Re: Layoffs for Tax Avoidance

Nov 09, 2008 1 Replies

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Oh, if only dead wood were RIFd. The dead wood mostly occupies

> management.

True. Anyway, the rule is to always fire the most productive employees first. Productive employees tend to make the rest of the dead wood look bad. They tend to have the most experience and hence have been there the longest which means they make the most money. Reason enough to axe them first. And of course, one reason they are productive is that they tend to not put up with a lot of imaginary bull that interferes with their jobs. Obviously management much prefers employees with their nose in their butts compared to someone pointing out what a moron you are all the time, so this clearly moves the best employees right to the top of the layoff list.

But no problem. If the company crashes and burns under the weight of it's own incompetence, the top management already has their "golden parachutes" ready as they gently float down to settle into the next outfit that has a board of directors full of suckers that can be sold a bill of goods. One such "bill" being using as a reference for your "value" as a manager your former salary and "perks" at the company you just trashed.

Here is a true layoff story. I was at **** doing modem chips. This dunce VP is in charge of the RIF. So we are in a meeting, and he explains the layoffs. Time for Q and A, so I ask, why am I here since you RIFd every person that markets what I design. Dumb ass VP has a lightbulb go off, and then says "I will have to hire one of them back." He did, but at a higher salary.

Now another true story. I got RIFd at *** with some really great company, the entire product group. The job wasn't what I wanted, so I had been sniffing for contracts or a new job while working there. Anyway, I get back from lunch, can't log in, which is usually a bad sign. Then the RIF news comes down. I think great, I get some severance. You couldn't get me out fast enough, but the personnel guy is looking for me. Well, now I have to explain the politics.

A VP gets his PHd brother-in-law a job at ***. This guy never had a real chip job, just college, but felt vastly superior to my boss or anyone in our group, so he gets set up as a group to himselfm reporting to his brother in law. Well, whatever, I wouldn't want to work with that asshole anyway. Now management would invite us to his design reviews, and the designs were always full of bugs. For example, he does this incredibly complicated reference circuit. Looking at it, it is pretty obvious it won't start. His response: "I got this from Paul Gray. Are you smarter than Paul Gray?" My reply: "Paul Gray probably didn't bother to show any start up circuitry." Well, it gets fabricated and it doesn't start up.

So here we are at the next design review. He takes the last fet in the circuit, i.e. the one that feeds the current, and makes the VGS be the entire supply rail. Another engineer questions if it is a temporary connection just to test the rest of the chip. Nope, this is the final circuit. My complaint is a possible antenna rule issue plus obvious negative PSSR, i.e. gain from the rail. Now the president is in this meeting. You would think that even if he had no clue about circuit design, you would question why the original design had 30 odd transistors, and the new design only had one. Like if one was enough, why did the original design have 30? Well, the part comes out and has gain from the rail. Doh!

Now back to the RIF. The personnel guy wants me to work for this idiot designer rather than be fired. My first answer is "Did I hear you wrong? Perhaps you want **** to work for me?" He grimaced, and said it was the other way around. My reply: "I insist I am included in the reduction of force. Period end." I didn't want to blow the severance pay. I had two contracts my first week out.

Re: Layoffs for Tax Avoidance

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