Weblog - Honeywell ArchivesMay 31, 2011 and previous
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Honeywell - read the original article. The Honeywell saga started first as the possible sale of the controls division to Siemens, then the merger of the whole enchilada with United Technologies and then ended a couple of days later with the sale to GE - all in less than a week! GE backed out of the merger, CEO Bonsignore was booted, Bossidy of Allied took over, and then handed over to a new, tough CEO, David Cote. Now, how is Honeywell doing? |
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Honeywell Industrial Systems - the GE-Honeywell fiasco updated Sept. 2003 in Jim Pinto's latest book Automation Unplugged. Read the Table of Contents. |
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Sunday, May 29, 2011
This is to the best tech group of guys I've ever worked with. The TPA Olathe Kansas flight safety group, where there is misery, we'll be there. When impossibility rears its ugly head, we change it's revision. As the fine oiled machine demands charts and aged WIP that doesn't exist, its multi-tasking function blockades needed parts automatically. There are people out there that respect you. As a shackled, button pushing baboon, I managed to land a job that lets me concentrate on electronics! Good luck guys. Thursday, May 26, 2011 Sorry, but MBAs don't get laid off; only the people under them that do real work gets laid off - even though it is off those peoples' backs that the MBAs jobs are secure. By sending your job overseas, or making your life miserable otherwise, they have made their jobs even more secure and are rewarding themselves like never before, at your expense. Yes, if they were laid off, they would be hard pressed to find a job that requires doing real work; but they will find other slave-driving jobs. They look out for each other like in a criminal organization. Ironically, it is easier to find a job that does not require skills, experience or common sense. Just a degree and an obnoxious attitude will do. So, don't hold your breath. Hold your nose, perhaps. Thursday, May 26, 2011 I can't wait for MBA's to be laid off - they will NEVER find another job because the US knows the MBA's are responsible for the demise of the American workplace. They can move to Mumbai, Manila and all the other hell holes they moved US jobs to. Wednesday, May 25, 2011 After 30+ years service, I got the boot from HW last July because everything was sent to Mexico and Czech Republic. I would probably still be there had I not flatly refused to travel and help the Mexicans and the Czechs set up their plants. Now with hindsight, I see that I am much better for it and am now a much happier person. I believe I went through a form of PTSD for first six months after being let go. I still maintain my contacts with friends and fellow employees that are still there, but now working in other capacities. These folk were willing to travel so HW rewarded some, not all, with other positions within the company. From what I hear from them on a weekly basis it sounds like one of Dante's versions of hell. One individual tells me that he does 3 - 4 actual hours of work a day and the rest is spent on HOS and 5S activities and he is required to keep a written log of everything he does during the day. As part of his HOS and 5S activity, he was placed in charge of the garbage cans in his area which meant painting and marking circles on the floor identifying their locations. He then was required to write a set of instructions on the proper maintenance of these cans. What a use of skilled employees! It seems as though all the MBAs they hired and dreamed up this garbage are now in a panic to save their jobs and just keep cranking out more edicts requiring more and more useless activity. As a previous poster alluded to, the product has now become a secondary consideration to "looking good" and the end customer be damned. Tuesday, May 24, 2011 I read the comments here and I think that everyone has an opinion of what's wrong, how things should be done, and that the Americans are the best of everything. The ideal situation for everyone that is faced with some form of inequality, is that we come together as a unit; it has always solved problems. Most people are using this site as a sounding board. Instead, if everyone felt that all the mentioned situations could be changed/improved, this could/would be an ideal forum for getting everyone organized to really make a difference. If we could pool our energy in a positive way and stop trying to get everyone else to start the party for us. Other companies seem to have identical situations. Look at the numbers if everyone were to come out of the "chicken"-coop". The "American Way" is to make sacrifices to change an injustice and make it be known. The new "American Way" is to blame other cultures for needing to work to support their families; what do you suggest? That they say, "I can't take the American's job" and let their families starve? We all vote; stop worrying about who's Republican or Democrat and come together to eliminate the people we're supporting; and change their benefits package. It takes one person to say "I'm tired" and to get everyone aboard and start a much needed movement. Not just with Honeywell, but with anything you're this passionate about. Best regards to everyone. Stress is one of the major killers. Monday, May 23, 2011 I decided, for a change, to attend one of the town hall meetings, just to waste a company-directed hour, like everybody else, and to meet my own personal goals and objectives of reducing my productivity to match the company's attitude. The thing that stood out most was the part where one of the managers was presenting before-and-after slides of areas in the plant that have been cleaned and tidied up. I thought, oh my God, have we become a janitorial service company? It also goes to show that the real work we do does not count for anything. There were no presentations of our recent technical achievements. WOW! It proves once again that the lack of appreciation for the technical work we do is not isolated to the leadership, but is also contaminating the lower level management, who should know a lot better. But you can't blame them, as they perhaps got accolades and bonuses for their clean-up efforts that they would never have gotten for any technical works. It seems that only one level of people employed by this company understands what we do and the gravity of doing it right, i.e. the skilled workers. And since we are at the mercy of these incompetent ivory-tower geniuses who are incapable of doing any real work, much less appreciating it, to provide us with the best people, tools and incentives to do the job right, there isn't much to look forward to but plungers and mops, and knives in the back. Even the janitorial support staff perhaps understands more of the nature of our work. Unfortunately, they are not similarly compensated in the tens of thousands and hundreds of millions like that other group with less knowledge and expertise in our work. So, what exactly do the leaders and managers do to make the company successful, while the rest of us "aren't doing anything"? I know that my manager is the biggest hindrance to my work in more ways than one. Sunday, May 22, 2011 Honeywell went from military spec for their solder requirement called MS2000 to a cheaper easier requirement called a J standard for their avionics electronics so the companies they out sourced to can afford the make its electronic parts cheaper for therm. This solder spec is not very good quality and it is not what I want to know running that airplane jet engine. Sunday, May 22, 2011 I keep hearing that H/W in Phx is getting back like over 700 engines with Turbine wheel problems. I heard the wheels were maybe worked on and or made in the Czech Republic. So much for the make-it-somewhere-else-cheaper thing! Now we in the 2101 building are losing our top gun. And he is going into the Avionics Dept. of another Div. I do not know where, but it seems maybe he is getting away from Engine/APU business for something safer and more stable? Also even some managers are going other places. Maybe something IS going to change and as we all know H/W it is not going to be for the better of the H/W employees. The day to day stupidity goes on as usual, with the more tape-on-the-floors labeling and everything exactly where it should go. More meetings and meetings. All I see during the day are good hard working people standing out in the halls in front of the boards with the charts and little meaningless numbers on them.
Lots more - very badly written, long-winded rant which I do not have the patience and time to edit and publish. Saturday, May 21, 2011 There is a great article in this week's Time magazine about Pratt& Whitney. How they figured out the smart thing is to keep engineering and highly skilled manufacturing in the US. Wouldn't that be great if Honeywell could figure that out? I wish someone would do an article on Honeywell and its push to move everything, including design, out of North America. Oh well, regrettably I do not see an article about Honeywell doing that ever appearing anywhere. Cote's dream is to just get everything out of the "developed markets" period. Well, except him and the other top dogs. Saturday, May 21, 2011 If all of you guys are really that unhappy, then stop moaning about it and DO something about it. Wednesday, May 18, 2011 It is true that Honeywell provides very sensitive, critical and high-tech components to their customers; which is why they ought to be a little more selective in their choice of labor used to design and build those products. But when you have a leadership that does not understand sensitive, critical and high-tech, or that is just too stupid to give a damn, but rather think only like clothes hangers, and toaster salesmen, as that is all they are capable of, then there isn't much that the rest of us can hope for. Forgive them as they are not capable of thinking of things more complex than clothes hangers and toasters. It is also true that our products aren't any cheaper to the customer, but somewhere along the way the customer is going to realize that the quality of the products that they are receiving are not what they used to be, and that they never seem to be delivered on schedule anymore either. If the leadership believes that they must cut cost to remain competitive, then they better hope that cutting quality and missing schedules is also making them competitive. But then again, they can always offer the customers a free toaster to appease them! By the way, for decades, the Japanese and Europeans have been providing superior quality products and services to their customers. What better way to counter that advantage, than to drastically lower the quality of our products and services further. How is that for a brilliant competitive strategy? N.A. corporations seem intent on making the business principle of customer-satisfaction a thing of the past! Tuesday, May 17, 2011 - Re: Microsoft, Intel - prices did not really reduce, and profit margin went up. This is not different from our industry. It is Cote's job to increase the share value. Conveniently it also increases his personal fortune. Company focussing on shareholder value translates to the board paid in stock. One word: Greed. Try to fight that with words. Tuesday, May 17, 2011 Everyone needs to remember the original rationale behind outsourcing versus modern reasoning: It used to make sense that if you wanted to sell your widget cheaper in the US, you would use cheap overseas labor that would lower your cost to market for the widget. This works most often for clothes hangers, toasters, flip flops etc. at Walmart. What people don't seem to understand is that complex high-end systems that Honeywell and few other outsourced companies produce don't sell any cheaper to end consumers now than they did when they were made here in the US. The only thing that changed was the profit margin. By getting rid of the US workforce, Dave Cote and the stockholders increased their profit margin per unit sold, whether it be avionics systems, or building automation systems. The bull@%$ phrase that these companies use to sell outsourcing to those that are going to lose their jobs is that the organization "needs to remain competitive" and of course we, as Americans, are suppose to feel guilty about costing so much in comparison to our overseas replacements. When Honeywell, GE or Microsoft send work abroad, the prices of their products do NOT go down; the profit margins GO UP. This is what they mean when they say "remain competitive" then they add "globally" to the phrase to account for a workforce overseas that will be doing the work. They use sound bytes like "going global" or "thinking in terms of a global market". I think on some level that's supposed to make us feel as if we are not worldly enough and we are too selfish to think beyond our own backyards. And somehow it's our fault that the only way the company can survive is to flee overseas. It's all marketing and it's all a scam being run on the American workforce. As far as bringing jobs back to the US - It's likely Honeywell and others will follow the Intel and MicrosoftT model. A huge percentage of Intel and Microsoft's workforce operating here in the US is H1B visa holders. Intel and Microsoft love this; the average H1B visa worker makes 30% less that their US-born counterpart. Monday, May 16, 2011 Ask yourself the question: Why did I buy a Sunbeam kettle and toaster "Made in China"? Did you feel "unpatriotic" by doing so? How would you react if a stranger lectures you on betraying your country? And did you replace the Sunbeam by a model "Made in US"? Copy & paste your answers to same questions translated to our industry. I inserted my own answers:
Q: Why do our customers buy Honeywell made in China?
Q: does Cote consider It unpatriotic to move manufacturing to low cost countries?
Q: What does Cote think when criticized on this blog?
