WDW IT Layoffs 1/30/2015

[ford91exploder]

I am not going to speak for this particular situation, but am going to jump in to comment about all the overseas work everybody seems to cry about. Overseas work in general is not conducted mostly to 'save money' because 'companies are cheap', and 'don't care about the American worker' but is done so because people in this country simply do not want to do the work.

Mostly this applies to manufacturing. Most people do not want to perform such work, and the few that are willing to provide such a service are going to have demands that exceed their worth.

The main factor is the willingness to work, not cost. Here is a fun fact to all the big company haters on this forum, when researching for a location to build a facility, cost is not the #1 factor, it is the pool of employable people.

I just laid off the guy that installed a new hot water tank for me. He services are no longer needed in my home, so I had to let him go. There is no room in my daily budget to keep a full time plumber employed.

Disagree with americans are unwilling to work, Unwilling to work unreasonable hours perhaps have this discussion with DBIL frequently he thinks that jobs should be 9-5 (now he works for Gov't where they are) I keep telling him with global competition the 40 hour workweek is DEAD, And that's why I do the 50-70 hour week.

But let's face it you are NOT going to have much of a family life if you are doing the 50-70 hour week and people WANT that back.

We are going to end up with European style labor regulation if this keeps up and 'offshoring' will become significantly more expensive.

 

[EdC]

I realize many of us work in IT, and thought I'd share this amusing, and all too accurate, view of how personnel in IT view each other. My hope, other than giving you a few nods and smiles, is that it might help those who are not in our area to understand our complex environment and why corporate doesn't seem to get a clear message about what each of us does, hence making us easy targets for layoffs:

View attachment 82444

Just follow the white rabbit, we'll see how far the rabbit hole goes.

Disney will miss having these people once the current generation of iPads/iTouch devices fall out of support from Apple. So in another 2 years. Which is long enough that the remaining staff will forget how it was done and point fingers, etc, etc, etc..

 

[zengoth]

probably explains why fastpass and disney internet was a no-show yesterday. Cast members acknowledged the entire system was down and they were out giving free fastpasses. The online user experience needs to be much better. Online for a half hour using phone battery getting "your system can't connect to the internet" messages, instead of "our system is temporarily down - check back later". Bad show.

 

[AnonymousFormerDisneyIT]

http://www.computerworld.com/articl...es-at-disney-over-use-of-foreign-workers.html

When both corporate and Parks IT "restructured", people were told that they could reapply for better fitting opportunities. To my knowledge, not one person has been re-hired. Instead their roles have either been outsourced or they were replaced by contract workers brought in on an H-1B Visa, who are paid approximately 40% less than the workers who were laid off. The majority of people who were let go were over 40 and female, generally the most expensive people to provide benefits for. Some of Disney's core values include respect, Value, Appreciate, Everyone. This obviously was not taken into account. What people also do not realize is how easily it is to go from prosperity to poverty in Florida. I assumed that based on my qualifications and education that I would be able to find another job quickly. It has been 6 months now and I am still unemployed. In Florida the maximum unemployment insurance paid to an individual, regardless of what their salary was, is $275 a week and is capped at $4400. In order to qualify for the insurance under Obamacare, you need to make a minimum of $12,000 a year. I signed up for health insurance, assuming that I would be able to pay the premiums. However; after 6 months, my savings have run out and I cannot afford to pay for basic necessities, much less insurance. When I applied for Medicaid, I was told that the state of Florida had opted out of offering Medicaid to single people. I moved to Florida to follow my dream of working for Disney; instead it has turned into my worst nightmare.

 

[englanddg]

http://www.computerworld.com/articl...es-at-disney-over-use-of-foreign-workers.html

When both corporate and Parks IT "restructured", people were told that they could reapply for better fitting opportunities. To my knowledge, not one person has been re-hired. Instead their roles have either been outsourced or they were replaced by contract workers brought in on an H-1B Visa, who are paid approximately 40% less than the workers who were laid off. The majority of people who were let go were over 40 and female, generally the most expensive people to provide benefits for. Some of Disney's core values include respect, Value, Appreciate, Everyone. This obviously was not taken into account. What people also do not realize is how easily it is to go from prosperity to poverty in Florida. I assumed that based on my qualifications and education that I would be able to find another job quickly. It has been 6 months now and I am still unemployed. In Florida the maximum unemployment insurance paid to an individual, regardless of what their salary was, is $275 a week and is capped at $4400. In order to qualify for the insurance under Obamacare, you need to make a minimum of $12,000 a year. I signed up for health insurance, assuming that I would be able to pay the premiums. However; after 6 months, my savings have run out and I cannot afford to pay for basic necessities, much less insurance. When I applied for Medicaid, I was told that the state of Florida had opted out of offering Medicaid to single people. I moved to Florida to follow my dream of working for Disney; instead it has turned into my worst nightmare.

