I'm wondering if somebody here might know how are people notified they have been laid off at Cisco?
I'm new with the company, been here for a little over a year, so I'm still trying to figure out some of the stuff here.
Just want to be prepared if I'm to be laid off, so I'm not completely caught off guard if it happens.
Your experience depends pretty much on your location.
For us in the US it's a 1:1 with your boss coming up, maybe a regular one being moved to another day. You'll be told you're being restructured or fired or whatever the exact reason is, you can hand in your sh--, maybe there's some handover agreed on. Depends on the manager. There might be some severance, but again it depends.
If you're in e.g. Europe, the local countries will have laws handling this. If I understand in Germany, it's a guaranteed severance of one month per year of work. e.g, you've been with Cisco for 6 years, you get half a year salary as severance. There's usually some notice period as well, so you might get up to 3 months paid leave to look for a new gig.
Not the worst deal.
In the US, and having sat on both sides of the table of this situation... it always happens on a Thursday between the 1-15th dates of the month, usually early in the morning. I’ve never seen it done on the last month of the quarter. The person who does it has a script, and they pretty much tell you to stop working. They email you a letter that has all the information on your package with a number to call. Mine had 3 mos paid, 1 week for each year after 10, 3 mos of cobra paid, all vacation paid out. It’s actually wasn’t too bad.
People Deal = People Definitely Eliminated and Layoff
A webex call is set up, the HR agent begins sodium pentobarbital saline dril administed, and 15 minutes later, your Peopleuthanasia Deal is complete. Thirty days later you are ground into fertilizer for the farming field out back next to McCarthy Ranch buildings.
I was notified on Spark. 22 other people in the Spark room also saw it. Tool.
People Deal means nothing more or less than stop employer from being sued. HR, if you have a personality or a backbone, prove this isn’t true if you dare to try
Yes, it is called the People Deal...but they never specified WHICH people get the deal. LOL>
Your boss calls you out of the blue while you're driving into the office and tells you not to come in.
People Deal. What a f---ing crock of sh--.
Whoever that came up with the "People Deal" idea needs to get slapped.
You get a 15 minute scripted meeting, one minute for every year of service.
30 days whisper notice? Maybe if your boss is a Director or VP. Otherwise your boss may not find out until a week before notification day.
The front line managers have shockingly little input to the process now.
If you boss is a decent human you will get a whispered update 30-45 days BEFORE the event happens. Your boss will let you know you're on the list and it looks like you're going to get laid off. There are last minute changes where you can be taken off and spared but they don't add people last minute.
If you boss tells you it's coming DON'T SAY ANYTHING TO ANYONE - it will get your boss in trouble and gives them a chance to terminate you "for cause" and you get no package.
Thank your boss for telling you, shut the heck up and start looking for a gig OUTSIDE cisco.
If you boss doesn't give you the update your boss doesn't care about or like you.
This is the most screwed up company where everything is driven by saleman sitting on the top. Cisco is just like a big shopping mall which has an array of shops. Unlike other companies, there is no harmonization here.
Those of us in the trenches call it "getting tickled"
IF you get the meeting and you are laid off then as @SDZmFHT-1zbc said you owe them NOTHING. Your job is redundant therefore you NO LONGER have to do anything at all except look after yourself. Wipe your laptop, cancel all of your meetings and STOP work on anything you were working on. You also have NO OBLIGATION to handover to anyone, remember your job is redundant which by definition means it is no longer required. DO NOT hand over to anyone, bring them up to speed or help them in any way. You are only screwing yourself.
If your current manager tries to pressure you into doing anything then bring an HR case against them for harassment and bullying, also consult an employment lawyer - no warnings just do it. Immediately.
Remember that if you are laid off gather your stuff and go home and take a break. You don’t own them anything. No work, no nothing. There won’t be another job for you at Cisco.
What happened to me was a one on one meeting with my manager popped up on my calendar. I walked in and was told I was laid off and had two weeks to find a job within Cisco. The only thing that bothered me was my manager asked for my Cisco Amex card. I thought that was a b--cheesy.
If you get a 15 min "emergency" or "mandatory" 1:1 with your manager pop up then yes you will probably be LR'd. You are not allowed to go 16 min, they have a VERY specific script to follow.
a swift kick in the balls then shown the door ...
if the paycheck does not show up as you expected you are likely laid off....
You’ll get a last minute invite to a brief mandatory meeting.