tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.comments2024-03-18T12:52:48.117-07:00Mini-MicrosoftWho da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger40280125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-53700373554194563892014-07-24T17:27:30.699-07:002014-07-24T17:27:30.699-07:00For those impacted by the cuts. Are they able to ...For those impacted by the cuts. Are they able to reapply for openings right away or is there a cooling off period?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-48589529498722648262014-07-24T16:44:27.508-07:002014-07-24T16:44:27.508-07:00You're not being laid off, you're being te...You're not being laid off, you're being terminated in at your reviewAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-68227147343616882092014-07-24T12:47:55.490-07:002014-07-24T12:47:55.490-07:00What about layoffs in MSR? The company spends seve...What about layoffs in <b>MSR</b>? The company spends several <b>billion</b>/year funding research. What do we have to show for it? Kinect - maybe but for that many billion ??<br />That billions are a significant portion of the revenue that a struggling company cant afford.<br /><br />I don't care if P != NP if the company is going to struggle to compete. First get the company in a better state, then go fund research.<br /><br />Empower each group with some funds to hire researchers as needed and cut the fat research org!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-46699385019737333722014-07-24T10:26:52.468-07:002014-07-24T10:26:52.468-07:00I started out as an A- in late 2000. Complete car...I started out as an A- in late 2000. Complete career change (from construction contractor). I saw early on that I was just a number/headcount. I did eventually get an FTE position in 2005, and good reviews until a re-org put me under an impossible to please and abusive manager. I left in 2011 after 6 1/2 years to return as a V-. My wife and I decided to make a HUGE decision, and left family and friends to move to the Boise Idaho area. My mortgage went from $1900 a month to $600 a month. Property taxes went from $3800 a year to $1200 a year. Even my car insurance was cut in half. The move was primarily based on leaving the liberal western Washington area for a more conservative Idaho. But there are other side benefits that really have nothing to do with liberal/conservative issues. People are just friendlier here. They smile at one another. And greet one another.<br /><br />If you have thought at all about a move away from the hustle and bustle of the large metropolis area, take a look at XtremeConsulting.com/careers. We have openings for developers and web designers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-56713265103415443122014-07-24T09:37:13.815-07:002014-07-24T09:37:13.815-07:00anyone feel like naming the person(s) who are resp...anyone feel like naming the person(s) who are responsible for wrecking Visual studio staring with VS2012 on up?<br />Sinofsky. <br /><br />"He and his Dev-focused PMs (the same group that brought sidebar apps for Vista) forced DevDiv to embrace Metro and their crappie WinRT API. WinJS...seriously!?!"<br /><br />yeah I already knew that but how about the names of the Sinofsky PM's that are still @MS how didnt fix it after he left, I need someone new to hate! I used to beat Sinofsky in my mind when to help me get to sleep then switched to ballmer, need help please<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-76211370412404252602014-07-24T09:04:29.669-07:002014-07-24T09:04:29.669-07:00I got the ax back in 2009. As many others have sai...I got the ax back in 2009. As many others have said, there is life after MS and it's much better. I do have a few suggestions for those who got hit, based on my experience.<br /><br />1. If your manager gives you a bad review that you think is unwarranted and you are subsequently targeted in the lay off for performance reasons, demand to see the feedback that your manager allegedly based the review on. My manager wrote several untruths, including a comment that "no one had anything good" to say about me in my review. I was laid off within 48 hours. I immediately demanded to see the feedback in the database. Surprise! There was feedback from 8 people and it was all positive to glowing. I didn't get my job back, but I was able to use my manager's deceit to get an increase in severance with the threat of a law suit.<br /><br />2. Cast a wide net in your job search, if possible. There are not enough jobs in Seattle for techies. I immediately started a nation-wide search. In the end, I got a job with another major tech company after 9 months of searching. Since then, I have been promoted twice, I have had the opportunity to live and work in The Netherlands and Russia and I'm making more than I could ever have dreamed of making at MS.<br /><br />3. You may have some dark days ahead, but there's light at the end of the tunnel if you play your cards right (have an effective job search, etc.). It's in your power to turn this situation into a positive.<br /><br />...and as for my manager: she's still at MS, at the same level, doing the same job. I wouldn't trade places with her for the world. Karma, baby!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-7950919779522829732014-07-24T08:12:05.954-07:002014-07-24T08:12:05.954-07:00Standard Chartered Bank also sends the employees b...Standard Chartered Bank also sends the employees back home worldwide.