Conference 7.286::digital

    I'd be happy if I understood the strategy behind the last TFSO!

    Strategy? What makes you think that there is a strategy there...
    
    q
    

    
    
    
       Word from a very reliable source, the frozen middle is about to
    thaw out!

    Since Russ said in his DVN that those "revenue producing"
    organizations "probably" wouldn't get HIT, most of us know who we are. 
    Scarry ain't it......
    
    |^]
    

    The strategy is contaned in the announcement of the planned sale of the
    Westfield faciity:  if it's a core technology, Digital will keep it. 
    If it isn't, it'll be outsourced.
    
    Mac

    
    re: .5
    
    Ah, but there's the rub.  What are the core competencies (beyond
    the obvious ones captured in the Nine *BUs)?  Is order
    administration a core competency?  What about distribution?
    Technical writing/training?  Market research?  Management
    sciences?  Engineering (and if so, engineering of what?), 
    Manufacturing? etc., etc.
                         
    Glenn

    re: .5
    
    It may be true that the core competencies provide some definition of what
    will stay and what won't.  If that's the case, it should be pretty easy
    to identify those organizations that are not related to them.  Should,
    for example, personnel be dropped?  It's not a core competency.  Legal? 
    Finance?  Training?  Consulting? 
    
    Maybe the question can be phrased another way:  What will the business
    units pay for?  What do they need in order to succeed?
    
    

Re:                  <<< Note 2349.4 by ODIXIE::SCRIVEN >>>

>    Since Russ said in his DVN that those "revenue producing"
>    organizations "probably" wouldn't get HIT, most of us know who we are. 
>    Scarry ain't it......
    
So what organizations are *not* revenue producing?  I hope that all are in
their own way, whether directly or not.  If any organization could be
identified as really not being revenue producing, then they should be the first
to go, shouldn't they? 

-  David

     Many organizations are not... Pretty obvious when you look at the
    balance sheet and the studies published that provide comparitive
    data with HP/IBM... showing revenue per employee.
    
     Infrastructurally speaking, the strategy may look ambiguous. The overall
    strategy is simple... Get DEC profitable. We simply are not today.
    
     In fact, my guess is that some major functions cannot even make a
    clean distinction on their discrete balance sheets... 

    The Objective is to get Digital profitable.  Period!  That's the ONLY
    objective that this company has right now.  Nothing else matters - not
    the philosophies, the ethics, the morality, the customers . . . . just
    the balance sheet.
    
    The Strategy is not defined - basically, it's "do whatever it takes
    to make the Objective happen".  When a strategy is not defined (as
    we have now), that's when (and why) all the confusion (and devastation)
    arises.  It's a "hit-or-miss approach" . . . a classic reactive 
    response - not thought out, a proverbial panic reaction.  Sometimes the
    panic response works . .  . . more often than not, it doesn't.  The 
    attitude (and actions) seem to be: 
    
    	"Let's throw corpses (layoffs) and cost-cutting mandates into 
         the mix and see if that helps put us in the black.  And if that
         doesn't work right away, we'll throw more bodies in . . . and
         we'll clamp down even more on expenses with no thought whatsoever
         as to whether or not the expense is justifiable.  We'll paralyze 
         the company (in terms of indiscriminate layoffs and expense 'holds' 
         and maybe that'll all somehow make things better.  If not? . . . 
         well, we'll deal with that when we have to. . . ."
    
    It all kind of reminds me of the older practices of "bloodletting"
    (to cleanse the body to effect a cure) or electro shock treatments to
    "jolt" the ailing mind into "sanity".  It seems no different to me.
    
    One person's pragmatic opinion . . . 
    
    

    re. .10
    
    	That is about the best explanation of what is currently happening.
    Digital has forced itself into a catatonic state. How big of a jolt
    will it take to get us going?
    
    	fred deady
    	wbc::deady 

    I heard that they may be rethinking the numbers required for this TFSO.
    This is due to attrition, people getting nervous/fed up/ recruited by
    other companies/dying/retiring/etc {pick one} and quitting.
    
    - John 

    What kind of numbers are they talking about?  I've heard as many as
    13,000 in March.