Q: Will Customers change their behavior? My wife saw this great ad for Emerson smart kettles featured on Oprah. It has integrated toast, microwave, bake, fry, functionality, all one-touch, ease of use and no wires. In case of defects, it fixes itself or dials up the service hotline via Twitter. It is a bit pricy but, according to the ad, after 1 months, 4 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes, the smart kettle transfers money to my bank account monthly. There are some rumors about poor safety, but what can seriously go wrong with a kettle that predicts failures? After all Oprah is using it. It is not clear if it can actually boil water. My wife is totally excited, she made up her mind so who am I to oppose. Made where? Not sure? Ireland maybe? Who cares? Monday, May 16, 2011 To the poster who said, "Basically "the emperor has no clothes. They will not admit that there are problems." It's not that they won't admit that there are problems. It's the fact that self-preservation stops them from doing so. To voice concerns over problems would be inviting unwanted attention from higher up and being labeled "A PREVENTER" which would most certainly guarantee you a PIP on your next review and a permanent vacation. Not all Honeywell VPs are weasels. I once briefly knew VP in Phoenix who was not afraid to voice his opinion on the idiocy of wasting vast sums of capital on the money pits of Mexico and Czech Republic. Notice I did say that I "briefly" knew him. Sunday, May 15, 2011 We shouldn't get too excited, too quickly, that the work is coming back to the U.S., as that would require the application of common sense, and an admittance of very poor judgment in the blind obsession to cut cost at the expense of all else, and the suppression of corporations greed that ignored all else. As we have seen so far, corporationsâ leaderships are not capable of any of these virtues. Nevertheless, there may be more signs that the wheels may be starting to come off the outsourcing and off-shoring wagons of corporations. Not that the corporate geniuses will ever admit that they are. But they may not be smart enough to think or know that something is amiss. They have never been known to learn from past mistakes, or to apply lessons learned. They must have attempted outsourcing perhaps a dozen times over the past two decades, only to find that it is not worth it. The initial cost savings is always overrun by the poor quality of the work and the additional cost to fix and/or redo everything in-house, resulting in cost and schedule overrun, and dissatisfied customers, every time. This time, and understandably so, they have used the economic crisis to cut cost, but narrow-mindedly at the expense of all else, and they may now be creating a credibility crisis with their customers. That will inevitably force future programs and customers to seek out product suppliers that do not minimize the importance of quality, reliability, schedule, etc. The customer-deserves-the-best is lost on corporations. But the previous attempts to cut costs was before the cheaper labor in India, China, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Puerto Rico etc. Now the cost is less, for now. The quality is questionable (still have to fix and/or complete some of work coming out of those places), and the schedule, while impressive at first, seems to be trending towards the same old (normal) cycle time, or worse. It's now taking ten weeks for one of our new vendor/manufacturersâ off shore entity to inform us that they have questions on the data that was sent to them; the same data that no previous vendors or manufacturers had issues with for the past 25 years. They have never applied any urgency to our low volume orders. It's just a lot worse now. In the electronics industry, changes are inevitable and frequent. And while the changes are mostly absorbed in work done in-house, and the schedule is usually recovered, every minor change effected on work done elsewhere automatically and invariably inflates cost and schedule, exponentially. Such is the nature of the beast! For a while there, it seems that the work that came out of off-shoring, for instance, were done in impressive time, and were of reasonable quality. One could not help but wonder though; how did they do it so quickly? Were they working 24/7? It turned out that they were working 24/7, and were not burdened by the switching over of processes, guidelines checklists, etc. Sadly though, they are not being paid for overtime. But all good things must come to an end after those impressive probationary periods. No need to impress, once the work is secured. And for how long does one feel obligated to be underpaid, or to work overtime without pay, or give in to the pressure to do so, especially with the competitive job market improving in those places? People just aren't staying long enough to become experienced. Oh, but the corporations don't think that experience count for anything anymore. Oh well! So, the cost may still be competitive, for now. The jury is still out on the quality (it takes some time for that to be realized), but the cycle time seems to be falling to more humane and normal levels, given the more humane and normal efforts being applied. Where are we heading with all of this? I recently purchased a Sunbeam Kettle and Toaster. Yes, they were from Walmart, and yes, they are made in China. After a few uses, the kettle leaked half of its content, and the toaster, at max, just doesn't toast. They were competitively priced, but that's about it! We just need to look at the customer service lines at businesses that sell products made offshore, to get an inkling that the wheels and the wagon just may not be heading in the same direction. Saturday, May 14, 2011H How naive are you? China's wages would have to grow more than an order of magnitude or more before they become "expensive". And at that point, the work will just transfer from China to some other country that is cheaper, maybe South Africa or Peru. Whoever is cheapest, that is where the work goes regardless of if they can actually do it or not. Saturday, May 14, 2011 Anybody who's getting ready to celebrate the return of a very small percentage of previously outsourced American manufacturing jobs - either now or by 'Chinese parity' year 2015 - better wake up to the sobering facts: Just before those jobs were eliminated and sent overseas, they paid MIDDLE CLASS, one-earner, family-of-four wages - with great benefits. When/if they come back, those same jobs will pay $14/hour MAX - and MAYBE with mediocre benefits. Saturday, May 14, 2011 I have been with Allied/Honeywell for over 25 years. I would love to leave, but it looks like my age is a hinderance to that. Anyway, yes the company continues to surprise me with dumb decisions. I deal with babysitting engineers from emerging markets. I am also in meetings all the time with VP's of Honeywell. Basically "the emperor has no clothes". They will not admit that there are problems. The emerging markets can do no wrong and the problem is always that it was a 'mis-communication". I would love to be surprised by Honeywell making an intelligent decision about something, but I am not holding my breath. A good friend of mine got to leave the big H after 20 years and now works for a bio-medical firm. Much better environment and a company that thinks it makes sense to have people actually work together. Oh, and they make money and say thank you to the employees with money and just a positive atmosphere. So, my suggestion is to get out if you can. Friday, May 13, 2011 It makes you wonder what would have happened if Honeywell had not spent all that time, effort and money to move the manufacturing to China and had spent those resources on investment in the U.S. in the first place. Honeywell would have been in a fantastic position. They would now have all of the talented engineers that were laid off from rival companies working for them. They would have had a loyal and devoted workforce, modern equipment and a large head start in R&D. In short, they could have conquered the manufacturing market while the other companies are busy trying to acquire what they lost through greed. Unfortunately Honeywell is an "Us Too" company that simply copies the "leadership" of others and, as a result, they are going to spend more time, effort and money to struggle to try and get back what they have lost. It is a classic example of mediocre leadership, inflated ego's, greed and a lack of planning. That is going to be Dave Cote's legacy. Friday, May 13, 2011 This must be why I am still hearing chatter about Honeywell bringing manufacturing for it's US plant customers back to the Houston, TX area. With the rising wages in China, the rising value of China's currency, the growth of their middle class, and the ever rising cost of transporting goods made in China for US markets, the plan to move some manufacturing back to the US is the best news I've heard in a very long time. We also need to stop transporting technology out of the US. A great success story was given by President Obama yesterday. The US has increased it's market share of electric batteries from 2 to 40%. So, "Yes We Can!" if our CEO's let us do it in the USA! Thursday, May 12, 2011
2015 is considered to be the difference point where it will no longer be cheaper for the US to manufacture goods for the US in China. Wednesday, May 11, 2011 May be chickens are finally coming home to roost. I have no feeling of schadenfreude over this, but feel really sad that a company like Honeywell has devolved to this level due to its intentional blindness to the screwed up managers that it has.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 So many people get the "walk of shame " in this place, that it's no longer fun anymore. In the good old days, upper management would make it their personal goal to walk you to the door, and you could take your cup on the way out. This function then became the domain of HR who would at least give you a call after your immediate manager gave you the talk. Terminating a temp was done by someone a little higher than supervisor. Now it's just sad and pitiful. If you are a permanent staff member the managers are nowhere to be seen and some HR person will talk to you on the phone with someone (now its your co-worker or the new kid they brought in to replace you cheap) in there just to make sure you get the hell out. With a temp, they get a call from their agent telling them to vacate the building. Wednesday, May 11, 2011 I left Honeywell Phoenix in 1997 and it was already really screwed up at that point. Multiple levels of useless managers that did nothing but protect their kingdoms. My immediate manager squelched me because I was better than him so I left. Tuesday, May 10, 2011 I have to sympathize with so many of the posts here, because I also know some people who feel like they got a raw deal from Honeywell. My own situation is different though. I worked in manufacturing for Honeywell Canada for 15 years, then moved to Phoenix and worked another 22 years before retiring late last year. I have a great pension, somehow managed to save money and I still have a lot of friends from Honeywell that I socialize with. Retired and golfing in Palm Beach FLA. I don't think Honeywell is any better, or any worse of a company to work for than any other in the US. You just need to be smart about planning for the future. But I do realize everyone is different. Monday, May 9, 2011 That comment about the work atmosphere 15 years ago really hit home. That's exactly how we used to be. We were exceptionally good at our jobs, knew what we had to do and did it. We knew this because our division was very profitable and management told us so. Management provided objectives and turned us loose to accomplish them. Esprit de corps was high. We worked hard, but we had a good time while doing so. Then the bozos took over. We went from being treated like capable professionals who knew how to get results, to being treated like the stuff you scrape off your shoe. Instead of being given objectives and autonomy to accomplish them, we are now told which foot to lift, how high to lift it, and where to set it down. If a shoelace comes untied, approval to re-tie it must go through four levels of management. As often as not, we're told we didn't need the shoelace anyway. But if approval is received, then only the special management-approved knot must be used to re-tie it. Turns out it's a slip-knot so they'll be able to grant approval many more times in the future. Strangely, management has decided that the Chinese are much more capable of tying laces than we are, yet for some reason their shoes keep falling off. At this point management instructs us to teach the Chinese how to tie shoelaces, but the reward for a job well done in this culture is termination. Today, we spend more time fumbling with our shoes than we do solving real problems. Esprit de corps? What's that? Operational efficiency is a fraction of what it was before, but I'm comforted by knowing this must be EXACTLY what management wants, because they alone created this mess. I guess as long as the good times keep rolling in Morristown, who cares? Sunday, May 8, 2011 Appealing to the internal chain of command may be an exercise in futility and frustration, especially if you are on short-term contract. It is hard enough for full-time long term employees to win their case against a bureaucracy totally biased and increasingly discriminating against its employees. This company now views it employees as liabilities and have absolutely no respect for them, and when your immediate manager is even nastier it can be downright disconcerting. Understand that when you criticize an idiot manager, you are in effect criticizing the idiots who are responsible for hiring/promoting him or her, and since this company has now become a dictatorships where criticisms of any kind are absolutely not tolerated, you will be branded a traitor, and if they had their way, be shot. Managers have been forced into submission and cannot rebel and are left to take out their frustration on targeted employees. Ironically, while your manager can treat you unfairly, you cannot reciprocate against him or her, but you can against the company by changing your attitude towards your work. So the company suffers for the manager's indiscretion and the managers don't give a damn one way or another, except to have more reason to screw you over. Sunday, May 8, 2011 Better yet let Phoenix media know that you are being bullied at work. Bring in your religious organization, civil rights organizations - the works. Teach this bully a lesson he will never forget. And make some money off of their illegal behavior towards you. Sunday, May 8, 2011 - Re: Threatening supervisor: Tell the supervisor that you'll let the CEO & BOD know he is threatening you. Bring it up to legal resources both inside & outside the company. Don't let this bully push you around. Sunday, May 8, 2011 I am a contract employee at Honeywell. I am halfway through my 1 year contract. As more people quit, not only in my division but also other divisions, I am being told to take on their work. I currently doing three separate jobs and am being told by my supervisor that if my pace doesn't pick up I will be let go. Truth being told that's probably the best thing that could happen to me at this point. Sunday, May 8, 2011 I have decided that my health is worth more than working another 5 years at Honeywell. I have set my exit date, contacted the people in Morris Town, and if all goes as planned I'll be out of here before the 4th of July. Of course, I will give them about the same notice they would have given me. I am not telling my supervisor, or anyone else. Will be my July surprise. I will make sure I have removed all my tools and my papers and then just leave for the day and have it all setup for the next day to take my last floating holiday. I'll just come in that day to go right to HR and sign the papers and never look back. I will be so much better off than this stress on a day to day basis. I have looked into retirement South of the Border. I can live real good on my pension and my dividends from the financial company I moved my Honeywell funds into. People, be informed: You do NOT have to be 59.5 to take some, about 50%, of your 401K out and roll it into a group fund that will pay almost double the dividends you have been getting from Honeywell. Talk to a financial adviser. If you are over 59.5 you can pull out like 99% of the money in your 401K and get it into something safer than just the one high risk of H/W. I'm now into like 40 different company funds and my dividend checks have almost doubled. DO NOT leave all your eggs in the leaking H/W basket. The stock looks great and has been going up, but there are way too many rocks in the road and the H/W basket is made of glass. I so wish that thousands of H/W workers would pull their money out of the plan. That would send them a message, maybe! Oh well, my pain and stress will be over in about 6 more weeks and I will only miss the good times from about 10 or 15 years ago when we did not do any of this stuff and got out about double the amount of work we are getting out now. The people were hard workers but we had fun and still got the work done on time. I used to really like my job, and liked