The company spent $68 million on a company-wide team building super spreader event last year and now people are being laid off. Middle managers are clamoring for more AI while also insisting people aren't being replaced by AI. We have a bunch of meetings "in the spirit of transparency" and then there isn't any. No one can ask a genuine question for fear of being let go. They wouldn't even use the word layoff, it was "role elimination." Then after at least 200 people got quietly let go last week (and maybe around 50 were let go two weeks before that), one manager finally decided to break the silence- used AI to write a speech, telling us that we all need to be brave, we can't work in a culture of fear and that its against the company's core values, as though the fear isn't a direct result of months anticipating, waiting to see if you or your coworkers will be let go. It's psychological warfare.
We've had "restructuring" multiple times a year for years and we are now losing people for so called "low performance" who had exemplary reviews. The HR double speak and the general hypocrisy of this round of layoffs is beyond painful. 6 years ago, this was a surprisingly thoughtful company to work for. That's long gone. Why do people stay? Cus we need the salary and we need the health care. It's a hostage situation at this point.