    First of all, I have no inside knowledge of what's going on.

    Secondly, I try to read everything published regarding Digital and the
    computer industry I can get my hands on.

    Another company, by now would have identified unprofitable lines of
    business and sold them off or shut them down.

    Digital, as ever, monolithic and centrally managed, doesn't have lines
    of business to shut down and doesn't have information systems that are
    trusted by senior managers to indicate what is truly profitable and
    what isn't.

    The result most have observed has been a plant closing here and there
    and a thinning out of sales reps, sales support, and service delivery
    people in the field.

    The re-organization into lines of business at the top of agenda in July
    1992, it turns out won't take full effect until July 1993.

    Digital still is struggling with that 150,000 item catalog, and
    1,000,000 item customer list.  Digital and IBM can't afford to be a
    "full line" supplier of hardware, software, and services in all major
    product areas in all markets.

    The real decisions on what markets Digital would remain in and what
    products were profitable should have been the top of the agenda,
    instead we've got the "process about process about process" exercise
    called the "supply chain".

    So one week Digital internally released a 13 software products
    "submitted to Phase V retirement process", then that was denied, but
    not before the memo was leaked.

    The next round of layoffs will likely be just like the last.

    re .14
    
    You're probably right.  It will be another thinning out process rather
    than a focus on what is profitable and what is not.  The problem with
    the thinning out process is that it makes us look stupid to go back to
    the same organizations that cut back by, say, 50% in December and then
    ask them to cut another X% in March.  It makes whole organizations
    catatonic and that is not good for the rest of the company either.  If
    we're going to cut 13000 by whatever date, let's do it and then go
    about the process of rebuilding this company.  That will stop the death
    spiral for at least the short term and give people at least some hope
    that they have a future here.  No one that I know of believes that they
    have much of a future at all at DEC.  If a significant number of people
    believe that, then the company has no future.  We just cannot allow
    that situation to continue.
    

    re: .14 
    
    Well thought-out note!  
    
    re: .15
    
    Another problem with random thinning out is that there is no value 
    added. Typically, during times of recession companies shed their 
    less efficient sections and become more efficient.  A random 
    thinning out results in a smaller company, but efficiency stays 
    the same.
    
    Steve

Strategy???????????

We donneed no steenkingk strategy....................


Presented with a smile.

John I.

New round of TFSO has begun here in MRO today.  

Some from Facilities have been hit here today and other groups.

Oh wellll   Sad day in MRO......



Mary-Ann

    re:  .18
    
    Any idea how many.  These note files have been suspiciously silent on
    the issue of lay offs.  Strange, since the end of the quarter is only a
    few weeks away.  Where will the 9,000 come from?
    

    > Where will the 9,000 come from?

    they will come from Mars.

    we have offices in Mars where spare DECeees work in them, these 
    spare DECeees we use them to TFSO from . so dont worry, we will 
    all be ok in here, just keep your toes crossed and you'll be just fine.

    \nasser

    Now I'm relieved.  I had a chance to relocate to Mars once.  Glad I
    declined the offer.  
    
    Hear anything about Jupiter?
    

        >    Hear anything about Jupiter?

    Canceled years ago. :-)

    		Alfred

18 people got hit in the Facilities group in MRO.  14 received 
the package from Littleton in Facilities.  

That's all I know at this point.

Mary-Ann

    there seems to be a double standard being applied in this most recent
    round of "restructuring". i've had MANY friends tfso'd over the last
    couple of years. at first they were informed of their dismissal by
    voice mail or finding out they had no account on any machine on monday
    morning. or they were informed on mon/tues that they were history and
    by friday they were gone. 
    
    not so with the latest round of management "restructuring". seems many
    managers jobs have been "eliminated". locally i heard that was over 2
    weeks ago. yet they still show up everyday. i don't understand this.
    why should they be treated any differently than all those they chose to
    tfso? it's damn hard on morale. on top of everything else.
    
    gene.

    re -1
    
    Gene,
     
     yep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    They will be here when we are gone. 
    
    Just plain ole sick and tired of it!
    