to build and fix things. But it is so screwed up that you just can't do a honest days work anymore! We fought over the years to do our jobs better and faster until we have nothing left and they say, "Why aren't you making the numbers?" It's kind of like the old Cheech and Chong skit where the Gestapo agent is asking the (old man) to (sign the papers) and the old man keeps saying, "I cannot sign the papers." And the agent says, "It is ok, just sign the papers! The papers only say that you have not been mistreated." Again the old man says, "I cannot sign the papers." And Gestapo agent screams at him and asks, "And why can you NOT sign the papers?" And the old man looks up with tears in his eyes and says, "Because you have broken both of my hands." And there you have it, in a nut shell! This is the hardest decision I will have even made. NOT the leaving H/W, I can see that very clearly now. If I don't get out of here soon I will just keep getting sicker, mentally as well as physically. Because I am leaving a few years early I really can't afford to retire here in the USA. I have traveled much and really enjoy the people and the climate away from this stress. It's so laid back and relaxed South of here. No, not Mexico - way South of there, like Panama, Peru or Chile, even the North East coast of Argentina, or South coast of Uruguay. Easy living and so reasonable to live there. So they don't have a circle K on every corner and you don't have 10 or 20 different types of breads to choose from in a store. Lots of retired Americans down south! Life is just so low key and I AM READY! As Arnold said: "Hasta la vista baby (and) I WON'T be back!" :) Thursday, May 5, 2011 The Naked Truth: If you haven't yet figured this out, Honeywell is NOT an engineering company. There are only approximately 19,000 engineers out of a total of 140,000 or so employees. Honeywell exists merely to perpetuate the careers of bull*** spewing, technically incompetent and largely sociopathic managers. Your career is deader than bin Laden if you remain on the "technical track" at HON. Thursday, May 5, 2011 - to the person who posted about their father who retired: Do you think that anyone at Honeywell gives a flip about your parents? No, they don't. They use people and discard them when they are done. Sorry this happened to you, but this is what the USA has become a country controlled by corporate CEO's, just like Oligarchs control Russia. There is no difference. People do not matter to Honeywell. Profits, dividends and reports to the shareholders are all that matter. Wednesday, May 4, 2011 My father retired from Honeywell 7 years ago after working for Honeywell for 30 years. He retired earlier than he wanted to, so he could keep his pension and retiree benefits including medical benefits for his family. He was told that both he and my mother would be covered until they were eligible for Medicare. Well, now he's about to turn 65 but my mother won't be 65 for another 6 years. Now they're being told that as soon as he turns 65, he'll be eligible for Medicare and she'll be able to keep her benefits (as a courtesy to him as a Honeywell retiree) for only $750 a month. Of course all of the money he lost out of his 401K and company stock could have paid the premiums but since that is all gone I can only assume that my mother will have to try to get Medicaid (although in Arizona she probably won't be able to get anything) due to her ill health. Thanks Honeywell for taking such good care of people who worked for you. By the way, my mother also worked for Honeywell for 20 years before being laid off. Wednesday, May 4, 2011 Our corporate and political leaders are the ones responsible for carefully guiding us into the worst recession ever, due to their short sightedness, selfishness, greed and just plain stupidity. They got away with it and are even rewarding themselves now. And while they survived and, mostly, fully recovered, the rest of us are still suffering. Now they are on the direct path to finishing the job and taking the corporations down with them this time! History has shown that most of these geniuses don't learn from past mistakes, but only keep introducing newer and more devastating ones to the mix. The growing dependency on foreign "everything" (oil, money, labor) seems like the smartest way to facilitate that end, i.e. "the end of America". U.S. corporations think of out-sourcing and off-shoring as the miracle drug that can cure all of their ills. But all drugs have side effects, and sometimes the side effects can cause several other symptoms in the drug taker. And like some drugs, the side effects of the dependence on foreign "everything" may not be immediate or temporary, but may have more lasting and devastating consequences. Let's hope that they change their prescription before it's too late. But, no matter how bad it gets, those leaders have more than enough money to survive any storm and live happily ever after and thus, no need to worry about anything, especially the future. Besides, share holders don't care about what these leaders can do for them in the future. They are basically day traders. Wednesday, May 4, 2011 I know that our political leaders are definitely stupid. On the other hand I know that our corporate leaders are EVIL to do this to their own country. The Evil corporate leaders control the stupid political leaders. Puppets on a string, lemmings to do their bidding, patsies for the shareholder dividends. The worst part of all this is that we the US citizens have been letting this happen. Tuesday, May 3, 2011 We seem to think that companies are just unconscionably sending their work abroad, and ought to stop doing that; but it is not that simple. They are doing it because they are getting the work done elsewhere for a fraction of the cost to the company. Once they got a taste of it, there is no stopping or turning back, despite the risks or long term consequences. If India and China can find somewhere else to get the work done for a fraction of the cost, they will be sending the work to those places as well. But those countries are also engaging in anti-patriotic and anti-employee practices in their own way by using foreign labor in their effort to save money. They are using and abusing foreign workers under the guise of shortage of skilled labor, when in fact those foreign workers are really just cheaper labor, or slave labor with no rights. So, while U.S. corporations are outsourcing their work to cheaper labor to cut cost, those cheaper entities are further exploiting even cheaper labor entities. Honeywell outsources to Celestica, then Celestica outsources to Asia, and the Asians use slave labor. In the mean time, the quality of the work is relative to what they are paying. The big difference in the N.American application of this strategy is that quality, schedule, customer satisfaction, respect of employees, employee loyalty, etc. does not matter at all anymore! High-tech workers are given the same considerations as call-center workers. You will find that defect and return rate of low tech or consumer products made in China are extremely high, but still cost effective for companies because of the very low cost of labor. And having to repair or replace products several times may still be cost effective, but at the cost of all else, especially customer satisfaction. Corporations donât care about all else. And the strategy behind the corporations' efforts is if there are laws in the area that you operate that limits the amount of abuse you can inflict on your employees. So then, open shop in areas where there are no laws, or little or no employee protection. Some vibes coming from some of those off-shore entities seem to indicate that Honeywell may be also starting to export their abusive ways to those employees as well. Remember that the customers are cost cutting too and expect their products and services for less, and may not realize that along with their schedule compromises they may be unwittingly compromising on quality, etc. i.e. until the planes start falling out of the skies. We, ourselves, are now purchasing lower quality products to save money, or willing to wait a little longer to get something for less, or shopping around for cheaper services. Unfortunately, such is the corporate world. Never mind that their standards should be much higher as they may be dealing in critical, sensitive and high-risk products. They have now basically lowered the standards on everything to kettles and toasters. Remember when the standards of our products for military applications were much higher than that for commercial applications? Then they lowered it to commercial level to reduce cost. Now they have lowered everything a few more notches down. The foreign entities will slowly get better and better, but they will most certainly be getting more expensive even more rapidly. It's called supply-and-demand, combined with that stubborn human trait called greed. So, where is all of this leading to? They are leading to the fall of the American empire. The growing dependency on foreign labor and on foreign money, together with the growing addiction to foreign oil (we haven't learned anything from the oil dependency) should put us squarely in the cross-hairs of the entities that are anxious to witness our downfall, even if it will take them down with us. They can survive in mud shelters and on rice, like they have before. Can we? China is holding about $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt. In fact, foreign countries are holding about $4.5 trillion, or over 30% of U.S. debt. You don't need a degree in economics to appreciate the future implications; you only need to be stupid, like our political and corporate leaders. Tuesday, May 3, 2011 From the Emerson blog, I couldn't have said it any better myself: Ego leads to the ultimate destruction of empires. This piece says it all.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 Tax them the same way they tax us. How about doing the Brazilian protectionist thing? Works for them, why not for US? Tuesday, May 3, 2011 What you ask for would require leadership from the top. The type of leadership that would not allow CEO's to dictate US policy. We haven't elected such a person yet. Monday, May 2, 2011 David Farr at Emerson does the same exact thing. Come to think of it, so do all US CEO's. Why? Because they are allowed to get away with it. Friday, April 29, 2011 Not hiring foreigners would lead to layoffs from companies who hire in the US but are not US companies. However, this is what we can do. We can say that if you want to have your CEO, executives or any of your Board of Directors resident in the USA then you must have more than 50% of your employees also resident in the USA. For every percentage point above that quota we will add one percentage point "overseas tax" to the total compensation of the CEO and other directors. So, if your CEO or any executive is resident in the USA and you have 55% non USA resident workers we will charge every executive an extra 5% "overseas tax" on their total compensation package. Sunday, May 1, 2011 Here is Dave Cote's business model: Honeywell is providing security systems and state-of-the-art refining technologies (Via British divisions) to the Arak refinery in Iran. Thr Irainian Revolutionary Guard operates and directly benefits from this revenue; it "owns" this Company. The State Depatrment has labeled them a "terrorist" organization. The IRG directly provides training and materials for terrorist groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. These groups, in turn, kill American servicemen and women. Honeywell (Dave) sells the Department of Defence body armor, aircraft engines and weapon systen enhancements, logistics etc. to the tune of 13 Billion. Talk about a "sustainable business model" - this is it! Dave likely doesn't even know a young man or women that is in harms way, no child of his or his circle defends the country, they only exploit for their personal gain. With every soldier that dies, the cash register rings for Dave CA-Ching!. He is "our presidents favorite CEO". Where have we gone wrong? Thursday, April 28, 2011 I take this all a step further - don't hire any foreigners period. No foreign CEO's, etc. no foreign engineers. The USA has plenty of people that can do the job; we don't need any non-citizens in US corporations. This has to be a part of our changes to make sure we the USA survives. Thursday, April 28, 2011 I say vote out every incumbent. Elect people that will eliminate & ban PAC's and lobbyists. It's that simple. They work for us. Also, it is very easy to organize successful & effective consumer boycotts on US corporations that continue to outsource. Don't get mad at these political and corporate scoundrels. GET EVEN. Wednesday, April 27, 2011 The reason people are not using their voting power is because they are too easily sidetracked by the partisan rhetoric spewing from the State and national capitols. Think about it - every time a voter buys into the Democrat/Republican finger-pointing game, politicians in both parties breathe a sigh of relief because the spotlight shifts off of them and onto the nameless faceless "thems" of the other party. If voters would focus like a laser beam on results instead of promises, this could end within 6 years, the time it would take to replace all US Senators and Reps. Fail to show concrete progress to eliminate offshoring? Then BAM! Next election cycle those politicians are gone. Everyone else's performance is measured by results, not their ability to bounce babies and pose for photo ops. Why should politicians be treated any differently? Voters need to recognize that the massive loss of jobs is the root cause of most of the misery. Forget about the distractions and side issues; clamp down on corporations and fix the jobs issue, and many of the other problems will take care of themselves and fade into the background. A starting place would be to vote out any politician who accepts PAC money from multinational corporations and corporate officers. Tuesday, April 26, 2011 I agree that we the voters do have the power but for some reason people are not using the power. I think that we should vote out every single incumbent, enact the prohibition of PAC'S, lobbyists & hedge funds. Enough is enough. US CEO's have DESTROYED our country, how much longer are we going to sit back and take it? I also agree that both parties are the same. All corporations contribute to both parties and that corporations tell the politicians how things will be done. Revolution anyone? Tuesday, April 26, 2011 As I see it, 90% of the US domestic problems that dominate the news can be traced back to US multinationals' offshoring practices. Millions of jobs have been lost, the tax base is destroyed, communities and states face hundreds of millions of dollars in budget shortfalls, which have led to cuts in education and public safety, as well as proposed cuts in the present and future benefits of programs like Medicare. The globals have the politicians---Democrats and Republicans alike---squarely in their pockets, so meaningful legislative action is unlikely. It's hard to take Obama seriously when he names Immelt to lead his so-called economic advisory committee. Tragically, US-based multinationals have a long reach, and the same ruinous practices implemented in the US also decimated the economies of other countries, too. Except, of course, China and India, and the CEO's bank accounts. The endless discussions in DC and state capitols revolving around budget cuts and tax increases are nothing more than distractions; red herrings to divert attention away from the root cause. Namely, the politicians' failure to enact legislation which would restrict the globals' ability to ruin national economies. A cooperative effort among western governments to curtail such practices and enforce the duty of globals to behave as responsible corporate citizens wherever they are represented, might have prevented the current meltdown. The cynical practice of buying good will by occasionally scattering a handful of dollars around charitable organizations hardly qualifies as good citizenship when one considers the damage done by shipping millions of jobs overseas. A fringe benefit might be that pirates and plunderers like Cote and Immelt could no longer exploit their employees while elevating themselves like royalty. An informed voter is the best, and very likely the only, defense against the globals. But the battle against them won't be quick, and it won't be easy. Then again, if those who have lost their jobs would unite into a voting bloc, the results could be impressive. Demand action from your legislators, and replace them if they fail to produce. Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Saw this on the Emerson blog, it's a MUST read:
IMF bombshell: Age of America nears end So when will each one of us stand up to become a patriot for a protectionist nation? It's all about the USA being a "corporatism". Corporate Oligarchs that only care about pennnies versus being a patriot. So when the US oligarch "corporatisms" leaders be held up for what they have done to our country for the almighty profit to the shareholders. Monday, April 25, 2011 Yes , Cote would get a bonus and accolades no matter what he does, great point! Will Honeywell take part in this event?