The vast majority of over 40 IT workers (and under 40, frankly) are not female, so if the goal was to cull the herd of older female employees, they wouldn't really be saving all that much.

Also, if the layoffs happened at the end of Jan, why are you unemployed for 6 months?

And, if you have degrees and certs, and a solid resume, why haven't you been able to find anything?

Furthermore, as you indicated you are not originally from Orlando, and you are single, what has kept you from shopping other markets in the meantime for gainful employment?

Just sayin...

 

[danlb_2000]

I am not one to usually use this GIF, but I this case I will make an exception.

 

[NelsonRD]

http://www.computerworld.com/articl...es-at-disney-over-use-of-foreign-workers.html

When both corporate and Parks IT "restructured", people were told that they could reapply for better fitting opportunities. To my knowledge, not one person has been re-hired. Instead their roles have either been outsourced or they were replaced by contract workers brought in on an H-1B Visa, who are paid approximately 40% less than the workers who were laid off. The majority of people who were let go were over 40 and female, generally the most expensive people to provide benefits for. Some of Disney's core values include respect, Value, Appreciate, Everyone. This obviously was not taken into account. What people also do not realize is how easily it is to go from prosperity to poverty in Florida. I assumed that based on my qualifications and education that I would be able to find another job quickly. It has been 6 months now and I am still unemployed. In Florida the maximum unemployment insurance paid to an individual, regardless of what their salary was, is $275 a week and is capped at $4400. In order to qualify for the insurance under Obamacare, you need to make a minimum of $12,000 a year. I signed up for health insurance, assuming that I would be able to pay the premiums. However; after 6 months, my savings have run out and I cannot afford to pay for basic necessities, much less insurance. When I applied for Medicaid, I was told that the state of Florida had opted out of offering Medicaid to single people. I moved to Florida to follow my dream of working for Disney; instead it has turned into my worst nightmare.

Sometimes these layoff are to 'trim the fat'. It is a way to keep the workforce strong. I understand that may be difficult to understand, and it's easier to assume these decisions are made by greed. I have seen several jobs go unfilled in the IT domain because we cannot find reasonable, qualified, professional candidates.

 

[Nubs70]

Sometimes these layoff are to 'trim the fat'. It is a way to keep the workforce strong. I understand that may be difficult to understand, and it's easier to assume these decisions are made by greed. I have seen several jobs go unfilled in the IT domain because we cannot find reasonable, qualified, professional candidates.

Then why don't you find the best marginally qualified person and train them?

 

[englanddg]

Then why don't you find the best marginally qualified person and train them?

IT is weird like that. It's one of the few industries / skillsets where often the people making the higher level decisions involving it have no idea how it really works.

 

[yedliW]

Then why don't you find the best marginally qualified person and train them?

Sometimes, that is an option.. others, the work that needs to be done can be done by others in the group, but taking the time (and resources) to train someone would be more of a strain than spreading the work around.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Then why don't you find the best marginally qualified person and train them?

The training can be very expensive.

 

[NelsonRD]

Then why don't you find the best marginally qualified person and train them?

What is the question? Why don't we pull somebody off the street and train them? That is why they are not employed to begin with. Businesses look for proactive people who are going to contribute. The IT field requires certain skill sets, along with the ability to learn on your own to keep up to date with the current trends and latest technologies. Training is not the solution. Desirable IT candidates are ones that learn on their own.

 

[AnonymousFormerDisneyIT]

The vast majority of over 40 IT workers (and under 40, frankly) are not female, so if the goal was to cull the herd of older female employees, they wouldn't really be saving all that much.

Also, if the layoffs happened at the end of Jan, why are you unemployed for 6 months?

And, if you have degrees and certs, and a solid resume, why haven't you been able to find anything?

Furthermore, as you indicated you are not originally from Orlando, and you are single, what has kept you from shopping other markets in the meantime for gainful employment?

Just sayin...

Corporate IT layoffs happened between August and October. While men where laid off as well, the majority of the people impacted were women. Yes, we need more women in technology. The CIO of the Walt Disney Company is a woman and there are a few VPs as well. However; if you look at the organization that I cam from, the only women that are left are administrative assistants and one or two contract workers. There are hundreds of Disney IT people in the Orlando market competing for the same roles. Quite frankly I am amazed at the viciousness of some of the comments people have made. Most people would prefer to be working and not applying for aid. I know I would. I never, ever thought I would have to apply for any kind of assistance and was humiliated when I had to. This has been an extremely personal journey for me and given the power of Disney in Orlando, I would prefer not to share those details. I have applied for roles all over the country. The average duration to find a new job is 30+ weeks. I am not alone. I would ask that until a person has walked in our shoes, do not judge. There, but for the grace of GOD...