    Reis

  One question i just (duhh!) thought of is: what will happen to the pace
  of lay-offs if we DON'T make a profit in Q4?  Will management perceive
  that lay-offs are one of the reasons we're having trouble making a profit,
  or will they just assume we need more of them?  I could see a case being
  made either way...
								paul

    	Gee...I wonder...No profit in Q4? I guess that will mean pulling a
    new number out of a hat to see how many employees we need. In the
    future, when you have difficulty deciding which direction you think the
    company will take, I always ask myself which would be the dumbest...and
    pick that. Seems to work pretty well...

    
    relax! they'll hire more "temps" if there aren't enough worker bees per
    manager.

    The following entry has been contributed by a member of our community
    who wishes to remain anonymous.  If you wish to contact the author by
    mail, please send your message to QUARK::MODERATOR, specifying the
    conference name and note number. Your message will be forwarded with
    your name attached  unless you request otherwise.

				Steve






    I just had a first-hand view at at least one element of the latest wave
    of layoffs and it stinks!
    
    I had interviewed for a job and was one of the final two or three
    people being considered.  The job was two SRI's up from my current
    position.  I was very confident I was an excellent candidate and had a
    good feeling about being selected.  There was always a chance that the
    req could be pulled before an offer could be made but in today's
    environment that is to be expected.
    
    I found out the other day that I did not get that job.  I wanted to
    learn something from the experience and asked how they felt about the
    interview and my background.  I was told they were very impressed and 
    they were about to make me an offer when "higher ups" told them to hold
    off.  The higher ups then reclassified the job to a manager level,
    five, no sorry, seven, SRI's over my current job.  I was told that they
    could not offer me the job saying that the jump was too much for
    someone in my position.  IT IS THE SAME JOB, ONLY THE TITLE AND SRI
    HAVE CHANGED!
    
    If I was an outside candidate the question of a jump would not even be
    an issue however because I am a Digital employee, I am prevented from
    filling a job I am qualified for.  I am not shocked but I am so
    disappointed that I can hardly contain myself.
    
    My feeling is that they are preserving the career of a manager who 
    otherwise would have been layed off.  Some big shot seems to be saving
    someone else's ass at my expense.  
    
    IS THIS FAIR?  Hell no.  As soon as I get the chance I am blowing this
    insane asylum.  I am usually a very motivated individual who has always
    had the company's best interest at heart.  I have never cheated on an
    expense account, I rarely put in for the mileage I have coming to me, I
    volunteer to assist others whenever I can and I am rewarded by being
    kept off the salary plan, held at a low level and denied the job I
    deserve.
    
    Digital always had problems with politics and stupid rules but the way
    things are now is so out of line that I am beginning to wish the whole
    things comes apart.  The only reason I do not *really* want that to
    happen is that there are still a lot of good people here and I wish
    them well.  
    
    Digital pays me for 40 hours and that's all they are going to get.  Go
    the extra mile?  Forget it.
    
    What do you think?
    
    XXXXXX
    

    while it may not be much in the way of sympathy. .29 i can personally
    assure you that you are not alone. horror stories about such abuses
    are, unfortunately, quite common.

    re: .29
    
    a) You are 99 44/100% correct in assuming that someone's ass was being
    saved.  Although there may be a case made for that, i.e. it was a
    valuable ass, that particular part of Corporate Culture shows no sign
    of change.  And, to anyone who cares:  you can't change the REAL style
    without changing - not shuffling - the people.
    
    b) You are one of (as commandant Lasarde would say) many, many, many
    people looking to jump ASAP.  
    
    c) Since no-one is doing anything about it, you'll probably get your
    hesitant wish - Digital will disappear.  Even though there are still a
    lot of us who show up and bash their heads on the brick walls.
    
    You have my sympathy, I know how it feels.  One piece of advice,
    though:  Don't watch to see how the other guy performs.  If you're
    right, watching the stupid mistakes and wrong choices will just fuel
    your anger.
    
    
    Don
    

	re .31:

>    b) You are one of (as commandant Lasarde would say) many, many, many
>    people looking to jump ASAP.  

	I knew Commandant Lasarde reminded me of someone. Now it clicks!

	/Tom

    One gets the feeling that more people are wanting to leave this comapny
    than want to stay, even given the fear of making such a change. 	