U.S. manufacturing is in crisis, with almost 6 million jobs and 42,000 factories closed over the prior decade. Even worse, we are losing know-how and, ultimately, control over our future. While the U.S. retains important strengths, U.S. manufacturing competitiveness is slipping rapidly. There is no reason to resign ourselves to defeat or to sugarcoat the challenges we face. We possess the tools, talent, and resources to revive manufacturing. But to do so we need a national strategy for manufacturing renewal. This is the message of a new report ITIF will release on Tuesday, April 26, called, "The Case for a National Manufacturing Strategy." The report will explain the five key reasons why we need to act quickly and boldly to revitalize our manufacturing sector. Please join us for this important and thought-provoking discussion on the urgent but winnable battle to restore U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. Monday, April 25, 2011 - "It's a classical management move that is so predictable." Indeed. But you left out the part where Cote is then hailed as a corporate genius and is awarded another bonus. That's also very predictable. He ought to be tried for treason instead. Sunday, April 24, 2011 USA needs to do what Brazil is doing. It's called preservation, protectionism and common sense. Sunday, April 24, 2011 Cote will blame and fire someone to justify bringing back some manufacturing to the US. It's a classical management move that is so predictable. Saturday, April 23, 2011 - Strip-mining American Jobs It is time to apply the standard of patriotism to the U.S. multinational corporations and demand that they pledge allegiance to the United States and "the Republic for which is stands. with liberty and justice for all." This July 4, 2011 would be good day for Americans to demand such a corporate commitment. Born and chartered in the U.S.A., these corporations rose to their giant size on the backs of American workers and vast taxpayer-subsidized research and development handouts. When they got into trouble, whether through mismanagement or corruption, these companies rushed to Washington, D.C. for bailouts from American taxpayers. When some were challenged in foreign lands, the U.S. marines came to their rescue, as depicted decades ago by two-time Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Marine General Smedley Butler. So what is their message to America and its workers now? It is not gratitude or loyalty. It is "we're outta here, with your jobs and industries" to dictatorial or oligarchic regimes abroad, such as China, that know how to keep their impoverished, and abused workers under control. Note that these company bosses have no compunction replacing U.S. workers with serf-labor, but they never replace themselves with bi-lingual executives from China, India and elsewhere who are willing to work for one-tenth or less of the huge pay packages executives get from their rubber-stamp boards of directors in the U.S. Just this week, the Wall Street Journal headlined "Big U.S. Firms Shift Hiring Abroad." Veteran reporter, David Wessel writes: "U.S. multinational corporations, the big brand-name companies that employ a fifth of all American workers, have been hiring abroad while cutting back at home, sharpening the debate over globalization's effect on the U.S. economy. The companies cut their work forces in the U.S. by 2.9 million during the 2000s while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million, new data from the U.S. Commerce Department show." While Mr. Wessel acknowledges that other economies, especially in Asia, are growing rapidly, he noted that "The data also underscore the vulnerability of the U.S. economy, particularly at a time when unemployment is high and wages aren't increasing." Keep in mind that, while receiving all the public services, subsidies and protections in this country, large corporations have been abandoning America by shifting jobs overseas and by making our country perilously and unnecessarily dependent on foreign governments that naturally put their own interests first. For example, the drug companies no longer have any plant in the U.S. to manufacture essential raw ingredients for important antibiotics like penicillin. In 2004, Bristol-Myers Squibb closed the last such factory in East Syracuse, N.Y. The drug industry always made lots of money here. One of every two Americans are on a prescription medicine. But the pharmaceutical companies want to make more so they have moved their production to Asia. In 2009, The New York Times reported that "the critical ingredients for most antibiotics are now made almost exclusively in China and India. The same is true for dozens of other crucial medicines, including the popular allergy medicine prednisone; metformin, for diabetes; and amlodipine, for high blood pressure. This flight to Asia raises serious questions. Senator Sherrod Brown (Dem. Ohio) held hearings because he accurately believed that "the lack of regulation around outsourcing is a blind spot that leaves room for supply disruptions, counterfeit medicines, even bioterrorism." Industrial scale production of Penicillin was developed by the U.S. war production board in World War II and many drug companies made it in U.S. plants, until the Chinese government lured the industry there with many freebies and weak safety regulations. A few years ago 95 Americans died from a Chinese produced counterfeit ingredient in the drug heparin, an anticlotting drug needed for surgery and dialysis. As Belgium drug industry consultant, Enrico Polastro, told The New York Times: "If China ever got very upset with President Obama, it could be a big problem." The Times concluded: "So for now, like it or not, China has the upper hand." Who gave China that dominant position? U.S. multinational drug companies, who along with other big U.S. companies, pushed through Congress, with Bill Clinton's support, ratification of both NAFTA's and the World Trade Organization's "pull down" trade agreements. They created the very globalized structure that they now claim they are beholden to in order to meet the global competition. Clever, aren't they? Other unpatriotic acts include the oil companies who, despite being given a rich oil depletion tax allowance to invest in energy in the U.S., invested in oil production overseas. The U.S. is now dependent on foreign sources for most of its petroleum. Don't forget the military-industrial giants that thrive on U.S. military expansion abroad and sell modern weapons to many dictatorial regimes which they use to oppress their people and endanger our own national security. U.S. multinationals that export jobs abroad, show too little regard for our country, or to the U.S. communities that sustained them for decades. Greedy corporate lobbyists continue to press for more privileges and immunities, over those held by real humans, so as to be less accountable under U.S. law for corporate crimes and other mis-behaviors. If U.S. companies continue to expand their rights of personhood through U.S. Supreme Court's political decisions (eg. the latest being the notorious 5 to 4 Citizens United case opening up the floodgates of corporate cash against or for electoral candidates), then, they should be judged as "persons" and evaluated for their loyalty to their country of creation. Since corporations are clearly "artificial" entities and not real human beings, narrower civil liberties standards can be applied to the impersonal and massive concentrations of power, capital and technology known as corporations Independence Day July 4th presents an opportunity for a national attention to the need for calling out these runaway corporate giants who exploit for profit the patriotic sensibilities of Americans, but decline to be held any patriotic expectations or values. Friday, April 22, 2011 Cote will form it in a spin-doctor statement generated by some MBA . Friday, April 22, 2011 In order for some manufacturing to come back to the US, Cote would have to admit that he made a mistake; admit that what he's been pumping for the last 10 years has been mostly raw sewage. What are the chances? Thursday, April 21, 2011 Come on, someone has to know what is going on. Is some manufacturing coming back to Houston? Thursday, April 21, 2011
Some companies are moving manufacturing back to the USA, due to several factors. including control, and costs. But they neglected to mention another major reason: counterfeiting in China.
Are big businesses next? When will Honeywell announce some of their moves back to the USA? Thursday, April 21, 2011 - Re: "This would be great news considering" Considering what? Maybe some manufacturing will come back to US. But do not be fooled by the Al-Lied Signal (Honeywell) traditional approach. They might bring back some manufacturing, but after the problems are resolved over seas and they can start meeting their shipment objectives reliably, then what they brought back will disappear in a heart beet and they will toss out the US worker on the street just as fast as they can. Don't believe me? What has Al-Lied been doing for the last 5 years? Wednesday, April 20, 2011 It's not just that application - I heard chatter about some DCS manufacturing being brought back to Texas. Anyone else hearing this? Wednesday, April 20, 2011 There is lots of chatter around several sites about outsourced products being brought back in-house. In the case of the Phoenix site, one reason for this chatter could be this recent article.
If you are well versed in the company's BS, you realize that quality is definitely 50% or more of the problem. Tuesday, April 19, 2011 That would be great news considering
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 I hear some highly credible internal chatter about Honeywell bringing some outsourced manufacturing back to the Houston area. Anyone else hearing the same? Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Where can I get a copy of Honeywell's new Severance Plan Policy? Monday, April 18, 2011 While union representation has its pros and cons, the next best thing is "solaridity" amongst employees. For instance: when the 10% salary cut was announced, the best course of action would have been for everyone to get up and walk out the door en mass. Of course that would have required some coordination, but mostly a lot of buy-in. But I feel that it could have been done soon after, and it might have had majority, if not total support, and it certainly would have sent a strong message to the company, and would have empowered other employees. And, no individuals would have been targeted for vindictive reprisal. This strategy would not have worked had things been really bad with the company (in fact it might have been to their benefit). But the fact that we were busy when they blind-sided us with the surprise attack would have made it a feasible counter attack. By accepting the first cut without much rebellion we empowered the company beyond measure, and that resulted in the extension of the cut, the implementation of the furlough, the continued devastation of our benefits, and the reduced salary increases, and worst of all, given them the power to do it all over again, any time in the future, on a whim, and for any reason they may choose as an excuse. It is also possible that they were expecting more of a reaction, and as a result of the lack of protestation; they were emboldened to do it again. Let's not forget the mitigating fact that the cut was made after every things was clearly on the road to recovery, nor the fact that the extension of the cut and the furlough was implemented when everything had gotten a lot better. For that reason, they can choose to do it again at any time, and we will be partly to blame the next time. Most, if not all of us, would have understood the need for the cuts, had they been done 6 months or a year earlier when they would have been justified and warranted, as things were bad, not so much for the company as a whole, but some sites were slow. Would the counter attack have been worth the effort? It might seem so. Based on these afterthoughts, we can be more prepared the next time they come to knock us over from behind and steal from us. They may be strategizing as we sleep. Suggestions were made for people to call in sick, take stress leave, etc., and some may have done so, but the impact of that strategy is minimal to negligible and may have made those individuals attractive targets for reprisal. The "solidarity" play is the ticket! Let's be prepared and be assertive next time. It is our right! Monday, April 18, 2011 - WYSIWYG Yes. Become inactive. but stay just barely with a pulse to avoid being pushed to the "outer-L". Now is a good time to find a good job, while you still have time on your side. Sunday, April 17, 2011 I say, don't stop reading this blog, and don't look for another job, especially if you are beyond hiring age. But, do take action by becoming inactive. That seems to be the only viable option the company has left us with to compensate ourselves for decades of loyalty and dedication. Otherwise, exercise your legal options. Friday, April 15, 2011 Totally agree with the advice to consult with an attorney prior to being axed. I didn't, and wish I had. First, if possible try to mentally prepare yourself for the "event." When it happens you will most likely be in a state of shock and your mind won't be working normally. Expect to be treated coldly and impersonally. Like an animal on the way to slaughter, you are suddenly in a situation over which it appears you have no control. But you still have some, so be ready to use it. Second, Honeywell expects and capitalizes on the employee being shellshocked when they shove a bunch of paperwork at you for a signature. DON'T SIGN ANYTHING regardless of what they tell you. Don't volunteer any information. Don't say anything unless it is to inform them that you're not signing and when do they need the paperwork returned? Chances are they'll balk and complain, but stand your ground. Termination proceedings are carefully choreographed to get what THEY want. Don't give it to them. You relinquish a lot of control when you hand over a signed document. Third, consult your attorney again if you wish. If not, don't be bashful about crossing out and editing in your own severance terms instead of blindly accepting theirs. Be aggressive. It's a negotiation. In the end, you'll still be kicked out the door but at least you'll be giving some push-back. Fourth, remember that it's not your fault. Honeywell is completely screwed up top to bottom. It's become a place where the abnormal has become the normal. Where independent thought is discouraged and only the sycophants, backstabbers, BS'ers, and yes-men seem to survive and prosper. Where being an employee means being willing to suffer death by a thousand cuts. You didn't bargain for this when you took the job, did you? Longterm exposure absolutely damages one's mental health. Your outlook on life and inner peace and happiness can only improve once you put Honeywell in your rearview mirror and find a more wholesome place to work. Friday, April 15, 2011 Excellent advice - if you can't beat then join them & beat them with their own unethical moves. This story needs to go to national media for exposure. Not all's well at Honeywell. Wednesday, April 13, 2011 Some advice: Stop reading this blog --Take action, get a new job at a better company. This is a hopeless situation. Before you give notice, get at least a couple of hours consultation with an attorney, preferably one who is experienced in employment law and civil rights. Even better, if you know anyone who is a professional HR specialist (not Honeywell), talk to them about how to lay out your case. Believe me, they absolutely know what is going on. What HON is doing with the 9-block, bad reviews out of nowhere, picking on the higher paid and older workforce, PIP's, mental harassment, etc. is stupid, but it is not illegal (in the USA). There is no law against stupidity. However, there may be some tactics you can use in your personal situation, depending on how egregious and what state you live in. You work for the money, nothing more. Get the hell out and try to maximize your sanity and keep your own personal goals in mind. Good Luck ! Wednesday, April 13, 2011 Amen to the last post. They are all dumb idiots. Every single one of them. And it's no different at the competition. If you don't believe me go look at their blogs. I really think that MBA's, or should I say MBS-ers, are at the root cause of all of these problems. My head wants to explode from all of this insanity. Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - To the last person who posted on 12th April: Stupid management and brown-nosing is just as bad in Prague, that it just makes me want to walk around the office carrying a bucket in case I ever need to puke. It is a miracle I lasted over 3 years there, and I'm just glad to be leaving soon, as I really do have the stupidest manager imaginable. I reckon over 90% of Prague employees are so fed up. I know for sure that all of my close colleagues are. But it just seems as hard to find a job in Europe at the moment as it does in the US. This is the worst company I have ever worked for and I will definitely never even think of approaching huge corporations for employment again. I could add more horror stories about Honeywell in Prague, and probably will in the future, but for now it's time for dinner and then watching some football (or what you guys call soccer). Wednesday, April 13, 2011 in my 25 years at Honeywell, I've come to the conclusion that it is run just as good as our federal government. Or should I say just as bad. Tuesday, April 12, 2011 With over 25 years of working for H/W under my belt, I can 100% say I have never, never worked for a more F'd up company in all my life! I am doing everything I can to get away very very soon, or I will go insane or I will have to take a 2x4 to one of their stupid heads! The sheer stupidity of management and some of the brown-nosers is way beyond belief. Do they really think all the everyday and most times 2 or 3 times a day meetings and the bosses looking at all those stupid boards with the ever growing charts and graphs is really going to make the average Joe worker really try harder ? How many little dumb ass fresh college kids have they hired, at about 40 to 50K each, to think up this B/S. They seem to come up with something more stupid every day. And now the newest thing to label damm near everything that does not move, and more tape on the floor and around all work area's. I swear they are doing everything they can to make us fail so they can say, well you can't get out enough work so we are moving it to China, or Mexico, or The Czech Republic. I hear there are BIG warehouses down in Mexico full of parts the were produced down there that will never make it here because they are so screwed up that about all that can be done with them is to melt them down and maybe start over. We keep waiting and waiting for good parts, and I have also gotten some new parts that were made by a new vendor that some of the operations were skipped and then they told me to build it with that part. Can't understand why someone has not gone (over the edge) yet and had a major fight with one of the bosses that are pushing this! I just hope I am not near when the poor guy snaps! I can not see this going on much longer. The one time a while ago then people started really getting mad and they started talking about a union - wow the company really straightened up their act quick, of course times were better and people were not so worried about finding another job like now. So the only way to help yourself is to get away, retire early if you can, never give up hope that there is not a good job out there if you just keep looking and applying. Do not give up. Tuesday, April 12, 2011 The Honeywell managers would do well to understand organizational anti-patterns. A good summary can be found in this wikepedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-pattern