<br />The bank is going through a severe problemAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-75201309585054190782014-07-24T04:58:43.100-07:002014-07-24T04:58:43.100-07:00Where are the management cuts? Could we please lo...Where are the management cuts? Could we please lose Kevin Turner and every other tight-wad who came from Walmart and thought they could help run a software company? <br /><br />Anyone have an offer extended to new hires, and they have said no thanks (or just no)? Why would anyone of high caliber leave a job to come to Microsoft at this time, or choose it as a place to start their career?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-987649661877912202014-07-24T04:12:34.481-07:002014-07-24T04:12:34.481-07:00""Did anyone L65+ impacted by layoffs?&q...""Did anyone L65+ impacted by layoffs?"<br /><br />Short answer, yes."<br /><br />Thanks. Do you mind sharing the long answer?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-72955278594062189162014-07-23T22:28:03.891-07:002014-07-23T22:28:03.891-07:00why are leads/managers not pruned? most leads/mgrs...why are leads/managers not pruned? most leads/mgrs are glorified secretaries whose only job is sending emails. i know of a dev lead who had never used the product. the only thing that lead did was send emails.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-52083194016992923772014-07-23T22:09:09.049-07:002014-07-23T22:09:09.049-07:00What's new on Monday/Tuesday? I heard some M2s...What's new on Monday/Tuesday? I heard some M2s are turned to leads or ICs in SigMa. What is going on in SNAP?<br /><br />------<br /><br />All across the org, there are M1's and M2's fighting it out to see who gets to keep their jobs. So tense that I hear there's been crying in at least one of the meetings. Some M2's have set Friday noon as the deadline for making the M1 decisions in their groups.<br /><br />snap lost a lot of testers, but with the size of the team it is not a surprise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-6638794793526727992014-07-23T21:51:35.808-07:002014-07-23T21:51:35.808-07:00anyone feel like naming the person(s) who are resp...<i>anyone feel like naming the person(s) who are responsible for wrecking Visual studio staring with VS2012 on up?</i><br />Sinofsky. <br /><br />He and his Dev-focused PMs (the same group that brought sidebar apps for Vista) forced DevDiv to embrace Metro and their crappie WinRT API. WinJS...seriously!?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-14610745172274470522014-07-23T20:36:53.497-07:002014-07-23T20:36:53.497-07:00I always keep my resume active on Dice, I have bee...I always keep my resume active on Dice, I have been a v- in the past. I have received like four calls from shops about Microsoft v- jobs since the layoff with 2 being SDET jobs. The pay rate they are talking about is a joke. Furthermore doing a little research on two of the shops, there is a lot of negative stuff on them. Mediocre shops aren't that good but bottom of the barrel shops are completely unacceptable since getting paid on time is iffy with them.<br /><br />So... It looks to me like MSFT may be replacing layed off people with much cheaper contingent workers. Would anyone really be surprised. Btw the 6 month hiatus rule is fairly common at other companies. No biggie really. Some of the v- folks are key players in project work and quite frankly the directs want no part of what those v- people are doing because it isn't helpful to advancement. January of 2016 should be interesting. I expect of lot talented v- folks to move on before that though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-33506423762862133842014-07-23T19:34:49.865-07:002014-07-23T19:34:49.865-07:00I think MS is great company, it's the people w...I think MS is great company, it's the people who need to make it great. SDEs need to own their software and understand how it is used and write test code for it. They have been lazy about not learning the customer usage of their features. Now SDE's need to wake-up and figure out how their features are used and write tests as a user. I know from past experience that a lot of MS SDEs don't even know who their customers are and how they are using their code/changes. This is a good change. Since SDE's now own their features there is no need for SDETs, they can become regular SDEs. This is a much better model. If only MS applies scrum and agile methodologies where it is easier to see who is working on what and how they are developing what, then cronyism will become a much harder task and everyone who is not delivering can be easily identified, things would be much better.<br /><br />MS in general should eliminate SDET and have developers/past testers all part of the development team that own their own stuff, it's a step in the right direction. Now if we can make it so that PM/features are not trumped up, but are real customer scenarios/bottom up features that developers thought of, there is a future for MS after all.<br /><br />Ownership and accountability should be native things that everyone thinks off, I own this feature/area is a much better motivation. Just look at Amazon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-70570964922401672222014-07-23T19:19:15.406-07:002014-07-23T19:19:15.406-07:00Not just true for big corporations, but also for M...Not just true for big corporations, but also for Microsoft specifically: http://www.overcomingbias.com/2014/07/firm-inefficiency.html<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-30532897423893376022014-07-23T18:32:25.311-07:002014-07-23T18:32:25.311-07:00After working in a few positions over a few years ...After working in a few positions over a few years I expect to see inefficiency and profit year over year at MS. Layoffs are like moving the furniture. Management is in part about changing something somewhere and blowing