    It's more like this:
    
    Parts of the company appear to have common sense and have some
    connection to what customers want.
    
    Parts of the company just don't seem to have "gotten it" yet.
    
    With the appointment of Robert Palmer, I think a lot of us expected
    real change that would transform the company.  That didn't happen.
    
    Months ago, it was a matter of waiting.  Now, patience among customers
    and employees is close to being exhausted and they believe that things
    won't change.
    
    This isn't my personal philosophy but I'm honest enough to be
    sympathetic to the customers and employees who feel it.

    When they say "real change"  what were they looking for?  I'm sure
    Bob's rejoinder would be, "I've reorganized and reconceptualized this
    company, touching virtually every corner of the organization.  What
    more could they have been expecting?"

	RE: .35 The sort of change I've been hoping to see was a move
	to make things easier for the sales force to sell. Perhaps someone
	in sales can tell me how it's easier to sell now than a year ago.
	It's very likely that there have been changes that are not visible
	to me in engineering. So tell me, is technical training easier for
	field support people to get now? Is it easier for field people to 
	get hardware and third party software that they need to do their jobs?
	Have the order processing and quote generation systems been made 
	easier to use? (I've heard lots of complaints about these systems
	in the past.)

	I was hoping to see stability at least to the point where one could
	plan out more then 6 months in advance. Perhaps that's in the works?
	

	As for reorginazation touching every corner of the company. TFSO has
	touched every corner. Reorginazation has touched every VP and many
	direct reports of VPs. Has it really touched groups/people below that?
	I'd like to hear about that because I'm kind of off in the boonies.

			Alfred  

    re: .35
    
    Have things really changed?  Or is it the same old thing, only
    happening faster?  Same spaghetti roads, but some potholes filled.
    
    My neighbors on either side of me got hit last Friday -- bunch of
    people in PS/SI Marketing and 1 in Comms.  Word is layoffs every week 
    for the next five weeks, through July and on.  Only after July 1, no 
    package.  Although I survived this hit, I'm still on another list (my
    neighbor and I had the pleasure of being on 2 hit lists at once -- Max
    Mayer's and Charlie Halloran's).  I told him not to expect to survive
    the crossfire -- I've got my fingers crossed for Halloran's hit (which
    rumour says will happen in June).  Lord let me outta this loony bin
    with a few crumbs in my pocket to tied me over.....

>>           <<< Note 2349.36 by CVG::THOMPSON "Radical Centralist" >>>

>>	RE: .35 The sort of change I've been hoping to see was a move
>>	to make things easier for the sales force to sell.

Well, it sure isn't easier to sell now than it was a year ago (in my opinion,
that is).  In fact, it's a bit more difficult, since the basic infrastructure
of this company is evolving and many of the "support" organizations are either
gone or decimated through TFSO.  And those people who are left are scrambling
around for a job.

No, I haven't seen any positive impact on the Supply Chain as it relates to
sales.

Bob

    .37
    
    No package?  I thought that it would be reduced, but that some form of
    severance would continue, topping out at 26 weeks.
    
    Anyone else hear different?

    Well, I heard it from a bitter TFSO'd person, so maybe it really was
    just sharply reduced.  

    .37

    >I'm still on another list (my  neighbor and I had the pleasure of 
    >being on 2 hit lists at once

    hi,

     what do you please mean by hit list?
     you mean it is the list that your name is on it as potional candidate for 
     the TFSO?
    
     if so how can you see this list ? 
     how do you know you are on a hit list? i thought only big bosses can
     see the hit lists any way? 
    
     iam little confused on this one.
    
     thanks in advanced.

    \bye
    \nasser

    Everyone is potentially on a "hit list."  The "bosses" have been told
    to cut -- they look at the list of people in their org and decide which
    ones to cut.
    
    In my case, I fall direct line into the PS/SI marketing list of
    personnel (which was cut this week).  And I also fall into U.S. Comms,
    now under Halloran and scheduled to be cut in June.
    
    My personal feeling, expressed several weeks ago to some nieghboring
    marketing folks, was if I get laid off twice, I believe I should get 2
    packages :-)

    
    Re: .40
    
    I heard today that after June 30, you have to pay to get out.
    
