More than 360 redundancies proposed at VMware

More than 360 redundancies are proposed at VMware, which is a large employer in Ballincollig, The Echo has learned.

A letter sent to staff at VMware yesterday informed the staff that 364 redundancies were proposed.

This comes after US-based global firm Broadcom Inc announced that it had completed its acquisition of VMware, Inc at the end of November, and employees received correspondence informing them of “some organisational changes and possible redundancies”.

The most recent letter, seen by The Echo, explains the company “are proposing to make headcount reductions in order to simplify the organisation structure by introducing clear lines of accountability and streamlining processes.

“We have provisionally identified that certain functions and positions will not be required as a result of the ability to take advantage of group resources and synergies.

“The selection method that the company proposes to adopt to identify the employees who will be retained in the remaining positions will focus on performance and the importance of retaining the skills and expertise required to deliver its objectives in the new structure.” 

The list sent covers 1,064 employees, some of whom are understood to be based in VMware’s small Dublin office, but with the majority understood to be working in the Ballincollig site.

According to current proposals the number of those working in HR, Legal, Marketing and Workplace would be reduced by 61, from 67 to just six, while Finance would lose 99 staff, reducing from 106 to just seven.

Those working in DMT, Global Sourcing & Operations, SaaS & Subscription Business would see their numbers drop from 98 to 40, a reduction of 58, while 23 of those employed in WW Sales would be made redundant, a drop from 100 staff to 77.

37 redundancies are proposed for the VPS, Environmental, Social & Governance group, taking it from 121 staff to 84, and 25 in IT, CIO, Cloud Infrastructure Business Group, Service Provider Edge BU, Security Products, Modern Apps & Management, End-User Computing BU, taking it from 100 to 75.

The least affected group is the 314 employee- strong Tech Support Engineers & Managers, which is to lose just 21 of its 314 staff.

Customer Support, Escalation Management & Support Account Services is proposed to lose 13 of 88, while finally, the letter lists “all other roles in John Sabino’s CXS Organisation” as reducing from 65 to 38.

The letter says that consultation will take place on “alternatives to the redundancies, ways in which we might reduce the redundancies, how we can mitigate the impact on employees through, for example, the support we offer to those made redundant, the proposed make-up of the pools from which we select employees, where applicable, selection criteria and method of selecting employees for redundancy."

The headcount reductions are expected to take effect between February 9, 2024 for those employees required to work through a transition period up to October 31, 2024.

In the event of a redundancy, it is proposed that employees will be paid six weeks per year of service (including partial years) based on On Target Earnings (“OTE”), basic salary plus either Annual Performance Bonus or commission under the Sales Incentive Plan which is inclusive of statutory redundancy, OR *8 weeks OTE, capped at two year’s OTE.

Local Green Party councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork City Colette Finn told The Echo she was “really shocked” by such a high percentage of staff set to lose their jobs.

She said: “I was surprised at the level of redundancies, and at this time of year, coming up to Christmas, it must be an awful worry for people.

“We just have to try and see if other jobs can be attracted into the area, Ballincollig is earmarked to grow so people need to be able to get employment there as well.”

The Echo has contacted Broadcom for comment.