This is an addendum to a previous post. Somebody asked about for opinions about Cisco's announced layoffs of 8500 people. I responded that every tech company is going through hell right now, but Cisco had the forethought and compassion to offer 6 months severance (2 months automatic, an additional 4 if you sign their severance agreement), which stands in stark contrast to certain other companies who not only gave no severance, but declared bankruptcy while still owing backpay and expenses to employees (the Web consulting company Marchfirst immediately comes to mind - the bankruptcy judge of that case has even declared that employees who are owed backpay/expenses have to get in line behind the major creditors, so you know those employeers are going to get nothing). Then there are stories of people getting severance checks that bounced, companies laying off people in violation of the Federal WARN labor laws, companies giving job offers and then trying to retroactively withdraw the offer after the offer was accepted (presumably the candidate had turned down other competing offers to take the offer which is now being withdrawn), etc. etc. If you're going to have to lay off people, offering 6 months severance seems to be a more-than-compassionate way to do it. Several other posters talked about similar deals offered by Nortel and other companies when they laid people off. So it's pretty clear that some companies have positioned themselves as 'the good guys' (as opposed to other companies who have clearly shown themselves to be the 'bad guys'), so that they will be the employer-of-choice when the economy picks up again. These companies have tried to preserve goodwill among the networking community so that they will have little problem in hiring again. While I am not trying to downplay the pain that those laid-off Cisco or Nortel employees must be feeling, on the other hand, they could have been working for one of those www.fuc*edcompany.com employers like Marchfirst. Well, to build up even more goodwil, recently, it was announced that John Chambers is cutting his salary to $1. The chairman (forgot his name) is also cutting his salary to $1. The management stated that since so much cost-cutting was going on at Cisco, management should share in the pain. I don't begrudge company execs getting rich when times are good, but it is so refreshing to see execs sharing in the bad times. A world of difference from the usual M.O., where execs slash thousands of jobs and still reap their millions. As stated in fuc*edcompanyL "These guys seem to have worked out that you don't have to be an as*hole to make money. Bravo. About fuc*ing time someone got a clue" Now some of you may be thinking that the $1 salary is just a Cisco publicity stunt. Sure, maybe so. Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=2417&t=2417 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]