Verizon Layoffs: 15,000 Jobs Gone – What's the Fallout?
Verizon's "Scrappy" New Look: 15,000 Reasons to Update Your LinkedIn
So, Verizon's new CEO, Dan Schulman, wants to make the company "scrappy" by axing 15,000 jobs. Right. "Scrappy" is corporate-speak for "we screwed up, and now you're paying for it." Let's be real, it's never the execs taking the hit, is it? It's always the poor saps in the trenches. Verizon To Axe 15,000 Jobs In New Wave Of Layoffs—What To Do Now
And this ain't just a Verizon problem. We're seeing layoffs across the board – Salesforce, Oracle, Meta, even Google. Are these companies suddenly incompetent? Of course not. They're just greedy, and they've realized they can squeeze more profit by running leaner... meaning, with fewer employees doing more work.
The FlexJobs report says 26% of workers are more anxious about layoffs than six months ago. You think? Give me a break. I'd be shocked if that number wasn't higher. You'd have to be living under a rock not to feel the ground shifting.
"Proactively Update Your Resume": The New Corporate Anthem
Oh, and the advice being thrown around? "Proactively update your resume and LinkedIn!" Seriously? As if polishing your online profile is going to magically shield you from the corporate meat grinder. It's like telling someone to wear a nicer suit to their execution.
I love this bit: "You’re more likely to get interview call-backs if you optimize your LinkedIn profile and have an active presence on the platform." No freakin' duh. But what if everyone's doing that? Does LinkedIn become some kind of digital Thunderdome where only the most aggressively self-promotional survive?
And the skills they're pushing? AI literacy, cloud skills, data literacy… It's always the same song and dance. Learn the new buzzwords, become a cog in the new machine. What happened to good old-fashioned job security? Oh right, that's a fairytale now.
Speaking of fairy tales, I'm still waiting for my self-driving car that was promised to me a decade ago. Where is it?
The "Empathy" Charade
HR leaders are telling companies to communicate with "empathy." Empathy? From the same people who are signing off on these mass layoffs? That’s rich. It's like a vampire offering you a band-aid after sucking your blood dry. "Transparency," they say, but not too much transparency, offcourse. Can't spook the remaining employees too much, can we?
I hate this idea of "rolling layoffs." It's like they're trying to slowly boil the frog instead of just tossing it in hot water. Keeps everyone on edge, constantly wondering if they're next. It's psychological warfare, plain and simple. But hey, at least the stock price goes up, right?
Then again, maybe I'm just being cynical. Maybe these companies are genuinely trying to adapt to a changing world. Maybe... nah, who am I kidding?