Cash cow: A profitable legacy product that often leads to complacency about new products Design by committee: The result of having many contributors to a design, but no unifying vision Escalation of commitment: Failing to revoke a decision when it proves wrong Management by perkele: Authoritarian style of management with no tolerance of dissent Matrix Management: Unfocused organizational structure that results in divided loyalties and lack of direction Moral hazard: Insulating a decision-maker from the consequences of his or her decision Mushroom management: Keeping employees uninformed and misinformed (kept in the dark and fed manure), let to stew, and finally canned. Stovepipe or Silos: A structure that supports mostly up-down flow of data but inhibits cross organizational communication Saturday, April 9, 2011 Tough to prove age discrimination. The company will drag out the process as long as possible, and is not afraid to engage the courts. Historically, on the Bendix/Allied Signal side, the company has lost several age discrimination suits. It does not stop it. Age does not seem to be the driver; it is salary level. Of course, age seems to track right in there with it. There are two primary drivers in the selection process. (1) The position has been eliminated. This is often known well in advance by the management, and individuals may be moved into the position specifically to be the target to be let go. Generally for higher salary positions, i.e. also older. (2) The 9-Block outer elbow. Okay, there will be a few on the outer elbow because they just belong there, and should probably be let go. However, there is also frequent mandates to managers to have a specific percentage of their staff on the outer elbow, and often are told who they are by next level up that have no idea what these employees do or how well they do it. Strictly dictated based on salary. This puts that individual on the path out the door. Anyone that finds themselves there shoud be preparing for their next employer. These people are almost always at the highest salary level for their grade, coincidentally the older employee. So, you have a high salary and poor performance history as the reason for termination, not age. Friday, April 8, 2011 Age discrimination is definitely cleverly disguised as the earlier post stated. The company's loss in a multi-million dollar age discrimination suit a few years back taught them to be more careful. As the product lines were transitioned to Mexico and the Czech Republic there was much scrambling among the employees to bid on the remaining posted openings. All of these went almost exclusively to younger employees with those age 55 and over not even getting the courtesy of a sham phone interview. Another odd thing we observed were job postings would suddenly be yanked from the list. Were they not getting the "right" kind of applicants? I doubt those positions went unfilled. Friday, April 8, 2011 Is age a common thread? I think so. But HR is shrewd and takes pains to be sure the terminations do not have that appearance. At our location, Hon can't move production lines to China fast enough. Every time a line leaves, so do hourly jobs. The age distribution of the lost hourly jobs is all over the place and appears random. But into that mix they slip in exempt employees, most of whom had no relationship with the lost production line, and most of whom are around 60. It's almost never young exempts. HR proudly provides terminated employees with paperwork showing the ages of those terminated in an attempt to "prove" no one was singled out by age. But the pattern is undeniable: After years of moving jobs to China, the average age of the remaining exempt employees is younger.An HR VP somewhere probably received a bonus for this ploy. Thursday, April 7, 2011 Hi everyone, I have a friend who has been a long-time Honeywell employee, 30 years, I believe. He is going through similar experiences that I've read about on this site. He'd like to get some sort of "cashout", but that sounds laughable given what I've read, with no union, no professional contracts and no civil service protections. He's 62 and wonders where he could find work in Arizona or New Mexico, someplace better than H-Well. Any suggestions? Thanks and good luck to all of you. I've recently gone through something like this at work where I got sick enough to take a leave of absence, where management was more than willing to grind employees into the dirt. Just a suggestion: Is age a common thread here? Thursday, March 31, 2011 I'm the first post on March 21st, and I seem to have triggered a landslide of comments. It's a small consolation to know that this is a problem for other people all around Honeywell, because when you can't complain to your boss, their boss, HR, or anywhere in the food chain, you truly feel alone. During the last few months of my stay they hired in a new leader who had been in the consulting business for a large number of years, and immediately I heard whispering from the middle managers that she should "learn her place" and "shut up and fall in line". I don't think she signed up for this, and if she's smart, she'll bail out eventually as well. The grass IS greener on the other side. Rarely - but in the case of my leaving Honeywell, it definitely holds true. Wednesday, March 30, 2011 I just can't beleive all the negative things I'm reading on this log. I've been here at Honey(not-so)well for 10 years now and would never have beleived any of this stuff if I hadn't been here to see it all for my self.
HR is there to protect the company not the employees. FACT Hours and hours of time is wasted, spent drawing lines on the floor and hanging charts on the wall, ZERO Value added, Zero revenue generated. Has the HOS "Virus" attacked accounting? I'm sure these people would like an explanation of all the down time. Maybe Cote is trying to get a tax exempt status for Honeywell, like the one GE got. Now that things have "changed", maybe GE is going to buy Honeywell again. Honeywell can't keep going down this road without some kind of consequence. Wednesday, March 30, 2011 I was with Honeywell for 11 years and, in spite of having great annual reviews for those eleven years, decided to retire prematurely in order to relieve myself of the constant tyranny of management. The latest guy was a narcisstic PhD who, in spite of his inability to listen and ruthless behavior, was selected for a senstive role in the operations function (ISC) and has now been yanked because of his absolute inability to motivate people. There are very few leaders in Honeywell, by anyone's definition, and it's still the Larry Bossidy/Jack Welch Allied Signal school of intimdation. These comments are based on my experience as a senior person with hands-on experience in three of the four SBG's. Now that the economy is turning around, good people are leaving for assuredly greener pastures (as benefits also continue to be cut) and those in charge are left wondering where the dedication went. Duuuhhhh. Monday, March 28, 2011 To all current Honeywell employees: If you have any residual respect for yourself, the only rational action for you to take is to leave the company. Otherwise, continue to wallow in self-loathing until you die or are committed to a mental institution.
Sincerely, Sunday, March 27, 2011 - To the March 24 poster who said, "HR and management may have become one and the same.": "MAY" have? Don't delude yourself that HR has ANY interest in the employees' concerns or point of view. Their only mission is to keep the company out of legal trouble while ensuring that the workforce continues to receive the minimum pay and benefits possible. If you think otherwise you're living in the past. To 'git 'er done' they have no compunction about making misleading statements, if not outright lies. They get away with this because:
Sunday, March 27, 2011 Managers sleep very well at night as they have had their conscience removed (some may hay had very little or none to start with). Either that, or some may have gone borderline insane, like the leadership. I can think of one who has certainly lost it, poor fellow. They seem to have resigned themselves to the fact that if you can't beat them (the upper-management mental cases) you might as well join them; a very sad choice indeed, especially for the devastating impact on rest of us. You cannot reason, in the least, with some managers now as they have become totally irrational! They seem to understand much, much less now about our work, or most certainly don't seem, or don't care, to appreciate the unnecessary and insane multiplied increase in complexity and insanity and thereby, the reason for the increased cycle time. Or, all of their efforts and focus are exclusively directed at servicing and satisfying the asylum inmates above them. Some managers used to appreciate and understood a lot more, or a little more, than they did before the upper-management terrorism started. Some managers seem to have become solely bonus-driven mercenaries and are totally oblivious to, or immune to all else. Perhaps they are using the repressed emotion method to deal with the insane directions they are forced to follow, becoming emotionless robots as the only way to afford them some sleep. The rest of us aren't afforded that luxury. As for concerning themselves with respect from their slaves, the choice is rather simple, and human: respect, or money (bonuses)? And while us working stiffs go home and take our frustrations out on our family, cats, dogs, or what have you, our managers have the envious luxury of taking it all out on us and saving their family, as do their managers on them. It always sucks to be at the bottom of the food chain, now, in this insane world, more than ever! It is us employees against them, all level of managers. Absolutely no buffers left in between. God, please save us from the ship of fools! Saturday, March 26, 2011 I often wonder: How do Honeywell managers sleep at night? Are they proud of themselves? Do they avoid mirrors? They know that their employees do not respect them. All these management types do is kiss up to the boss. Yes-people can't say No to the marching orders received from above. These folks come home exhausted, beaten up and downright drained of all life. In many cases their families have to bear the brunt of their venting. At home, they fly off the handle over the simplest things. They take out their frustrations on their families, the dog or cat. Then they wake up the next morning and go back to their robotic yes-person persona. Is this a life? Friday, March 25, 2011 I left Honeywell and couldn't be more happy. I'm not sure why people argue that all companies are the same. Have those same people applied for other jobs? You have time - while still employeed at Honeywell - to be patient and seek out the "good" employers. I did. I found an awesome place, in the energy sector. Really enjoy it here, making more money with fantastic management and corporate policies that really do demonstrate their belief that employees are their most valuable asset. I do not understand HW's policy for bonus (not for average worker, but for senior staff). The management incentive program (MIP) is strange. You have to work hundreds of hours overtime without pay to get only a fraction of that time back as a "bonus" by year end? The new company just gives you a bonus if the company did well that year. That's it. No complications, no forced overtime away from the family without fair compensation (25% MIPS compensation is NOT fair!). Grass IS greener. Don't be fooled by management sneaking on here to post whatever. Find out the truth for yourself. Go on some job interviews, see what is out there. Take a 6 month "leave of absence" if you have to, just go out and see what else is available. You will be pleased. Thursday, March 24, 2011 HR and management may have become one and the same. Over the past few years they have become more and more, a unified front against the employees. The unfair and discriminatory practices of some managers have always been ignored by HR, just as they are by upper management, and the practices may even be condoned by these two parties. How else can some lower level managers get away with consistently practicing favoritism and discrimination by awarding unfair and uneven compensation to some people, or one person, over all others and ignoring the quality and quantity of the work of all others, year after year? And also, how can they blatantly lie about being fair? When this injustice is occasional it may be overlooked. But when it is practiced consistently by the same person, with clear evidence of ethics violation being ignored, then it becomes intolerable and unjustified. The fact that upper management and HR reviews our performance data, or so they claim, and this practice continues unabated by some managers, is proof that they are either blind, or there is collusion that stinks to high heaven! Also, the company seems to have rewritten the prerequisite for managers and HR representatives in that they must now tow the company line without question and with unwavering loyalty, and this has turned some managers into the meanest SOBs. Unfortunately, if a manager was not predisposed to such despicable and unethical behaviors (and some are), they are now forced to either convert or eat dirt. As such, they have now become helpless and are being manipulated into enforcing the company's "threats", together with their own, no matter how distasteful and disgusting either is. How many times does an employee win their case against a manager in front of HR or upper management? NEVER. The company would rather lose some of their best employees, than to get rid of an obnoxious manager, no matter what the circumstances are. Of the several managers that I have served under, only one may have had any integrity, and adhered to the code of ethics, or had people-skills. I can bet that 90% of them have never been trained in some of these skills, especially if they have been promoted from within. They may never have taken a managerial course, nor have it in them to practice fair and objective evaluations based on performance. They are human after all, even though they may not appear to be of late. And yes, there is absolutely ZERO tolerance for constructive criticism or complaints, or for common sense and logic. Thursday, March 24, 2011 Never make any form of constructive criticism, NEVER. The egos of the bosses do not allow them or their big fat heads to ever even consider that they could be wwwrrr ...wrong about anything. Don't make yourself a target; just play the game at whatever level you are comfortable with and wait until your job is outsourced. Buy time is the name of my game. Thursday, March 24, 2011 The poster who talked about his confrontational exit interview with HR. Right on the money! From what I've learned over the years, NEVER, EVER call the Ethics Hotline if you value your job! This supposedly anonymous vehicle is anything but anonymous. They'll require that you identify yourself and reassure you of confidentiality and you'll not be identified. Depending on what or who in the food chain that you are reporting on, this confidentiality can go right out the window and then guess who becomes the bad person to be dealt with? Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Actually, the grass is a little greener on the other side; it depends upon where you go. I have been employed at several different places and I have to say that Honeywell was the worst. Wednesday, March 23, 2011 "No regrets" is so right. HR will NEVER write down, investigate or solve any problems because there are no problems at Honeywell. Beware the grass is NOT greener on the other side. Just go look at the competitor's blogs. Only the faces change. Wednesday, March 23, 2011 I recently left Honeywell because it became clear to me that it was only about the numbers. Managers were left to abuse employees, as long as they brought in the dollars. I'm not saying this is standard Honeywell business practice, but there are definitely people willing to turn a blind eye as long as profit was being made. In my exit interview, I brought to light a number of items, and the HR professional continued to question me as to whether I had "proof" or whether I was sure that's what the management was intending when carrying out abuse against employees. I took this attitude as a tacit agreement that managers who looked good on paper would be defended, and went on my way. No regrets. Tuesday, March 22, 2011 For years Honeywell promoted their managers from within from the rank and file troops. You had managers from first line to the top tiers that all had hands-on experience at one time or another. These people had first hand knowledge of the products, the processes and the more importantly, the people. Not to say that you didn't end up with a few bad apples in this promotion process, but they were few and were usually weeded out over time. The majority were knowledgeable, usually well liked and could deal with any problem or crisis swiftly, accurately and were adept enough to keep it in-house. These managers were not required to have a college degree because they had far greater knowledge that went far and above a degree. All of these people are now gone, many shoved out long before retirement age. Compare that with what you have today at Honeywell. Twenty-something years old mangers with the ink still wet on their sheepskins and heads full of useless knowledge that was taught to them by others who also have no practical knowledge of the real world themselves. My last 4 mangers at Honeywell were all in this category and were completely useless as leaders and were more concerned about currying favor for themselves and passing any blame onto others. Can't really blame them, since their managers and role models were of the same ilk. I will say that until my business unit was transitioned overseas, I would be threatened with termination on a weekly basis by my mangers because they themselves were threatened in a similar manor constantly. Morale and productivity were practically non existent during our last 6 months of employment at Honeywell and I can imagine that it hasn't gotten any better since. It got to the point where rational conversation and discussions were extinct; it was all screaming, yelling and threats. Monday, March 21, 2011 I find it funny how the more they cut layers of management the more they add. Sunday, March 20, 2011 They will succeed in the change in accounting because most American workers are too afraid to open their mouth & stand up for what is right. We are too scared that our job will be canceled if we have any constructive criticism - management views that as complaints because their ego does not allow for them to have a notion that they could be wrong about something! Saturday, March 19, 2011 Until Honeywell came along with HOS, I didn't realize there was something more important the building product. Share holders should be told of this crap. Saturday, March 19, 2011 Isn't it great when you can sneak one past folks? I believe that's probably what management teams at AT&T, Verizon, and Honeywell were thinking when they recently decided to change their pension accounting practices. Problem is, they're trying to sneak a big one past investors. Odds are, they'll succeed. If accounting can put most people to sleep, pension accounting could put them into a coma. Investors tend to look the other way rather than digging in -- which makes it easy for companies to sweep dirt under the rug. If you aren't interested in the accounting magic these companies are up to, at least realize that they're probably hoping you won't notice that they've pulled the wool over your eyes. Is that the kind of management with whom you'd want to invest your hard-earned money? Smooth accounting A pension is a promise to provide retirement income to employees. By law, companies are required to save as they go, setting aside a certain amount of money for each employee every year. Companies invest those savings -- much like you invest your 401(k) -- and hope that good investment returns will reduce the amount of savings required. Like most 401(k)s, corporate pension savings took a beating in 2008. For companies, increases and decreases in pension values affect earnings. If the pension plan makes money, it boosts earnings. If the pension loses money, it reduces earnings. Companies have a choice between recording pension gains and losses on an annual basis or, in a process known as "smoothing," spreading gains and losses over several years. Many companies choose smoothing, if only to reduce the year-to-year swings in earnings. In particular, when markets fall, smoothing helps reduce the immediate earnings hit. But recently, AT&T, Verizon and Honeywell decided to quit smoothing and start recording pension gains and losses on an as-you-go basis -- purportedly to make earnings more transparent. What's wrong with that? Well, for starters:
Verizon - $12.2 billion Honeywell - $7.8 billion Friday, March 18, 2011 The posts of the recent few weeks have been really enlightening, and have helped me immensely in a very personal way. Having been in Honeywell only for a short time, I was largely under the impression that my negative feelings about Honeywell's dehumanizing and alienating processes, procedures and the manner in which the management dealt with technical personnel were more a result of my prior background in smaller and more nimble companies, and that the veterans of the company had to have a different view for them to have survived so long. Obviously, then, upon leaving Honeywell, I felt somewhat ambivalent. But clearly, my impression of Honeywell is neither singular nor unique, and so it gives me great comfort, upon reading all these posts, to conclude that my departure from the company was a good thing. It's a huge beast, and it will survive one way or the other, but it is nice to be away from a place that devalues its employees in the manner that Honeywell does. Wednesday, March 16, 2011 In the latest flash of brilliance, our highly evolved and most esteemed leadership have applied all of their education, intellect, knowledge, and wisdom (but not their money) and have reached the brilliant and all encompassing, meaning-of-life conclusion, i.e., that our cycle time has not improved. WOW! Who would have thought? And some of us wonder why we are paying them so much money. Oh, I meant why they are paying themselves so much, with "our" money! Now, if they were only able to apply the most basic of common sense and logic, the reason will become very obvious, and then the meaning-of-life would seem anti-climactic. But since they are totally lacking in either of those basic elements, let's see if they may be able to grasp some miniscule amount from others. God knows we've tried to impress simple common sense upon them before, to no avail. So, most of this will be way above, or below, their comprehension or sensibilities. We'll try it again anyway, who knows! YYou have increased the complexity of everything that we do (even the simplest of tasks) by 5 to 10 times, by forcefully imposing the use of new, mostly defective, complex, and cumbersome tools, poorly thought out and unnecessary processes, guidelines, etc., in every aspect of our work. You have replaced every simple, single tier, efficient and working methodologies with multiple tier, complex and unworkable ones. You have totally destroyed everyone's morale and motivation, for a long time to come, with your unconscionable and criminal agendas of stealing, robbing and enslaving your employees. You do not encourage or tolerate any feed backs or suggestions, and definitely do not tolerate any resistance, or intelligent constructive criticism, but insist on employing draconian means to enforce your moronic and grossly counter-productive ideas. It begs the question; How can so many idiots have so little, or no common sense between them? Nevertheless, let's educate them, using more rudimental expressions. More time spent to complete any and every task means increase in cycle time. Yes, it's that simple! Defective tools, processes etc., means more defects and increased cycle time. Wasted time and effort on non-value tasks means increased cycle time. An unhappy and unmotivated work force means slower and more careless and care free workers, resulting in increased defects, and which means increased cycle time. Suspension of overtime (the schedule-recovery option) means increased cycle time. Re-doing the same thing over and over again means increased cycle time. Frustrations and time wasted in appeals to an arrogant and stubborn management means increased cycle time. The latest insulting, uneven and unfair salary increases means increased cycle time. Managers that are obviously self-serving, prejudiced, and solely bonus driven means increased cycle time. Work sharing, believe it or not, drastically increases cycle time (compare any shared work with one that wasn't, for that rude awakening). Driving your workers to do more than is humanly possible while bare-facedly robbing them, provokes retaliation, and means increased cycle time. Whereas before, we may have applied 75% of our efforts to the real work, and perhaps 25% to all other supporting activities, we are now doing the exact opposite, and that means that 50% of our time is wasted. We are now applying most of our efforts and higher skill-sets to the tasks of lesser value and lower skill sets. That increases cycle time. Multi-tasking beyond reason means that one cannot become proficient at any one tool or task, but only mediocre-to-poor at everything. That increases cycle time! Given all of that, they should be thankful that the cycle time has not quadrupled, and may have, in some instances anyway. One would never, ever thought that it is possible that the longer one does something, the harder it seems to get, and the longer it takes to get it done. Honeywell has perfected that reprehensible art. Wow! They have noticed that since the implementation of all of their stupidity, the cycle time on nothing has improved. And if they measure the cycle time from the beginning of the stupidity, they may notice that it may have been steadily getting worse. Wonder why that is? Perhaps we should use an analogy that they can relate to (or not), to attempt to get through to them. LOL! Let's just assume that your corporate jet has been taken away from you and, in its place, you are given a bicycle, a motor cycle, a car and a boat and, in addition, you have some of your money and benefits stolen from you; would that reduce your travel time, as in, your cycle time? I bet that they still don't get it! One would expect that after some time, the cycle time should naturally improve. But it has been about 3 years, and from all indications it has not improved, but rather, worsened. How is that possible? Because, it takes years to adjust to new tools, years to adjust to new processes and guidelines, and forever to adjust to the injustices meted out upon the employees. In addition, how does one adjust to inherently poor processes and guidelines that are constantly being changed and updated (as a result of being poorly thought out, and developed by the wrong people) throughout the design process? Each of these adjustments takes years. All of them together, and due to their nature, should perhaps impact the cycle time, minimally, in 10 to 15 years, if ever. I won't even get into the lowered standards, and inconsistencies, in everything that we do now, as a result of the stupidit implementation. Good luck! By the way, I believe that leadership intended "EHCOE" to actually mean, "Electronic Hardware Center of Excruciating (pain)". Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - from former Manager at Honeywell: I have been following this blog for some time and the theme is definately consistant. Honeywell has become a model for what is wrong in this country. The company and upper management have become so greedy, that they put the almightly dollar before anything else, including customers and employees, as well as the future of the company itself. They outsource in mass and cut corners to save bottom line $$ at the expense of all. I agree that a company needs to make a profit, but at what levels of excess which will have a long term detriment to the employees and the future of the company? I was RIF'd due to job elimination, but I knew they wanted to get rid of me for a while. I made good money and was destined for the old pension plan. I also did not condone some of the misdirected philosophies being touted and I expressed my concerns. At the time, Honeywell was looking to Mexicali to take over a lot of administrative functions at a significantly reduced cost. So they would use the 9 block evaluation to peg you to a spot for convienence so that it could be used against you later. Not sure how I was always in the upper blocks my whole career, but within a 6 month period I became a lesser employee ranked in the outer elbow. I can tell you as a former manager that the company will spare no expense to increase their bottom line. And the current management just agrees and follows along so they are not perceived as being "resistant to change" or "a blocker". Someday it will go full circle and the path taken with catch up to those that are left. But by then it will be too late. Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - To the poster of Mar. 9 with decades of experience: Just a note to say you are not alone. Your description of the forced degradation of performance and efficiency under the heading of "process improvement" perfectly describes conditions here. There is nothing, repeat NOTHING, that we do today that is being done with anywhere near the same level of quality and efficiency that it was 5-7 years ago. At first I viewed this as a short-term management misstep that would be quickly rectified once the consequences were evident. I never imagined that it would turn into the systemic blight that it has become. Instead of removing obstacles and helping employees become more efficient in our jobs, it seems like every day management imposes different and more complex schemes that do nothing but add overhead and increase opportunities for errors. Tasks that formerly required a day, now take 3. Defects are more numerous simply because of the multitasking necesary due to insufficient manpower and the use of unskilled temps. Instead of draining the swamp, management has channeled more water into it. It's hard to quantify, but subjectively it feels like our efficiency today overall as a plant must be no more than 50% of what it was a few years ago. Maybe not even that. A critical mistake is to not achieve a HOS goal. Therefore, one of the things I note is that much time and effort goes into very narrowly defining a goal, and then expending massive effort to achieve it. It must be achieved at all costs or else risk incurring the wrath of upper management. Unfortunately, those "costs" are scarce resources that can not be deployed to other more urgent problems because to do so would jeoparize reaching the HOS goal. In the end, the goal is achieved by throwing massive resources at it with the result that $1 is apparently "saved." Meanwhile, the $10 that another line sends out the door with each product shipped is entirely ignored. It's not the way I would run MY business, but then again, no one asked for my opinion. I know my personal efficiency has diminished considerably and it deeply troubles me. In terms of contributing to the bottom line, I know I could do much more, because I have in the past. But I also realize that the only way to survive today is to hunker down, shut up, and become invisible. Caring has become too risky and too stressful. The conditions you describe are most certainly not your fault. I, too, have thought that (and frequently hinted for) an explanation from management which would explain what it is about the "big picture" that I seem to be missing would be greatly appreciated. But so far there's been nothing more than the continuous din of management babble-speak and buzz words as each bigshot tries to outswagger the next. I fail to see how this can continue, and probably it won't. Those of us in the trenches realize that sooner or later the bubble will burst, and that the revenue from the products we struggle to get out the door will no longer support the egos and paychecks of the same management who have created this mess, and who themselves have contributed exactly nothing to the bottom line. When that happens, look for the crippled parts of the business to be sold off, or