Despite reassurances last month from directors, Intel Ireland announced that it will make between 200 and 300 people redundant.\u00a0 They came out in the press last month and bare-faced said that this wouldn\u2019t happen.\u00a0 I wonder how long it takes a behemoth like Intel to decide to lay people off and which ones to select?\u00a0 A month?\u00a0 Two months?\u00a0 More?\u00a0 You can make up your own mind if Intel management lied or not. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been made redundant 3 times since 1996.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned to smell when it\u2019s coming.\u00a0 I\u2019ve even managed to avoid it by moving on before the axe started swinging.\u00a0 In 2001 I was even being talked to about a promotion and a pay rise while the same managers were putting me on a list to cut.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned that: <\/p>\n
\u2026 all start happening then it\u2019s time to get the CV\/resume updated and out there.\u00a0 Even if you\u2019ve been in a company 10 or 20 years you shouldn\u2019t bank on a redundancy package that\u2019ll pay of your mortgage.\u00a0 Those days are long gone.\u00a0 Expect the statutory compensation package if you\u2019re not a banker resigning because of a scandal. <\/p>\n
Why do managers lie?\u00a0 They need you to keep working so that the business can keep money coming in.\u00a0 They\u2019ll already have prepared your P45 (pink slip for tax) and reassure you. <\/p>\n
That leads me on to the next point.\u00a0 You might be thinking \u201cthey can\u2019t get rid of me because I\u2019m do critical stuff and the business needs me\u201d.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry to say, everyone is replaceable.\u00a0 Business people do not value IT in general (not always true but usually true).\u00a0 I\u2019ve been that critical employee.\u00a0 I designed and managed a network for an international finance company.\u00a0 I knew it inside and out.\u00a0 No one else came close.\u00a0 We used bleeding edge technology to leverage automation, e.g. 3 of us managed ran 170+ servers.\u00a0 The directors decided to swing the axe and all senior IT people went, to be replaced by some foreign contractors.\u00a0 The other 2 in my team went a couple of months later.\u00a0 Those contractors were to move everything abroad but 3 years later nothing has happened.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t a clue.\u00a0 In fact, I know that despite many efforts the business never really got to grips with the level of tech that we had deployed.\u00a0 They spent a fortune on contractors and consultants.\u00a0 They would have been better to keep us on and run things.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like we didn\u2019t do an ace job.\u00a0 We did and we were ahead of the business in offering solutions to anticipate the changes of strategy.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The lesson here?\u00a0 Non-IT people often see IT as an annoying cost centre, a plaything for geeks or worse, a step above the receptionist.\u00a0 They often don\u2019t appreciate that we build the foundations that can at least facilitate the business and if done right can make the business more efficient and competitive. <\/p>\n
Did Intel do any of these?\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying that at all.\u00a0 Like I\u2019ve already said: you can make up your own mind.\u00a0 Am I cynical?\u00a0 Am I paranoid?\u00a0 Funny story \u2026 a buddy who I\u2019ve worked with and been made redundant with twice before once said I was paranoid.\u00a0 The first time, I had already cleared my desk and packed my bag before we were given the news.\u00a0 The second time, I\u2019d already figured it out 2 weeks before hand.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t think that anymore. <\/p>\n
GWB got it wrong so here\u2019s the right version: Fool me once, shame on you.\u00a0 Fool me twice, shame on me. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite reassurances last month from directors, Intel Ireland announced that it will make between 200 and 300 people redundant.\u00a0 They came out in the press last month and bare-faced said that this wouldn\u2019t happen.\u00a0 I wonder how long it takes a behemoth like Intel to decide to lay people off and which ones to select?\u00a0 … Continue reading “Management Lie and Everyone Is Replaceable \u2013 Oh, And Intel Ireland Lays Off Up To 300”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t