    Steve
    

    the title of this topic is a joke. outside of playing numbers games,
    the result of which some pretty good folks get laid off, there appears
    to be no strategy to the TFSO process. someone somewhere says
    manager/group X gets Y heads and the rest are shown the door at the end
    of the week. well..some get more than a week.

    The language & process seems to be "flexible" depending on how your
    management operates.  I've talked directly with folks who have been
    told:  You are on the list
           You are potentially at risk
           You are definitely at risk
           I can't say that you are not on the list
           I saw your name on the list (but my boss says I'm not on the
           list)
           There are no guarantees that your name will not be on the list
           I don't know if there is such a list
           etc.
    
    Mark
    

    re .45:
    
    Sounds like the time my wife asked our doctor what "borderline normal"
    meant when he used that term to refer to her EKG readings.  Turned out
    that was actually OK, as he listed about 15 variations on "normal"
    before actually getting to "something's wrong here".  Do we have
    doctors in charge of our TFSO terminology?
    
    /Butch

    	Several groups have gotten pretty much the same speech this time
    around relative to the upcoming cutbacks (in engineering anyway). The
    speech goes something like, "you're all doing a great job...we got most
    of the budget we asked for...it supports nearly the number of people we
    have now...we need to carefully manage the numbers and insure that we
    have the right skill mix..." And as far as I can tell, it's all a
    crock. Each manager passes down a percentage until it reaches a manager
    or supervisor who has to pick one of his/her 5 people. The result is
    that you've laid off the wrong people and can't get your work done.
    	I don't think upper management appreciates that the lower levels
    are nearly coming apart at the seams and just how close we are to that
    point of no return.
    	I've heard a few managers say that after the June layoff,
    engineering will be left alone for a year to regroup and get their work
    done. Even if it's true, nobody believes it anymore...although we'd
    like to.

    re: .47
    
    I think that is the issue - the trust level is so low that nothing is
    believed.  Managers, like the rest of us, don't like to pass on bad
    news.  Therefore, they hedge on the truth until they absolutely have to
    pass it on.  That's all very human, but it's killing this company.  
    
    I believe David Stone did it best.  Whenever I saw his memos, even
    though I wasn't in his group, I always felt he was letting people know
    what was going on in as candid a manner as he could.  Others simply
    aren't as good at it as he was.  I can't fault them for that, but it's
    devastating to morale.
    

The impression I get reinforces other opinions previously mentioned here.  
Basically that Management is trying to meet their "numbers" before anything else.
While there is some effort at determining "strategic" products, it's appears a 
strategy set in sand, changing almost daily.  All factors appear secondary to meeting 
the budget of the day.  There are certainly products more "strategic" than others,
but if it seems chaotic at the worker bee level, it's probably because the process is
chaotic...   One can assume strategies will continue to change.

		Bob Cohen
  

Yea, I was going to get a new note for myself but wants another good-bye
topic?

I was told on May 14th (and it was my birthday) that I was a risk.  Problem
was/is that the product I support and develop wasn't selling.  Alot of 
intrest but no short-term sales.  If the intrest developed then the long
term looks good but unfortunely digital seems to be too focused on the
short-term.  The way I was added to the "hit-list" was a "Possiblity...Maybe"
my job would go away.

On the 24th I was called into the VP's and give the paperwork.  We had 4
folks leave from here.  Tommorrow noon I'm out-a-here.....

So, my good-bye.  I don't mind.  Its been 13 years and its time to move on.
I hope to return to the contract market.  Any prospects would be welcome.:-)
To all my "dec" friends, its been great.  I'll miss the noting world and
I'll miss some of the names.  See ya 'round....

gog

    
    
    
    	I have yet to hear of 1 person to survive the cuts, when
    	told they were at risk....

    
    	Re: .51
    
    		I know of three people who found other jobs before
    	their "time was up".  Two who knew they were at risk, and one
    	who had already been told he had until that Friday to find
    	another job.
    
    	Ed

    
    
    	Thats not what I ment.. I ment the current jobs they HAD were history..
    