for management to begin leaving "to pursue other career opportunities." If we get lucky, maybe even the Big Guy himself will go, although the golden parachute he gets will be an insult to the remaining workers who endured his regime. Tuesday, March 15, 2011 Nothing is ever good enough for these "leaders" because all they care about is their annual bonus, stock options & performance shares. We just don't matter to them. The sooner you realize this the better off you will be. Don't give anymore than the bare minimum and just get by, because overexertion is not rewarded. Friday, March 11, 2011 I've worked for the same business for almost 30 years. We have been bought out by larger and larger companies over the years, with Honeywell being the latest. I can't believe how far we have regressed. Until Honeywell, we were always treated with respect. It was a two-way street. Over the last 10 years or so, since Honeywell has owned us, this respect has been eroded. We now have previous employees being rehired as contractors through a Honeywell-owned company (Fieldglass) with no medical or dental benefits. Honeywell's continuous improvements seem to be at the expense of employees. In addition, we must to do more with less (space, equipment, manpower) than ever. When we produce 50% over target it's still not enough. Friday, March 11, 2011 On the subject of costs, I now estimate 3x as many hours to complete a task than I did before HOS was implemented. So much wasted time to overhead, 4-up charts and meetings, just so the bean counters can daily track cost and schedule. Then they complain when my estimate for design effort is so high, so their first response is to cut my allotted hours in half and dismissing my complaints since "engineers will find a way to pull together and get it done". Not anymore! I now estimate 6x the effort so that when my schedule is automatically cut in half I am left with just 3x the effort that is really needed to complete the task. I just can't keep up with the waste and really do not want to be a part of it. If you want to know what the progress is day-to-day, sit beside my computer as I write the spec which India/China will use to design the next board, or join me in the lab debugging the junk from India/China. Wednesday, March 9, 2011 With decades of experience doing my job I can safely, though regretfully, say that my work now takes a lot longer (2 to 3x) to complete, than at any time in my career, and I have more defects than I have ever had before, and none of this is due to any fault of my own. And I am about 3 times more stressed out and frustrated than I've ever been. I can't think of any one task, in the myriad of tasks I have to perform in my job function, that has become simpler or even stayed the same. In fact, the number of task involved in completing the same job functions has more than doubled. Something just doesn't add up. I kept asking myself - why did so many people go out of their way to make every single thing, even the simplest of tasks that we perform, so much more difficult, and added so many, many more opportunities for defects, in everything that we do? How can any of it be remotely considered an improvement? And I do believe that they call it "process improvement". These emotions seem to be universal amongst the Honeywell employees, and who knows, perhaps with employees of other companies as well. But it begs the question: has all of management gone completely berserk? Are there any management types out there that can shed some light on this new age of darkness? If not, then you are definitely part of the problem, and most definitely not part of the solution. At first, I felt guilty that I am taking so much longer to do my job and that my work has more defects than before, both of which did not sit well with my ego and my drive to be proficient, efficient, and accurate in my work. Now however, after fighting it for the past 3 years, I am relieved to conclude that none of this is my fault. I also came to the sad realization that it is perhaps best to do less work, as that will at least reduce the number of defects, and my stress level. And since the difference in compensation for superior skills and quality of work is negligible, then all the more reason to resign myself to the new lowered standards, or "EHCOLE" (Electronic Hardware Center of Lowered Excellence). What an insult to the word "EXCELLENCE" in our functional title! Wednesday, March 9, 2011 You know how the Russians had a "political" officer on their ships. We have H.O.S. Officers running around. HOS is an example of how Honeywell takes an already existing idea and puts it's own spin on it. They took 5s ideas and mixed them with Greenbelt and came up with a system Hitler would be proud of. You see Honeywell is it's own worst enemy. It comes up with rules and procedures we can not follow, so in the end it shoots itself in the foot. By the way, HOS means Honeywell Operating System. Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Severance packages are a tool in a toolbox called HOS. Included also in this toolset is SIX SIGMA. Honeywell implements this toolset by first presenting employees with HOS and starts invoking the name TOYOTA (probably not so much recently). Identifying streamlined cost effective high quality approaches, blah blah blah. Second, Honeywell implements SIX SIGMA - more streamlining quality improvements, doing more with less blah blah blah. BUT WAIT! DOING MORE WITH LESS? This is the opportunity for various corporate layers to characterize "how many people do we need to do that job?" But there is a reason for this, and it's not what you might think it is, but we'll get to that later. After the real drive for SIXSIGMA/HOS is set in place, Honeywell site management starts promoting SIXSIGMA certification as career path for individuals within the organization - this is where you start to see the separation of personalities begin. Those looking to get ahead, whether well-intentioned or not, start their GREENBELT CERT process. Almost overnight, these people will generally start to assert a difference (whether founded or unfounded) between them and the people who actually do work at Honeywell. In about 3 months you end up a group of lackeys hoping to get a promotion, that have drawn a clear line between them and those who work and those who watch. They start using words like "metrics" and "utilization", carrying cameras and clipboards. They suddenly feel that they are of a different class compared to those who merely work and build the things that pay the bills at that particular site and Honeywell/Allied Signal. Things get uncomfortable at this point for most employees, but it's actually going quite well for Honeywell. At around the 6 month mark, the upper layers of Honeywell have an idea (or so they think) as to how many people it takes to do a job and MOST IMPORTANTLY HOW TO DEPLOY IT SOMEWHERE ELSE! A blueprint now exists of a particular department or an individual job function. This is where the SEVERENCE TOOL comes into play, and it's very bold. In an all-hands meeting, management declares that "in order to remain competitive" it's necessary that this particular site be "transitioned to a lower cost region". In a bad economy, the severance tool can be used very effectively to ensure and enforce cooperation from individuals and groups that are to be "directly affected by the transition". This tool was used to coerce the employees of Aerospace in Deer Valley AZ. They were told in very certain terms that they would train the foreign nationals that would be taking their jobs or they would be terminated for disobeying direct orders from management. Termination equals no severance, and now matter how humiliating and psychologically damaging this was to the North American employees, many had no choice given the economic climate. Honeywell got what it wanted. I still work at this location, and I watched this happen to the department next to mine. I was walking behind a couple of corporate types a few days ago and I overheard one of them refer to severance as the "severance tool"; it made sense a little while later. And for those lackeys who helped with the whole process? Well besides having a GREENBELT CERT in SIXSIGMA some of them got to stay at Honeywell. A little longer anyway. Wednesday, March 9, 2011 As a long time employee I saw the company go from being Garrett Airesearch to Garrett Turbine Engine Company (GTEC) to AlliedSignal Aerospace to Honeywell and with each new name change and new partner things would get progressively worse. There were many things at Honeybucket that simply drove me insane. One of them was the review process which was a complete sham. We went from being reviewed on our individual merits to having your COE's and site's productivity, efficieny and safety record added to your review. Of course that always affected your's and everyone else's final score because there was always a problem somewhere else. Lower score means less of a raise and don't even get me started on the nine block! Each person was then expected to come up with 12 solid process improvements for each year and that, of course, affected your final review score. Fortunately this was easily circumvented by forming a cabal consisting of 6 or more employees. As each person came up with a process improvement, an email was sent to the VSL, cell manager, HR generalist and the other employees in your group. This email would describe the process improvement in great detail and list the other employees by name and E number as having collaborated on it. Everyone got credit for it and no one ever caught on as to what was actually happening. Another frustrating thing was the company's dual myth of customer satisfaction and Just-In-Time manufacturing. Raw material would be released to produce hardware to meet engine build and delivery dates to major airframe manufacturers who, of course, had their own hard delivery dates to their customers. The hardware would be produced and delivered by the specified date and it wasn't unusual the following week to find the same requirements staring you in the face, only now you are being villified for having missed the delivery date and the end user is very upset! Confused? Well it seems that somewhere between the manufacturing area and the assembly line, upper management hijacked and sold the hardware to the overhaul and repair division as spare parts. As anyone who has purchased a car part can tell you, each item generates vastly more money when sold individually than it does as part a completed end unit. Voila, the books look great for the quarter, upper management gets their bonuses, a slick PR man can usually soothe the end user's ruffled feathers and the manufacturing COE is the goat for having missed a delivery date. This, of course, eventually shows back up on your review. (see second paragraph above) I am often reminded of a line from the 1957 movie "Bridge on the River Kwai" where Col. Saito, the Japanese commandant, is addressing the half-dead English prisoners, "Be happy in your work!" Tuesday, March 8, 2011 A question for you long time Honeywell employees. Trying figure how this company works is very bizzare to me and some of my fellow associates. Honeywell Aerospace lowball bid an Army contract that we worked on for 10 years with another contractor. The dog and pony show we where given was a grand thing, sort of like going to see the wizard. Considering our old company was a pretty much no-frills, barebones operation. When Honey took over, they tried to redo everything that this 15 year Army project had set in place. Then they started with our health and welfare payments and cutting a lot of mechanics wages. Our H&W payments where so screwed up I think Chinese arithmetric was being used.What a frigging mess. I noticed we have 200% more managers now. Exempt they call them. It sucks, because they get a little extra in their 401K, but the rest of us don't. You try to call the 800 - no help line for HR/pay problems. I might as well call somebody in India. Oh yeah, I do. We are on SCA contract. We figure that Honey must be losing money on this contract because we are not allowed to LWOP until we use all of our paid leave. We didn't have to do that before. One big thing we have seen is this HOS stuff. Where did they come with this, geez? We don't make anything. We service military equipment. We work in 50-year-old buildings, have 25 year GFE furniture (cold war era) nothing matches, and we have a duly appointed HOS guy who says we have to do all of this stupid stuff which is really a waste of time and money. We don't make cars and I am not Japanese. I think Toyota has enough problems as it is now. I believe that we are still contractors, and when Honey leaves someone else will take over. I know we don't have full benefits and I know when the Honey leaves they are not going to take us with them. My question is: Are there any other SCA contract people out there? Are you treated any different? Or is this how to expect to be treated by Honeywell? Tuesday, March 8, 2011 Yes! Why make all of your employees unhappy when it is so simple to make both groups (those that want to go and those that want to stay) happier, and the company comes out the clear winner! There will be more money for those that want to stay. Notice that when they made the salary/benefits cuts, it was applied to everyone, and upset everyone. And now, with the recent salary increases, some can get 0%, and some 5%. How fair is that? They just need to exaggerate the latter principle, and save more money and have a happier, healthier work force. What can be better than that? Tuesday, March 8, 2011 I think that the point was missed on severance packages. It is true that no one is entitled to a severance package, and that it is only a tool employed by companies to save money, for whatever the reason. The point is that the Honeywell leadership is so bent on saving money that, instead of taking the opportunity to do so and letting a few disgruntled employees go - those that are wishing for a package - they have chosen to hurt or punish their entire work force (good and bad, young and old). That may be a noble method in that they can't be accused of discrimination, but it does not make a lot of business or economic sense, given the long term repercussions on your future prospects. Shouldn't that be one of the primary considerations? And the point that management is considerate enough to not want to face someone about letting them go is not correct. Immediate-management has mostly lost that authority and sensitivity. And the decision is hardly personal anymore, but is being made at any level (we are just a number now), or can be made to look that way. Your name can be picked by someone that knows nothing about you, but only about your performance, age, length of service, etc. Furthermore, in the past 2.5 years, managers have asked some of their charges if they are interested in a package and have enticed them accordingly. Of the few that I know of, every one of them has opted for the package. It is that simple! Tuesday, March 8, 2011 I have to respond to those that feel they are entitled to a severance package and choose to show up to do the minimum while they wait for one. You are not entitled to a severance package. It is a benefit the company has offerred to those that the company chooses to let go for the convenience of the company. A benefit intended to carry a laid off employee for a period of time while they seek employment. If you resign, you do so for your convenience, you don't get the severance payment. If you are that unhappy with your job, it may be time for you to look for alternate employment and submit your resignation. Since your severance is capped at 6 months currently, why not just set a date 6 months from today and submit your resignation then? It would actually be better than severance since you could still put money into your 401K and get the match during this 6 month period. In addition to other benefits not available while on severance. If you are set on getting a severance package, or you won't leave, consider that you may be working for a long time and missing out on all that free time to do what you want. Simply hoping for a package is not likely to work. Try letting your boss know that you are ready to leave and would welcome a layoff notice. Maybe tell the next two layers of your management also. Sometimes letting someone go is an option to resolve an issue, but is passed by because the manager may think it would be too hard on an employee/family. Or he just doesn't have the guts to face someone and tell them they are out of work. Knowing that someone would welcome being laid off may tilt the decision in another direction. Bitching to some online blog, or coworker, is not going to help your cause. If you are serious, it is time to let your superiors know. Tuesday, March 8, 2011 Unfortunately the people that run these companies are not concerned with what is legal; they are only concerned with what they can get away with. They seem to think that it is alright to do something, as long as they can get away with it. Apparently that is called "leadership". Tuesday, March 8, 2011 "The Waiting Game" is the only way to go, especially for long-term employees, to resist the obsessive corporate bullying, and to preserve our sanity. Call it an antidote to the forceful injection of extremely harmful and destructive substances (moronic ideas) into our psyche, by idiots obsessed with converting us into moronic robots with no power to think. Would you allow your family or friends