joy_fernandez
Well Known Member
Note sure how many of you have seen this report, so I just wanted to share this with all of you. As I read this my heart goes out to all those employees. I know I have worked with some very good people over the years, and they at least deserve to know that we are thinking about them.
PeopleSoft staff waits for the ax
Pleasanton software firm's employees brace to hear their fate, plug into alumni networks
Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, January 14, 2005
Employees of the company formerly known as PeopleSoft Inc. are anxiously awaiting today's expected announcement from their new employer, Oracle Corp., on planned layoffs and management changes in the merged firm.
The announcements are also bound to keep ex-PeopleSoft employee Steve Tennant busy during the coming weeks.
He is the coordinator of the newly formed PeopleSoft Alumni Network, which is bracing for an increase in membership applications.
"We're ramping up and expecting a demand spike in membership," said Tennant, an Orinda business consultant who left the Pleasanton firm in 2000.
The expected job cuts come after Oracle's bitter 18-month battle to take over PeopleSoft, which ended last month after the Pleasanton firm's board finally agreed to the $10.3 billion merger deal.
Oracle executives have said the controversial merger could entail about 6, 000 job cuts from both organizations. That has prompted some PeopleSoft employees to begin exploring other options.
Many have turned to the alumni network, which has served as an effective venue for getting leads for jobs and business opportunities for former PeopleSoft employees in the past.
Tennant, who said an earlier PeopleSoft group formed in the late 1990s had disbanded, formed the group in September as Oracle's protracted campaign to take over PeopleSoft was coming to a head.
The PeopleSoft network, which has about 300 members, has been growing steadily since it was formed in September. The group has gotten more inquiries from PeopleSoft employees who either expect to get pink slips or don't plan to stick around under the new regime.
But Tennant notes that his group can welcome PeopleSoft employees only after they've left the company.
"We've been getting a lot of requests from current employees, and we're turning those away," he said. "Until you have left the company, this isn't your group."
But the interest in his network is understandable, Tennant aid. The alumni network will help fill an emotional need for PeopleSoft employees, he said.
Employees describe the mood at PeopleSoft as emotional and full of uncertainty.
"A lot of people have their moving boxes out," said a 13-year company veteran who asked to remain anonymous and who said he intends to join the alumni network. "A lot of people just don't come in. A lot of people are looking for jobs."
Another employee said they have been told that they will get letters on Saturday either offering them a position with Oracle or explaining their severance packages.
Despite the gloom in Pleasanton, Tennant said the outlook for those who will be let go is bright.
"The really encouraging news is that the economy is improving," he said, adding that about 50 recruiters have registered with his network's Web site.
Jerry Franklin, a former PeopleSoft technical writer who is now part of the alumni network, said, "Being laid off is a miserable experience. But I would also imagine that recruiters and employers ought to be just rubbing their hands in glee at the breadth and depth of the talent pool that's about to become available to them."
In fact, one technology giant has already made its move: SAP of Germany, whose Palo Alto office has begun talking to potential recruits.
SAP is Oracle's chief rival in the market for back-office software, and it benefited from the uncertainty that surrounded the Redwood City firm's 18- month campaign to gobble up PeopleSoft.
In an ironic twist, one of the executives helping SAP woo some of the talent from PeopleSoft is Dennis Moore, a former Oracle executive who heads an alumni group for former Oracle employees.
"We're hiring pretty aggressively, and we're delighted with the caliber and quantity of the applicants from companies like Oracle and PeopleSoft," said Moore, who is a senior vice president at SAP in Palo Alto.
David Downing, SAP's director of corporate communications in Palo Alto and a member of the Oracle network, said the company has already received many resumes from PeopleSoft employees. SAP in Palo Alto is hoping to fill about 60 positions, he said.
"There are some people who may lose their jobs through the layoffs, but there may be others who just don't want to stick around," he said.
Moore said that his group has been in touch with the PeopleSoft network but that they have no formal working relationship.
He said the Oracle network will welcome only Oracle employees who lose their jobs in the expected layoffs in the merged company. However, former PeopleSoft employees who survive the cuts but later leave Oracle will be eligible to join his group, he added.
"Part of the value of the Orac-Alumni Network is the camaraderie and the shared experiences," he said. "For people who were there for only two weeks and come from a different culture and background, it doesn't make sense to take them in. They do have their own alumni organization."
And that's fine with PeopleSoft alumni such as Tennant.
"There are people like me who left the company, and regardless of what happens, I will be a PeopleSoft alumnus for the rest of my life," Tennant said.
In forming his group, Tennant turned for advice to John Verrochi, a business consultant who formed two successful alumni groups for former Hewlett- Packard and Sun Microsystems employees.
He said alumni groups have played a bigger role in helping employees keep in touch and find business or job leads in Silicon Valley and beyond.
"I am a great believer in the power of networking," he said.
Richard Stiller, a Cupertino human resources consultant, said that while alumni networks offer members jobs or business leads, they also help them adjust to life outside their old firms.
"They make people feel sort of safe," he said. "But you can't feel safe if you're losing your job. Don't feel safe, otherwise you won't go out looking for a job. If someone came to me and said, 'Should I be on this list?' I'll say, 'Yeah, if it's free' -- but that's just one of the things people should be doing."