    	I also know of a couple people who found a job within DEC.. One with
    	a big pay cut...

re.53:

>        I also know of a couple people who found a job within DEC.. One with
>        a big pay cut...

A pay cut, how come? I'm not sure that's even legal in the UK! It also 
highlights a strange thing about the way Digital values people. You are 
giving your redundancy notice even the company has other jobs open that you 
could do!

Dave.

    Re .47:
    
    > 	I've heard a few managers say that after the June layoff,
    > engineering will be left alone for a year to regroup and get their work
    > done. Even if it's true, nobody believes it anymore...although we'd
    > like to.

    Even if it is true and even if everybody believed it, it would not do
    much to raise morale.  A year is not much.  Maybe Digital's management
    is so short-sighted they think a year is a long time, but I am fully
    aware of the fact that after 1994 will come 1995 and then 1996, 1997,
    et cetera.  A year of regrouping cannot compensate for the years of
    turmoil management has given us.
    
    
    				-- edp

    Has anyone heard what date TSFO will hit the Field?  My  headcount
    rolls up under the Field and I would like to be on the "list" after
    19.9+ yrs in Digital, it is well past the time to go.

    
    Is the package still:
    
    7weeks+1week*(years under ten)+2weeks*(years over ten)=Total
    
    cbc

    	I thought that the "current" package (this fiscal year) was:
    7 weeks + 1 week*(years under 15) + 2 weeks*(years over 15) with a max
    of something like 26 weeks...plus any accumulated vacation time you
    have coming.

    
    Thanks turns out I get four weeks less than I thought, bummer.
    
    cbc

    the Package for Q4FY93 is the same as the Q3FY93 package.  The package
    amounts will be different in FY94 per Bob Palmer at meeting with SBO
    folks.  The package today has a max of 52 wks and to the best of my
    knowledge, accured vacation was not in the calculations.
    
    The Package description was in VTX and the Bob Palmer meeting notes
    were all over the network.  

    
    Where in VTX?
    
    cbc

    Maybe info is updated/removed after a xx's days?  I know the formula
    had changed because the previous package had 15 yrs as a cutoff for a
    point of time and the new formula has 16yrs as a point.
    
    I was not being considered as a "at risk" person in Q3 so I didn't
    calculate the pkg that closely.  I know I'll only get around 30 weeks
    if I get tapped in Q4 and if in Q1, less than half that amount.

    and so it goes....
    
    the never ending tfso machine strikes the field again. and once again
    (set sarcsim=high) it was handled so professionally. folks got told
    late last friday to clear their calendar for a 9AM meeting with
    personnel today.
    
    have a nice weekend. thank you very much. no warnings like i've read in
    other notes. those that were tfso'd have until friday to find another
    job within dec (all but impossible - for field folks anyway). this is
    in contrast to certain management types whose jobs went away weeks and
    weeks ago but are still occupying an office and drawing a check. this
    is devastating to morale that is already in the tank. it doesn't seem
    as if many folks much give a damn about morale anymore.

    Well, I got hit today so I don't have to suffer any more.
    Looks like there were quite a few here in Chicago today.
    
    Judy 
    

re .51

>    	I have yet to hear of 1 person to survive the cuts, when
>  	told they were at risk....

Last August I was at risk but survived.  Now I'm at risk again.  The threat
of being laid off is stressful.  But I like my job and the people I work
with, so I'd much rather keep my job and my paycheck than going looking
for another one.  My current feeling is that I may survive this round too.
If I do, then I'll be good for another quarter or another year but I don't
think I'll survive to retirement.  Eventually this job, possibly this whole
group, will be downsized out of existence.

Mac

    Personally, if I were laid off, I'd take the money and run. If one
    stays, when's the next time it'll hit? What will the package be like?
    It's already known it'll be less generous. If one survives the next
    round, what about the one after that? I can't see why anyone being
    offered the package would refuse it, and stay, with the Sword of
    Damocles over his/her head.
    
    Laurie.

I don't think anyone gets a choice.  Either you're offered the package and
you take it, or you're not offered the package and don't take it.  And you
can't volunteer.  I can only hope that if I'm going to be laid off sooner
or later, that it be sooner and I get a decent package.  Otherwise, I hope
never to be laid off.

