5 ms·

Dumb Q: what's a RIF?

by fire 5y ago

StevePerkins 5y ago
Reductions in force. Fancy term for layoffs.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  It almost seems worse than layoff. Like you are just draining a tank a bit to reduce the pressure.
  - sgerenser 5y ago
    No no, that would be a Reduction In Pressure, RIP.
tomrod 5y ago
Acronym for reduction in force. Common usage among fortune 500 companies I gather. Layoffs is too passé a term.
- fatbird 5y ago
  A couple years ago, Hootsuite announced that they were laying off 20 employees at one location, but they termed it as "assisting them in their transition to the next stage of their careers." It was beautifully horrific phrasing, and the predictable field day followed.
  - irrational 5y ago
    We have thrown them off a cliff to assist them in their transition to the next stage of their lives.
  - nyczomg 5y ago
    I worked at IBM a long long time ago, and this reminds me of one of my favorite stories. At the time I worked at IBM, they were going through a series of layoffs (what's new huh?). I kept hearing this term, "opportunity for redeployment" from my fellow team members and others. Sometimes it would be phrased as, "I heard Bob got 'the opportunity'". I eventually asked my bitter/cynical team lead what it really meant and why everyone shook their head in sadness when they heard that someone else got "the opportunity". The answer was simple. These people were being "redeployed" to other companies. And they should probably find the company they will be deployed to next, because IBM is no longer employing them. And the word opportunity made it sound less crappy than reality. Maybe this is my favorite story, because redeploying myself from IBM years ago gave me many opportunities. I hope to someday forget Lotus Notes, Sametime, CMVC, Rational Rose, etc. And good luck to anyone trapped in a place like that.
    - fatbird 5y ago
      Your "redployment" saved you from their current email migration problems. And, ironically, perhaps, I find myself daily battling what I call "The IBM hangover," where large orgs (gov't and private) deal with the legacy systems they now own and the RUP requirements policies left behind. Domino on Powerbuilder; official polices governing change management via UML diagrams.
      - nyczomg 5y ago
        For sure. At the time I felt like earning a full time job at IBM was a career maker. I now realize that the guidance that made me think that was not great. But it came from my parents and my professors at the time. I hope people who used to be my age are getting better guidance.

Dumb Q: what's a RIF?

by fire 5y ago

Dumb Q: what's a RIF?

StevePerkins 5y ago

Reductions in force. Fancy term for layoffs.

MattGaiser 5y ago
It almost seems worse than layoff. Like you are just draining a tank a bit to reduce the pressure.
- sgerenser 5y ago
  No no, that would be a Reduction In Pressure, RIP.

tomrod 5y ago

Acronym for reduction in force. Common usage among fortune 500 companies I gather. Layoffs is too passé a term.

fatbird 5y ago
A couple years ago, Hootsuite announced that they were laying off 20 employees at one location, but they termed it as "assisting them in their transition to the next stage of their careers." It was beautifully horrific phrasing, and the predictable field day followed.
- irrational 5y ago
  We have thrown them off a cliff to assist them in their transition to the next stage of their lives.
- nyczomg 5y ago
  I worked at IBM a long long time ago, and this reminds me of one of my favorite stories. At the time I worked at IBM, they were going through a series of layoffs (what's new huh?). I kept hearing this term, "opportunity for redeployment" from my fellow team members and others. Sometimes it would be phrased as, "I heard Bob got 'the opportunity'". I eventually asked my bitter/cynical team lead what it really meant and why everyone shook their head in sadness when they heard that someone else got "the opportunity". The answer was simple. These people were being "redeployed" to other companies. And they should probably find the company they will be deployed to next, because IBM is no longer employing them. And the word opportunity made it sound less crappy than reality. Maybe this is my favorite story, because redeploying myself from IBM years ago gave me many opportunities. I hope to someday forget Lotus Notes, Sametime, CMVC, Rational Rose, etc. And good luck to anyone trapped in a place like that.
  - fatbird 5y ago
    Your "redployment" saved you from their current email migration problems. And, ironically, perhaps, I find myself daily battling what I call "The IBM hangover," where large orgs (gov't and private) deal with the legacy systems they now own and the RUP requirements policies left behind. Domino on Powerbuilder; official polices governing change management via UML diagrams.
    - nyczomg 5y ago
      For sure. At the time I felt like earning a full time job at IBM was a career maker. I now realize that the guidance that made me think that was not great. But it came from my parents and my professors at the time. I hope people who used to be my age are getting better guidance.