E-mail Benjamin Pimentel at [email protected].
PeopleSoft staff waits for the ax
Pleasanton software firm's employees brace to hear their fate, plug into alumni networks
Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, January 14, 2005
Employees of the company formerly known as PeopleSoft Inc. are anxiously awaiting today's expected announcement from their new employer, Oracle Corp., on planned layoffs and management changes in the merged firm.
The announcements are also bound to keep ex-PeopleSoft employee Steve Tennant busy during the coming weeks.
He is the coordinator of the newly formed PeopleSoft Alumni Network, which is bracing for an increase in membership applications.
"We're ramping up and expecting a demand spike in membership," said Tennant, an Orinda business consultant who left the Pleasanton firm in 2000.
The expected job cuts come after Oracle's bitter 18-month battle to take over PeopleSoft, which ended last month after the Pleasanton firm's board finally agreed to the $10.3 billion merger deal.
Oracle executives have said the controversial merger could entail about 6, 000 job cuts from both organizations. That has prompted some PeopleSoft employees to begin exploring other options.
Many have turned to the alumni network, which has served as an effective venue for getting leads for jobs and business opportunities for former PeopleSoft employees in the past.
Tennant, who said an earlier PeopleSoft group formed in the late 1990s had disbanded, formed the group in September as Oracle's protracted campaign to take over PeopleSoft was coming to a head.
The PeopleSoft network, which has about 300 members, has been growing steadily since it was formed in September. The group has gotten more inquiries from PeopleSoft employees who either expect to get pink slips or don't plan to stick around under the new regime.
But Tennant notes that his group can welcome PeopleSoft employees only after they've left the company.
"We've been getting a lot of requests from current employees, and we're turning those away," he said. "Until you have left the company, this isn't your group."
But the interest in his network is understandable, Tennant aid. The alumni network will help fill an emotional need for PeopleSoft employees, he said.
Employees describe the mood at PeopleSoft as emotional and full of uncertainty.
"A lot of people have their moving boxes out," said a 13-year company veteran who asked to remain anonymous and who said he intends to join the alumni network. "A lot of people just don't come in. A lot of people are looking for jobs."
Another employee said they have been told that they will get letters on Saturday either offering them a position with Oracle or explaining their severance packages.
Despite the gloom in Pleasanton, Tennant said the outlook for those who will be let go is bright.
"The really encouraging news is that the economy is improving," he said, adding that about 50 recruiters have registered with his network's Web site.
Jerry Franklin, a former PeopleSoft technical writer who is now part of the alumni network, said, "Being laid off is a miserable experience. But I would also imagine that recruiters and employers ought to be just rubbing their hands in glee at the breadth and depth of the talent pool that's about to become available to them."
In fact, one technology giant has already made its move: SAP of Germany, whose Palo Alto office has begun talking to potential recruits.
SAP is Oracle's chief rival in the market for back-office software, and it benefited from the uncertainty that surrounded the Redwood City firm's 18- month campaign to gobble up PeopleSoft.
In an ironic twist, one of the executives helping SAP woo some of the talent from PeopleSoft is Dennis Moore, a former Oracle executive who heads an alumni group for former Oracle employees.
"We're hiring pretty aggressively, and we're delighted with the caliber and quantity of the applicants from companies like Oracle and PeopleSoft," said Moore, who is a senior vice president at SAP in Palo Alto.
David Downing, SAP's director of corporate communications in Palo Alto and a member of the Oracle network, said the company has already received many resumes from PeopleSoft employees. SAP in Palo Alto is hoping to fill about 60 positions, he said.
"There are some people who may lose their jobs through the layoffs, but there may be others who just don't want to stick around," he said.
Moore said that his group has been in touch with the PeopleSoft network but that they have no formal working relationship.
He said the Oracle network will welcome only Oracle employees who lose their jobs in the expected layoffs in the merged company. However, former PeopleSoft employees who survive the cuts but later leave Oracle will be eligible to join his group, he added.
"Part of the value of the Orac-Alumni Network is the camaraderie and the shared experiences," he said. "For people who were there for only two weeks and come from a different culture and background, it doesn't make sense to take them in. They do have their own alumni organization."
And that's fine with PeopleSoft alumni such as Tennant.
"There are people like me who left the company, and regardless of what happens, I will be a PeopleSoft alumnus for the rest of my life," Tennant said.
In forming his group, Tennant turned for advice to John Verrochi, a business consultant who formed two successful alumni groups for former Hewlett- Packard and Sun Microsystems employees.
He said alumni groups have played a bigger role in helping employees keep in touch and find business or job leads in Silicon Valley and beyond.
"I am a great believer in the power of networking," he said.
Richard Stiller, a Cupertino human resources consultant, said that while alumni networks offer members jobs or business leads, they also help them adjust to life outside their old firms.
"They make people feel sort of safe," he said. "But you can't feel safe if you're losing your job. Don't feel safe, otherwise you won't go out looking for a job. If someone came to me and said, 'Should I be on this list?' I'll say, 'Yeah, if it's free' -- but that's just one of the things people should be doing."
E-mail Benjamin Pimentel at [email protected].
