Thread regarding Bank of New York Mellon Corp. layoffs

I was laid off in January (rated BE) and was paid my performance bonus at the end of February.

More power to you on the bonus, but do think it was a mistake. The right way was to include you in the round of layoffs prebonus, like the other banks do. Feel sorry for employee who received no bonus and still emp!oyed.

This company has to have the worst set of HR folks and legal out there. So wonder so many job postings for HR and legal in NY, maybe they cleaned house.

My bonus was performance-based. I was not in a sales role.

I left in February on my own accord after only a short time with BNY. Honestly, it’s really awful from nearly every perspective. I was in Pittsburgh, the office is straight out of 1970 (rows of cubes) and the few people with offices sit with their doors closed all day. Most new hires are tasked with the work of three or four people while the folks that have been there for extended periods somehow stay busy doing 3 hours of actual work every week. The forced ranking was ridiculous. I had to set people as BE even when feedback was positive from everyone they worked with. I was told it happens twice a year and always has. Good riddance BNY, your demise will continue.

Performance Improvement Plan

Excuse my ignorance ... what is PIP?

Was your earned bonus based on sales or performance?

Didn't think a performance based bonus was paid to someone on or just off a PIP.

wzh - Fortunately I did get my SUB package upon being let go, along with my earned bonus. Thank you for pointing out yet another irony. It boggles the mind as to why they go through that time-wasting PIP process when the whole idea is to lay people off anyway.

3zcg, did you get SUB package even after going through PIP? I thought bank doesn’t need to give the package if someone is fired after PIP.

ugb - what exactly did you think your input to rate the employee BE was going to do for them in terms of likelihood to be laid off (smh).

In my case, I’m 100% certain that my BE rating came from my manager’s manager and that my manager had to go along with it because he was very new to the company when mid-year reviews were done. So my then new manager put me through the grinder for 6 months under the guise of a PIP. Talk about a living nightmare. My deliverance day came in mid-January. The ultimate irony is that I got my best bonus in Feb 2018 just before the brilliant mind decided that I should be rated BE a few months later. As difficult as it is to say, I’m thankful I’m no longer part of that toxic company. Honestly, management there is a joke. Oh, and the cherry on the cake, you ask? The brilliant mind was let go last week. LMAO

As a manager it is true. I had zero input into who got laid off (not BE) and found out 2 days beforehand

This also echoes what happened to me. My direct manager told me she was instructed to rate me BE by her manager (she should not have told me that, but does not keep highly confidential information to herself). She could not provide any examples to support that rating.

Apparently, her manager had a list of his predetermined opinion of each employee including his direct reports. I was not noted as a favorite.

Her manager decided to set BE ratings at 11% instead of 10%. He also required his direct reports to go so far as to rank each employee high, medium and low within each rating.

I am still dumbfounded.

A similar thing happened to me. I was at the company for 15 years and was a consistently high achieving employee. PMPs were Above expectations and received the Star award three years ago. Then a year ago I received meets, so I double down worked 10 to 12 hour days and at mid-year I received AB. I kept going, working long days and at year end, I received BE. Then let go in January.

Broke my heart at first and then I realized how much happier I am. Sad - but I could never go back!

Everyone should rate BK on Glassdoor and offset all of the HR fake ratings with real honest ratings.

I know for a fact of two instances where the direct manager was unaware when one of this direct reports was displaced. In one case he as the last to find out the next day.

I would not believe such a statement. She had to have known. It was her who had to have put you at the 'top' of the list.

1QFU-I find your comment interesting. You see people on here say it’s your direct manager who picks you or it’s your second level or it’s somebody who doesn’t even know who you are. I’ve never seen anybody say “this is how it works, I know because I’m a manager.” My direct manager told colleagues that she didn’t know I was being let go. She’s a front line manager, not a senior or group manager.

Somebody didn’t “protect” you. That’s how it works. Your boss knew someone was getting laid off, but not exactly who. Ask exactly how layoffs are determined, maybe someone will give it up. That is, if any that actually know that process even read this blog.

Your not alone. Don't take it heart. It is pre-determined. I used to bust my a-- and be stressed out with all the work. I now work accordingly to a B.E., when my time is in I am out the door and I take my time with my work so I wont get overloaded. If they can play, so can I. Until its my turn to go.

Same story as Zfols4h. It seems like BE is a pattern. It was predetermined to meet the 10% . I was let go in January and I'm healthier and no longer have to worry every day if today is the day.

My story is slightly different. I was a short-term, well-paid employee. Having worked in a similar forced-ranked environment previously, I was assured BNYM did not force rank before I accepted. Then Monique struck. Lives were changed. And people began stabbing backs. I refused to rate anyone on my team, B.E., offering myself, if someone had to be rated B.E.

Surprise! Offered accepted.

Never before was I a B.E. While I was an easy first target, as other posters note here, my departure was followed by others, also shockingly rated B.E.

Yo, Charlie! Why not simply lay people off? Do you need to add the indignity of B.E. to people's lives?

My story is exactly the same as yours, except in Boston. I suspect across the country there are hundreds if not thousands in our boat. I would suspect our demographics are the same as well.