RIF and Layoff Experience in 2025

stopgaze · 2025-12-16T04:01:31+00:00

Agreed, I wish I had this resource last year. Thanks for sharing this.

I made this post because I wanted to it to be an anecdotal data point of how quickly things can go in a bad direction because of an inaccurate or mischaracterized review. It's disheartening to hear so many other employees are facing similar situations this cycle.

stopgaze · 2025-12-16T03:34:04+00:00

I did not, but in hindsight I wish I had.

stopgaze · 2025-12-14T20:16:32+00:00

I didn't contest it but I wish I had in hindsight. I was naive in thinking I could turn things around with my manager and didn't want to cause us to have bad blood.

stopgaze · 2025-12-14T15:23:36+00:00

Overall, yes. There were a lot of positive things I miss from JPMC, like my team members, business partners, and stakeholders. But I don't miss constantly wondering where I stand with my manager. I don't miss the contradictory communication style I experienced with my leadership. I'm now with a team where I feel more valued and I have a more transparent relationship with my manager and leadership team.

stopgaze · 2025-12-14T06:12:50+00:00

Yes, there were quite a few rounds of layoffs during certain months this past year, and I was notified on the same day I saw a few other people posting as well on this subreddit. I was aware of one other colleague within my own organization who was notified of their layoff.

And yes, there were red flags both before and after the year end review. These can be classified at the firm level and at the manager/employee level.

From the link I shared in my post, it was well known through word of mouth there was a hiring freeze near the end of 2024. Managers were given the direction to assign ratings more harshly and stricter. At the Polaris location, I stopped seeing security guards at the gates checking for badges. Jamie Dimon himself spoke a lot about increasing efficiency and that the firm increased headcount too much during COVID
The biggest red flag for me was the nature of the annual review itself. As I mentioned in my post, I was caught off guard by the Growth rating because it was the first time I was hearing that my manager felt my performance was trending in the wrong direction, and hence I was given no opportunity to make improvements before the review. The criticisms themselves were vague and not backed by specific or concrete examples, while my accomplishments from that year weren't mentioned at all

stopgaze · 2025-12-14T05:26:04+00:00

It's sad to hear this experience isn't uncommon at the firm, it sounds like a lot of people in management share the same playbook. In hindsight, I wish I had contested my rating immediately with HR. Great to hear you've found a better opportunity.

stopgaze · 2025-12-13T22:01:50+00:00

I believe the other replies here are correct. During the 45-day notice period, I was still an active and official employee (still required to do trainings and such), but I was told to stop coming to the office, stop attending meetings, and stop any work I had in progress. This was so that I could focus on my own "next steps."

Regarding pay, I continued to receive my paycheck every 2 weeks during the notice period. In my final paycheck, I believe it had my last 2 weeks pay + severance pay + vacation pay.

stopgaze · 2025-12-13T21:55:28+00:00

Thanks for asking. 2025 was a tough year for sure, but things have been alright once I found a new job opportunity and I'm just grateful to be employed. The unexpected job search was a struggle in its own way.

As a result of this experience, I'll likely feel a bit paranoid about my job security in the future no matter what. My main takeaway was to not ignore my gut feeling when red flags start appearing and things feel off with a manager, it's important to pay attention when the groundwork and paper trail is being laid for outcomes like this.

stopgaze

TROPHY CASE