buzzwords about the innovation. <br /><br />Ballmer's biggest offense was not making more and more but not making more and more and more. <br /><br />If MS ruled mobile and the cloud like it rules office and servers it would be back in court with the DoJ for a breakup. If MS had stuck with only office and servers it would be richer and the All Wise All Knowing Blogging Prophets of Doom would be howling all the more. <br /><br />Microsoft is a multi-national company and every country in which Microsoft sells products would like to have more citizens as Microsoft employees. So those countries look out for their citizen's interest. Foreign countries make Microsoft obey their laws and keep writing new laws for Microsoft to obey for those countries profit. I have worked in European countries in positions that require US citizenship and my USA company and I still had to fill out paper work to prove I am not taking a job from their citizens. This is true in Germany where private businesses recruit workers in certain areas when Germany really runs short of needed workers. <br /><br />There is massive worldwide piracy of Microsoft products especially in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries. I would not suspect USA v- citizens to be more likely of stealing Microsoft IP if they work more than 18 months with campus access than foreign MS workers living in the USA or in their home countries. <br /><br />In my limited experience, visa workers range not only from very good to not so good as with USA citizens but also include a learning-on-the-job option not available to the same degree for US citizens. There is nothing wrong with any private USA business doing this until you get to Gates telling Congress he needs more visa workers because US born workers lack skills. Many MS employees are "blue collar" IT workers in infrastructure as opposed to SDE(T) in marketed applications. USA citizens in infrastructure positions can be replaced with visa workers and never be heard from on this blog or elsewhere. <br /><br /><br />...at least Ellison can speak in complete sentences without sweating, fidgeting and claiming to be your friend.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-43381616464171427222014-07-23T17:22:17.540-07:002014-07-23T17:22:17.540-07:00"I have to say that Terry Meyerson handled th..."I have to say that Terry Meyerson handled this much the way you recommend, Mini. He sent an email saying it would all be done on one day, by a certain time. two days later he sent another, saying it was done and no plans for further changes. Compare that with Elop, who blathered at great length before getting to the point.<br />I am in OSG, and many of the people who left were my friends. I grieve for them, and feel a little unsure about my own future, but as there's no great way to handle layoffs, I think this was the least bad way."<br /><br />+1Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-13086880095859048032014-07-23T17:19:24.250-07:002014-07-23T17:19:24.250-07:00"Did anyone L65+ impacted by layoffs?"
..."Did anyone L65+ impacted by layoffs?"<br /><br />Short answer, yes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-37605188195508828772014-07-23T17:16:32.486-07:002014-07-23T17:16:32.486-07:00To "I am working with a reputed firm in Bay a...To "I am working with a reputed firm in Bay area". If you base your decision making on the (alleged)case of 2 example then I question the reputedness of your firm. And I say this as an English major. :)<br /><br />While the anecdote doesn't ring true, the message does. It's a changing an innovative industry and the stability of many groups at Microsoft over the years is an anomaly. We should all be prepared for change, even if it means we transform ourselves. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-2233629974594247622014-07-23T16:42:48.390-07:002014-07-23T16:42:48.390-07:00For those still employed at review time, ask how M...For those still employed at review time, ask how Microsoft will be investing in your career this year? If you are missing a degree or two, use education reimbursement to upgrade your education level this year. Ask to attend a conference in your field of work, and network with the people there from other companies. It is always easier to look for the next job while you still have one. If you need to refinance your house and have been putting it off, do it now, because they day they lay you off, it will be too late. <br /><br />For those laid off in this round, go to the Fidelity website start a 401K loan. See if you can find out for sure if you can continue the repayment plan from your own bank account instead of through payroll deduction after employment ends, ask it as a hypothetical future question, not in regard to you and your account. Worst case is that if they want the entire loan balance repaid and you can't do it, you will taxed on the money outstanding and hit with a 10% penalty for an early withdrawal. If you can continue the repayment schedule from your own account, you can borrow up to half of the 401K balance up to a max of $50,000 (if you haven't had a 401K loan in the past 12 months, otherwise the max is different). Log into your account and go to "loans and withdrawals" to see how much you can borrow at 4.25% currently. It's your money, and if you can repay it over the standard 5 years, it could cushion a lot of the blow of losing your income stream. OR, use the severance and unemployment checks to tide you over while you look for a new job. If you need to access the 401K savings in 2015 as a withdrawal, roll over the amount you need into an IRA, and then there are exceptions to the 10% penalty like for education or medical expense. You still get to pay the taxes on an early withdrawal, but if you wait into next year, it may be that you will have a lower tax bracket, take a look and run the numbers. The IRS has a withholding calculator to run your projected tax liability for the year. Pay a professional to help if need be.