 

[Nubs70]

What is the question? Why don't we pull somebody off the street and train them? That is why they are not employed to begin with. Businesses look for proactive people who are going to contribute. The IT field requires certain skill sets, along with the ability to learn on your own to keep up to date with the current trends and latest technologies. Training is not the solution. Desirable IT candidates are ones that learn on their own.

Seriously, if the open job is causing lost revenue or increased overhead, why not contact the local educational institute(s) CS department and set up internships that will provide a stream of marginally qualified candidates?

Best yet is you can pay them even less than an H1B Indian.

 

[englanddg]

Corporate IT layoffs happened between August and October. While men where laid off as well, the majority of the people impacted were women. Yes, we need more women in technology. The CIO of the Walt Disney Company is a woman and there are a few VPs as well. However; if you look at the organization that I cam from, the only women that are left are administrative assistants and one or two contract workers. There are hundreds of Disney IT people in the Orlando market competing for the same roles. Quite frankly I am amazed at the viciousness of some of the comments people have made. Most people would prefer to be working and not applying for aid. I know I would. I never, ever thought I would have to apply for any kind of assistance and was humiliated when I had to. This has been an extremely personal journey for me and given the power of Disney in Orlando, I would prefer not to share those details. I have applied for roles all over the country. The average duration to find a new job is 30+ weeks. I am not alone. I would ask that until a person has walked in our shoes, do not judge. There, but for the grace of GOD...

And yet, I've been in the IT industry since the mid-90s. And, while I have taken work in other fields (due to availability and interest), I've never, in my professional life since age 18, gone more than two weeks without having some sort of employment.

I am quite aware of what it's like to be laid off, lose a job, and fear for tomorrow. As is pretty much everyone else who has grown past their parents basement.

Anyhow, I wish you the best of luck. I do, however, fail to see how employment in IT (still a strong industry) if you are well certified and experienced, would be an issue. The skillsets are strongly in demand, even if it's just working at your local Best Buy on the Geek Squad (which, pays a heck of a lot better than unemployment does).

 

[englanddg]

Seriously, if the open job is causing lost revenue or increased overhead, why not contact the local educational institute(s) CS department and set up internships that will provide a stream of marginally qualified candidates?

Best yet is you can pay them even less than an H1B Indian.

Because they'll likely walk out with a degree, but not the skills required for the job. Sad to say, but true.

 

[AnonymousFormerDisneyIT]

Sometimes these layoff are to 'trim the fat'. It is a way to keep the workforce strong. I understand that may be difficult to understand, and it's easier to assume these decisions are made by greed. I have seen several jobs go unfilled in the IT domain because we cannot find reasonable, qualified, professional candidates.

Absolutely. Disney has a responsibility to its shareholders, not to its employees. However, when you are told to reapply for jobs and they are filled by people with H-1B Visas, that is just more salt in the wound. If you do some research, you will see that this was a calculated decision made by Disney's IT executives.

 

[NelsonRD]

Seriously, if the open job is causing lost revenue or increased overhead, why not contact the local educational institute(s) CS department and set up internships that will provide a stream of marginally qualified candidates?

Best yet is you can pay them even less than an H1B Indian.

Unfortunately, I speak from direct experience here, and it is more depressing than you might realize. While we have reached out to several potential students, the demands these kids have with no experience is amazing. Additionally, they think because they took a C++ class they are experts and worth 100K a year. Third, we get the "don't want to work on that" as well. It is not as easy as you might think to find a good fit.

 

[Bob]

Corporate IT layoffs happened between August and October. While men where laid off as well, the majority of the people impacted were women. Yes, we need more women in technology. The CIO of the Walt Disney Company is a woman and there are a few VPs as well. However; if you look at the organization that I cam from, the only women that are left are administrative assistants and one or two contract workers. There are hundreds of Disney IT people in the Orlando market competing for the same roles. Quite frankly I am amazed at the viciousness of some of the comments people have made. Most people would prefer to be working and not applying for aid. I know I would. I never, ever thought I would have to apply for any kind of assistance and was humiliated when I had to. This has been an extremely personal journey for me and given the power of Disney in Orlando, I would prefer not to share those details. I have applied for roles all over the country. The average duration to find a new job is 30+ weeks. I am not alone. I would ask that until a person has walked in our shoes, do not judge. There, but for the grace of GOD...

Just curious, what are your IT skills? Doing a quick search on Dice, I find that they have 472 open IT positions listed in Orlando.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Then there are also those who won't hire senior, experienced IT workers because they ASSUME that they cost too much, even though, when we are without a job for months, we tend to be extremely flexible and motivated in our asking salary!

oh, and just because a job on Dice pops up in a location search for Orlando doesn't mean that the job is based in Orlando. Some are very deceptive.