‘We’re not talking about layoffs’
So there's going to be layoffs.
https://www.wraltechwire.com/2019/07/09/red-hat-ibm-execs-promise-were-not-talking-about-layoffs/
10 replies (most recent on top)
The exact same phrase came after the Truven health Analytics sale closed. There have been many lay-offs. A trickle at first then a big RA.
https://start.att.net/comics/title/Dilbert/date/20190722/
You have 12 - 18 months. Around that time IBM will send a piece of RH work to India, maybe sustaining engineering, or maybe they bring in a couple of off shore people to work in a group or 2. Piece by piece will slowly be moved offshore.
Give it 2 quarters, then the reality will have sinked in and Red Hat blue washing will be in full swing, including layoffs, no raises, meaningless bonuses, etc...
There will be a period of months where nothing happens. Everyone will be paralyzed while the acquisition's effects get sorted. There are already conflicting directions inside the company as execs publicly scream Red Hat won't be touched but privately explore how teams will be merged and purged.
There are layoffs coming this month in global markets. That's confirmed.
Here's the sad thing, there SHOULD be layoffs, because there's overlapping and redundant offerings. So the fact that they aren't admitting that just goes to show how that they are either id–ts, or lying and planning underhanded things to force 'voluntary resignations' like colocation, moves to dead end jobs or other places where careers die. Maybe they will divest or spin off big chunks, and then let those orgs cut the heads, but cuts are coming,
And of course, there will be other voluntary reductions when the lie of independence becomes clear. It'll start with merging benefits programs (which will be a big cut for the rh folks), then other hr practices like low capped salary bands (say goodbye to raises), end of equity awards (who would want Ibm shares anyway), and so on.
Why on earth would anyone trust anything that comes out of an Ibm exec? No matter which end it is, it's all fertilizer.
Until and unless they put job longevity, job location, pay, role, and benefit guarantees in a written, legally binding contract, no one at red hat should believe a single word of it.
Just because they’re not talking about layoffs doesn’t mean their not going to execute on them...
If you spent that much money on something and then say, we're just leaving it alone - you are delusional. Anyway, IBM wont be able to resist messing with it. All the things this clown says won't happen - will happen.
This is the most important line in the article. It shows why IBM bought Redhat, and where the strategy is heading
“I don’t think IBM will even have an opinion on what our culture should be,” Cormier said. “That’s important for not only our people, but also to continue the momentum that we’ve gotten from bringing open source to the enterprise.”
It’s all about “enterprise” and everything else will be downsized to the bone or discarded. IBM’s strategy is to exploit the enterprise monopoly they have. It’s a niche, but it’s a very profitable niche Look for continued cost take outs as the year progresses especially in non-enterprise portions of the business
May be no RH layoffs, for now. Expect legacy IBmers to get hammered.