the platform they (blackstone) already has.
Regardless, unless they can get all of F&R down to about 1000 people, inc all the consultants (and there are many) they really messed up.
Oh and ps- have fun with all the euro labor laws, blackstone
I tottaly agree with posts, too many senior executives have been around for ages and regional MDs playing chess so that no one lands a top job especially in Dubai where all SLT have been s---ing the blood of the masses and getting secs to do their jobs..please sack those first!!!!
Wait untill blackstone finds out how many crappy datacentres there are and how expensive the infra costs are...
Service continuity benefits ?? What they need is a good clear out - not pay bonuses to under performing snr management/executives. There are too many that have their own agenda's and operating out of their depth. Time to break up this old boys/girls network at the top.
It will be very interesting to see if the severance package remains in tact - especially those who were ex-Reuters prior to the merger between Thomson and Reuters (2008). I am guessing note. On average, it takes 10-16 weeks to find mid management/snr roles. I agree, with post above, start looking now. They will have to start looking at retention bonus' as well, because there is a lot of experience and knowledge that could just walk, and why wouldn't you ? F&R has needed a shake up for years. There are many there that will not get the same package/deal outside of TR.
Exactly! Be the master of your own fate. Don't wait to be fired. Blackstone is going to fire thousands of people. That's right, thousands.
Do you really want to wait nervously for months to see if you're one of the chosen survivors? And then what? You now work for Blackstone as one of their portfolio companies. Your pay will be cut and their benefits s---. There is also no 401 k match.
Start looking now. It's always easier to search for a new job while you currently have one. Searching when you're desperate, when you're still reeling from a job loss is not a fun time.
Leave now, on your own terms. Let BS receive 55% of a "poison apple" -- a hollow shell where all the people who made the company worth buying a stake in, (and then dismantling to sell off the parts), are no longer there.
The alternative is to wait to be laid off and try to find a job when thousands of your co-workers are also scrambling for the same jobs at the same time.