Just received a word of warning from the veterans of the auto industry. Much like how the stock market has a cyclical nature with its correction, this may be currently happening within the industry. Apparently, a lot of uncertainty is to be expected for the industry, and as a result job stability will be in question for some time to come.
I was recently laid off with a certain company that is known to make *-150 truck models. Last Monday it was announced that an additional 3000 job cuts (first was 800, the second was 8000) were to happen across the company. No team/org/country was spared.
When I was notified of being cut I was also informed that it was not performance related. However, since I suffer mildly from imposter syndrome, I found it hard to see anything as an honest statement from anyone at the time mainly due to the shocking news. But when scrolling through Linkedin and seeing the names affected by the layoff I was surprised. I have worked with some of the folks, others I have heard great things about from other senior engineers that I respected and trusted. I, and many others, couldn't believe who got cut. Let alone the fact another cut happened in such a short time.
None of my immediate team members (engineers and managers) knew about this. They were just as shocked when they learned who was cut. During a layoff, you would expect the executives to reach out to the managers to find out who the underperformers were and go from there. Or do the cuts mainly from organizations that aren't generating revenue for the company?
Nope. Not this one. Someone from upper management literally went down a list and cut 3000 people from rolling dice. 2000 salaried positions, 1000 contracts were terminated.
When the first 800 cuts were announced I expressed concern and raised it during our big retro. My concerns were brushed off as being naive. I was on one of the few orgs/teams that were crucial to generating revenue for the company. The company 'values family' highly. They wouldn't do a cut on us. The worst case would be they move you to another part to redeploy the resources. That is what I was countered with.
What a load of crap that was. It seems to be pretty unanimous that the job cut was heartless. No one is drinking from the hunch punch anymore. The vast majority of engineers are extremely dissatisfied and have already started to update their resumes. This doesn't include the significant system migration they currently trying to do with a lower headcount and skill pool.
So my warning, to any new grads/engineers here, is to be wary when you see an open job position at their facility. If it is the only thing you got then go for it. But be aware that the position opened up for a good reason from what I am telling you.
I loved the work there. I sincerely loved and cared for the team and organization there. I believed the whole family value thing and legitimately saw myself working there for 30+ years. Now I see great people who have worked 30+ years there fired without any remorse. It genuinely broke my heart to not only be notified of my cut but to see people leaving and/or threatening to quit. It was one of the best places I have ever worked and could rival the FAANG companies easily. Now... I'm just a hurt soul. I'm sure I'll find another great team but this one hurt me especially.
Apologies for the incoherent rant.
Sarah:
It isn’t just an auto industry cycle. It’s a business cycle and everyone needs to be nimble right now. Things are going to get much worse across the entire job market Imo. I’m so glad you found another job so quickly. Sounds like you’re a great employee and deserve to be somewhere stable. Good luck to you in the future.