Why are we losing some of our most experienced and most knowledgeable employees? No matter how incompetent some of the managers at BNYM are, I doubt they would cut their best workers on purpose, if nothing else because they make them look good.
So if it's not them, who is the id--t making these decisions?
Fairly common process in corporate America.
It starts at the top - they determine how much $$$/labor expense they want to reduce and in the process this is translated into head count. Then the ripple begins, the head count number is cascaded down the ladder breaking down as it passes each level. Business line head is told to cut 100, then they break down that number to their direct reports, and the process repeats at each level going down.
Then when it hits the lowest management level the business line wants the buck to end which can be your immediate manager, 2nd level manager, or 3rd level manager at that point a list is created with names then that list is sent back up the same ladder. The manager at each ladder rung combines the list and tweaks as appropriate such as potentially adding one of their direct reports.
This process goes up to the business line or divisional head. If the list is all good and meets the $$$/% target then the list goes to legal/HR for vetting and planning. Once the ducks are lined up then a date for layoffs is set.
There are variations of course but this is the general idea.
If you bring in revenue, you are toast! They are going to slash and burn sales staff. In fact, they've already started letting go revenue producers. The people they've kept are dead weight, high priced management, the kind that cost the company $54 million with the stroke of a pen. How many 'good" employees had to be let go to protect the hides of those running ADRs? To highlight TenCent Music as your latest revenue win? Company has misplaced priorities, that's for sure.
If you help bring in revenue, you're sales. If you help create product, you're production. Otherwise you're administrative overhead that needs to justify your existence over increasingly smarter software and cheap overseas labor. Software let's great salespeople be 10x as effective as they were 20 years ago. Hell, with things like 1 click shopping, web sales, and self serve, you don't need sales people at all, just the product itself. You can cut out your bottom 80% of staff, losing minimal revenue but all of the costs.
Manager's have zero control over this. The manager's manager has zero control, the manager's managers, manager's manager has zero control. Whew! that was a mouthful! This is being driven by robots who sit above the heads of the various divisions in the company. They are consultants, the new guys who are supposed to be the head of digital and the head of strategy. The strategy is clear - fire as many people as you can, so we can get a return on those who are gone within 6 months. Listen to the earnings call, its enlightening. Feel sorry for those left behind, I hear it's like a cemetery at the office, they are just waiting for their number to be called.
Decisions aren’t being made by the immediate manager or even the next level up. They are coming from much higher than that with spreadsheets of data in front of them.
Well, it's either the manager or the employee and I doubt any manager volunteered themself over an employee. In my case my manager only managed me so I suppose right now he is manager of his little office now and still gets to keep his title. Manager of what would be a great question to ask right now.