Mac

    	What I really like are the sleazeball tactics being used by some
    managers this time around. I've heard about engineers being called into
    a room and told they should be safe for 6 months...if they signed up in
    blood for the current project...Otherwise, if they didn't sign up,
    they would get the package.
    	This is an interesting way to boost morale. Obviously, these people
    acquired their people-management skills from the Nazis. We'll end up as
    a lean, mean, fed-up machine.

re -.1

Well, if those were the only choices, I'd welcome the opportunity to make
the decision myself rather than have my management make it for me.

Mac

    
    I echo Mac's thougths.  I would rather go now and get more $$ to buy
    more time to get my life together.  Of course, since my husband is 
    being let go my enthusiasm for leaving is not as great as it was last
    quarter.  I've started working on a couple of things that can support
    the household in case I'm let go.
    
    	jayna

    From today's VOGON:
    
    Digital - News snippet
            {The Boston Globe, 9-Jun-93, p. 41}
    At Digital, Robert Palmer is furiously slashing jobs, and insiders
    say he's determined to get the headcount as low as 85,000 before the 
    fiscal year ends. (DEC employed 98,100 in March.)  Employees usually 
    get the news on Monday and have until Friday to find another slot.  
    With three weeks until the books close, Palmer has also ordered all 
    administrative groups to lop 20% off their budgets.

    RE: .72
    
    Thanks, now I'll know what they're talking about when relatives from
    the Boston area call this weekend! We usually get a call any time
    there's anything of interest about Digital in the Boston papers.
    
    The Globe must have a deal with the long distance phone carriers. ;)
    
    Kevin

    
    >        {The Boston Globe, 9-Jun-93, p. 41}
    >At Digital, Robert Palmer is furiously slashing jobs, and insiders
    >say he's determined to get the headcount as low as 85,000 before the 
    >fiscal year ends. (DEC employed 98,100 in March.)  Employees usually 
    >get the news on Monday and have until Friday to find another slot.  
    
    not true in all cases. if you belong to certain management ranks youget
    weeks and months to find another jobs. grunts at the bottom of the org
    chart get until friday. a real morale "booster".

    re: 3 weeks until end of fiscal year
    
    Wheh!  Thank God my manager is on a three week vacation outside of the
    states!
    
    On a more somber note, our office just took a _large_ sale support hit. 
    Two out of 3 in our office, and another 3-5 'down south (Albuquerque).
    
    --- Gavin

    Has anyone been told that there are new guidelines regarding employee
    paid relo?  As in, I can't be a candidate for a newly opened position
    in Charlotte NC because I am presently located in Marlboro.  

    I understand a policy is forthcoming saying in effect that a requistion
    either has relo funds or not, and if not, an employee cannot pay their
    own way.
    This is common in other companies due to possible litgation where an
    employee is viewed to have been coerced to volunteer to move with no relo
    to save their job.
    
    But wait for the offical word; this is just based on some conversations
    vs. a hard policy memo.
    

    Thanks for the info.. I am planning to move to NC if I get TFSO'd. I
    thought this way I'd be where I wanted to live AND have a job.  I've been
    with Digital for almost 20yrs now.  Really hate to leave.
    
    I haven't noticed any open Req's that have YES to RELO of late.  

    seems sales support, effectively now defunct, has pretty much been
    massacred in the last week or so. and with a sales force that knows
    little or nothing about our products (not all, but a big chunk), who's
    gonna tell customers about our products and services? oh yeah. all
    those channels we're signing up.
    
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
    
    it would be funny if not for the severe consequences.

    On employee relo:  From the Transistion office:
    
    There is a policy in effect for the Sales and Sales Support Org due to
    a Job Fair. Location of Fair is unknown however, I was applying for a
    Secretary position in Charlotte NC. 
    
    Details still being checked out. 

    The new package after July will look as follows:
    
    1 six pack of pepsi for every year after five years.

    re: .81
    
    Does that mean the medical coverage will be reduced to whatever
    syringes might be found in the six pack?
    
    Steve

    re .81,
    
    Wouldn't ya know, I prefer diet coke?