<br /><br />For all those who missed out on the layoffs of 2009, there have been 5 years to realize that MSFT isn't a stable employer that you can rely on forever. Hopefully anyone who needs a reminder to save early and often, and live beneath your means, will think that over now. <br /><br />Waiting to hear that some layers of management like directors reporting to directors have been axed in the flat org plan. Would really like to hear why employees who most recently were told they are valued, were the ones selected for this cut of 1351.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-11684993981431466512014-07-23T15:59:41.350-07:002014-07-23T15:59:41.350-07:00Does anyone know if people who met the age 55 and ...Does anyone know if people who met the age 55 and 15 years with MSFT were allowed to retire and continue to have their stock grants vest in future years, as opposed to being cut as of 9/15? Also, can we hear how puny of bonus is being given to those who are leaving? Will they receive nothing for bonus? Clearly a stock grant vesting later is not of any use.<br /><br />Other than the week of severance for every six months as an employee, and the six months of insurance (far more than the 2009 people got when their insurance ended along with their 60 days of WARN notice), did anyone receive anything else? And are those over 40 or in any other protected class seeking the help of an employment attorney before signing? Was the bulk "everyone here is canned" message as tacky as it sounds to the large groups who were notified en masse?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-67171543468768787252014-07-23T15:18:51.532-07:002014-07-23T15:18:51.532-07:00Another former Microsoftie. As many have already s...Another former Microsoftie. As many have already said, there is life after Microsoft and, in fact, it can be much better.<br /><br />One of the reasons that made me leave Microsoft, years ago, was that I realized that recently I was doing a lot less of what I like (writing software) and spending almost my entire time with politics. Don't get me wrong, all corporations have politics, and I'm perfectly fine dealing with some level of politics, as part of things to do at work.<br /><br />However, in the case of Microsoft, I noticed that politics became <i>the only</i> thing. To a level that shipping a product became just a side effect of all the political machinations going on. Because of that you have things like the Kin, which I can only imagine that it shipped because of some crazy political schemes going on at E and D at the time.<br /><br />For Microsoft to get out of its current funk, it will require a big change in the current culture. To make people value creating great products, and work together, as opposed to spend their entire time trying to get the best political angle out of everything.<br /><br />However, I don't think that will happen under Satya, if I may give my two cents. Satya is a product of the current system: in a company completely taken by politics, he is the ultimate political operator. He managed to position himself always on the right side of things, and kept climbing the ladder all the way to the very top.<br /><br />In fact, I'll risk a prediction: I don't think that Satya will stay as CEO for very long, and that will be by his own desire. I think that he plans to do a number of things that please Wall Street (such as layoffs) and make MS stock go higher and higher. Just as that is going on, he will be selling all the stock that I'm sure he is getting as part of his compensation. He will do that for two or three years, until he gets as close to be a billionaire as he can be. At that point, he will leave the CEO position, by his own decision, to join some VC firm or Patent Holding firm (such as IV) to make even more money. And he will leave the mess behind him, for somebody else to take care of it.<br /><br />Then, we will see in which shape Microsoft will be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-91742639197878992372014-07-23T11:54:45.260-07:002014-07-23T11:54:45.260-07:00"What does Adress book/Lync say about people ..."What does Adress book/Lync say about people impacted by layoff now?"<br /><br />I notice them as being away since 7/20 atleast with sometimes an OOF message with external contact info. I heard they all lost access to corpnet and buildings on Sunday.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-39268327992259077542014-07-23T11:52:53.487-07:002014-07-23T11:52:53.487-07:00"What's new on Monday/Tuesday? I heard so..."What's new on Monday/Tuesday? I heard some M2s are turned to leads or ICs in SigMa." <br /><br />Yes, I have noticed one M2 being made IC. He was not in Sigma. Customer experience Test.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-69942065934843991722014-07-23T11:33:55.468-07:002014-07-23T11:33:55.468-07:00On a side note, any word about Dynamics (cuts or f...<i>On a side note, any word about Dynamics (cuts or future cuts)?</i><br /><br />The relevant sentence from Kirill's email last Thursday:<br /><br />"While we are not eliminating any positions in MBS group today, I am asking each leader to examine where and how we need to change our innovation processes, culture and the way we work in order to accelerate our path forward."<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com