to join a cult? The reason that we feel the strong urge to resist the mindless brainwashing is because we were born, schooled, and trained to think and work hard and smart. And we have been doing that very well, thank you; i.e. until these corporate brains came along, thinking that they will have none of that kind of attitude or behavior here. They insist on rewriting "the theory of sensibility". In other words, they insist on reinventing the wheel, and this time making it square. They will not be deterred, no matter what the rest of us think. Unfortunately we, not them, are expected to ride on these brand new wheels. As a result, Honeywell will steadily become The Department of Inferior. Can someone please remind me again as to how, when and where these idiots suddenly became so much more knowledgeable, experienced and smarter than us at doing our jobs that they can tell us how to do it, and what tools, processes and guidelines are best for us? Dictators, in every walk of life, and everywhere, beware! So, we have been thinking and working hard and smart (therein lies our problem), when we should be thinking and working stupid. After all, look at the corporate leadership and management. They are thinking and working very stupid and making millions. But since we can't and don't want to think and work stupid, we (veterans especially) are left with employing "The Waiting Game". For the young, brave and strong: the antidote for an unreasonable and inhumane amount of work with an impossible schedule and all of its trimmings of poor tools, processes, guidelines, checklists, etc., is to do little or nothing! Take it from someone who knows only too well, and who has carried the weight of two for 25 years, and with superior quality work, when others were pulling half. The more you do and the quicker you do it, the more work you'll be given and the quicker you'll be expected to do it, while the laggards will always glide at a slow pace, with no pressure, and earning just as much, if not more. And there is no real measures as to how many years you may be taking off of your life by being Mr. Nice, and always trying to prove yourself, and constantly trying impress the idiots day in and day out, with little to show for it. May you find greener pastures? You deserve it! Monday, March 7, 2011 They get to do whatever they want and they get away with it. There is no accountability. The top will never admit they are wrong. Perhaps some of these complaints need to go to legal authorities? Nothing is sacred but the almighty dollar, which is not all that mighty anymore. Monday, March 7, 2011 Interesting list of 14 traits. I wonder in which trait the collusion between Honeywell and ITT falls? Honeywell and ITT have been competitors bidding for NASA contracts, and Honeywell recently lost to ITT. Honeywell's existing contract expires shortly and employees will be terminated. For many, the next step is to seek employment with ITT. But wait a sec... First, ITT refuses to reveal salary information in advance. Then, if a Honeywell employee applies with ITT, he is required to produce a copy of his Honeywell pay stub. Thus, ITT knows exactly the applicant's pay. The employee has no negotiating power whatsoever. Can you say "low offer?" Furthermore, if ITT makes an offer to a soon-to-be-ex-Honeywell employee, they will also tell Honeywell an offer was made. Why? Because no severance will be paid to a terminated employee who turns down a job offer from ITT. The employee gets jammed from both ITT and Honeywell. To further rub some salt, Honeywell reduced the severance package and turned it into an insult instead of a farewell to a valued employee. This is outrageous. Can it possibly be legal? One wonders how many other companies have backroom personnel deals with Honeywell to systematically screw employees as they circulate between employers? Back to the original question: Does this fit under one of the 14 traits? Or does this deserve a new one of its own? Which of the 12 behaviors does this emulate? Honeywell ought to burn for this and someone should lose their job. This time it needs to be high up. Monday, March 7, 2011 - "Honeywell as Fascism": As a corporate entity, Honeywell has much in common with fascist political systems. I don't mean in the immediately obvious sense (i.e. a strong dictatorial leader). For your consideration, I offer the following ideas used as a framework:
Monday, March 7, 2011 It is one thing when the company is stabbing you in the back, but quite another when your manager is personally and blatantly twisting the knife, and blaming the company for making him/her do it. That is adding insult and pain to injury, and is just plain unjust and unethical. It is so very wrong, on so very many different levels. Is there no conscience or common decency left in anybody? Sunday, March 6, 2011 Larry Bossidy was one of driving forces behind NAFTA. After it was passed, Honeywell bought a plant in Mexico that did subassembly work for us, then proceeded to triple the size of the plant, then slowly out-sourced 50% of our divisions jobs down there. Thus the "sucking sounds" of the jobs heading down there. Their latest joke of forcing us to do more with less, called HOS, which forces employees to give process improvement ideas for no rewards for the employees: It's motto should be "plagiarize shamelessly". Mind you Honeywell made $9 billion last year. Between the cutting of our healthcare (I'm sure employees died because they didn't want to spend the outragious emergency room fees for what they thought was just heartburn) and the stealing of employees ideas, that $9 billion was made from the blood of the employees, and had nothing to do with any actions of management. Saturday, March 5, 2011 The new employee strategy of "Money for Nothing" (well not really, we've sacrificed and suffered enough) may perhaps have been intended by the gods. And in the leadership's blind obsession to be cheap, mean and miserable - they may have inadvertently provided us with the opportunity to reap some satisfaction for the years of dedicated service. Let's see now, the out-source and off-shore entities are supposedly better, faster and cheaper. Therefore, that should make most N.A. employees position redundant, especially the geezers (I am one). So why are they not offering packages, especially to the veterans, many of whom are within years or even months of retirement? The answer is that they have become so damn cheap (as in penny-wise and dollar-stupid), to the point of total ignorance. The purpose of offering employees packages is to save money. It works like this: it costs the company approximately 3 times an employee's actual salary to keep them. When a company pays off an employee to leave, with approximately 1 year's salary, the company would have already saved 2 times as much, just in that first year. That has always been the strategy and purpose behind layoff packages. It has been a viable economic option employed by companies for decades. But no. Honeywell, in their wisdom, is playing the waiting game - i.e., waiting for the employees to quit or die, so that they do not have to pay out a package. Their strategy is to make the employees' life so miserable, that they will quit, or die. In the mean time, I have seen some co-workers play the waiting game with much more finesse and patience than the company can afford, and for as many as 10 years (as in 29 times salary), and do almost nothing in that time, and finally receiving a package. One even waited past age 65. Now, that guy should be the CEO! And what is the collateral damage from this "brilliant" corporate strategy? The young, talented and future prospects, with nothing to wait for, and little to look forward to, are leaving. The damage has already been done. So, we have the future prospects that could be doing the work, leaving, and the veterans who are waiting and doing little or nothing, hanging in there, playing the waiting game. How is that for an optimally productive workforce? It may be common for these corporate idiots to be lacking in morals, conscience and common sense, but our idiots seem to have excelled in the lack of business and economic sense too, for the advanced level effect. If they were running their own business, or were working at a real job... well, you get the idea! On the other hand though, they may not be that hopelessly stupid, as they are fully aware that the offer of packages this time will lead to a mass exodus, and expose the true nature and true cost of the unnecessary and unwarranted abuse they inflicted upon their employees. Saturday, March 5, 2011 As an engineer, in days gone by I could see that the work I did made a difference; that my efforts were valued. I had some authority, and what I considered to be fairly sizable responsibility. Projects in double-digit millions. Not a lot of recognition, but I was OK with that. Then along came Allied, and it all changed. New management first stripped away ALL of my authority. My ability to make any decisions regarding monetary expenditures was removed and replaced by micromanaging every step. The blunders were incredible. At first, trying to be a helpful, proactive employee, I tried to point out the drawbacks of these poor decisions. That effort earned a "not a team player" comment in my review. During this time, not a day went by but what management constantly hammered the workforce with the propaganda that our Chinese counterparts were able to do the same job as us but for 1/10th or 1/5th (it varied) of the pay. After direct experience, I knew this was NOT the case. For management to maintain that it was, said a lot about their ignorance, their willingness to perpetuate a facile lie, or both. The micromanagement continued, and the blunders mounted, and I learned to play the game:
During this time, I watched management sytematically plunder the various employee perks and benefits that had been accrued over the years. I watched Cote get rewarded with millions of dollars in bonuses, while engineer pay barely moved. Incredible talent either got layed off, or walked out the door because they were fed up. Revenue streams failed to materialize on schedule because of project blunders committed overseas, and then US employees got terminated to make the numbers. The stream of blunders and mistakes caused efficiency to plummet as precious time (far fewer employees to do the work now) was frittered away assembling mountains of reports for upper management. Weeks and months of effort was required to correct and mitigate the damage caused by inexperienced Asian employees. You remember these employees, right? The same ones who work for 1/5th or 1/10th of US engineers' pay? You'd think that by now management would begin to question both the QUANTITY and QUALITY of the deliverables received for their low-buck engineering investment. But they don't. Just keep singing the same old song. Figuratively speaking, I saw management take a finely tuned powerplant (the engineering community at red Honeywell) and change it from a highly efficient, high RPM, high-output, smoothly running engine, into a single-cylinder Johnny Popper with barely enough ooomph to get out of its own way. Through all this, never once were engineers asked for input. Never once was their opinions solicited. On Monday, we might be ordered to march North. On Tuesday, the direction changed to South. On Wednesday, attendance is required at a rah-rah session to listen to management cajole us to work harder and shove China in our faces. Thursday, the orders came to march West, followed by Friday's march to the East. By the time next week arrived, we'd gone in a full circle. Inefficient? You betcha. Am I going to say anything? Absolutely not. I fully intend to let the pointless marching continue and collect my paycheck. This was management's plan and management's execution, and they had total control. Therefore they must have obtained EXACTLY the results they wanted, right? You know these guys, don't you? The bright boys whose highly polished and framed MBA diplomas on the wall match the shine on the seat of their pants? Therefore, who am I, a lowly engineering peon, to try to show them a better way? For them, I have no respect whatsoever. And for their systematic foolishness that I've endured over the last 10 years, my only desire now is to leave at quitting time and laugh all the way to the bank. Management loves to talk about the need for change. So be it. This is not a change I willingly made; it was forced upon me and represents my adaptation in order to survive in this culture. I am WYSIWYG 2. Saturday, March 5, 2011 Honeywell treats me like a disposable commodity, so I respond appropriately. It's called survival. Still have one left in college. Tick tock, counting the seconds on the clock. Saturday, March 5, 2011 It's all due to what I refer to as MBA accounting. Bottom line is your bosses personal gains, so thus the figures get "manipulated & massaged" to your benefit. Pointy headed boss beats the heads of his MBA goon-squad to make sure the numbers come out right. In does not equal out, but it works out OK for the benefit of the boss. I just recently found out that the word "boss" derives from the Dutch word "baas" from the Dutch Colonial Times in Manhattan. Saturday, March 5, 2011 It is very easy to say 'get another job' to the bloggers who describe their real frustrations with Honeywell. However, it betrays a mentality of being a slave to the corporation, and of a view of the jobs that people do as handouts. This is how the managers want the engineers to think. This kind of loyalty will ultimately sink the company, as it will leave Honeywell with only those employees who, by virtue of their utter incompetence and lack of self worth, have no recourse but to continue to accept whatever crumbs are given to them by the managers. Come to think of it, these are the kind of people that Honeywell regularly promotes to management roles. Saturday, March 5, 2011 Amen to the post by the 23 year Honeywell veteran. The blog post tells it like it is. I also will use Hwell as long as I can and minimize my efforts, especially when it comes to providing training & support for the outsourced workers that took away American jobs. It is the only way to survive. I have no respect for any of my management or, as I refer to them, "mismanagement". Employees have had enough! Saturday, March 5, 2011 Per a previous comment, it would have been sad to know that we are capable of so much more and that some have now chosen to give very little to the company, if it wasn't for the fact that the company is capable of so much more but have chosen to give the least to their employees (and have even taken back some of what they give), on whose backs they are able to present those glowing reports by the corporate slavers of how well the company is doing and how very well they are paying themselves, compared with the mistreatment of their employees. The company's stock has gone from about $23 to about $58, and the corporate morons take all of the credits. They pay themselves well when thing are good and, they pay themselves well when things are bad, for saving money at their employees' expense. They stole much more than 10% from their employees when times were bad (but not that bad, really) and are returning very little now that times are good. How fair is that? I don't recall everyone ever getting a temporary 10% salary increase when times are very good. Yes, there was a time when, the better the company does, even though they may not share the wealth fairly with their employees, it was acceptable, as the employees' job became more secure. That was the mutual understanding and relation between employers and employees. Now however, it would seem that the better the company does, solely due to their employees' contribution, the worse they treat their employees and the more insecure our jobs are becoming. It is only fitting that we adjust our attitude and morals to compensate for that of the company's lowered morals, to balance the ignorance and stupidity. While some, if not most, have chosen to do the very least just to get by, let's understand that likewise, the company is trying to minimize compensation to the very least that they can get away with. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there and one can understand why some feel that they must adjust to adapt, especially after years of loyal and dedicated service to the company. This new attitude just seems justifiable if you know that your decades of service are now so trivial. Friday, March 4, 2011 - from WYSIWYG: By "working for free" I mean utilization score. When I called in sick for a day (first time in the last 3 years) I was told to make up the time in order to maintain 94% utilization. What!? You want me to make up the time and not get paid for it? No thanks. I used to pull the weight of 2 and I didn't mind it at all. My work for 2 was easy in the sense that I was just very productive because I knew what I was doing. I trained a lot of younger engineers and even some senior engineers. But after the corporate policies, cut backs and poor attitude, I was dismayed. Yet, given my personal work ethic, I kept at it for a year and a half. But every day just got worse. Not my managers fault; the manager is just "flowing down" (like we're the rats on the bottom to be sh*t upon) what was given to him to say in a practically pre-written speech at the monthly meetings. Every meeting was a new policy that just scr#w#d you more or brought you closer to the outsourced door. No thanks. Now I don't play that game. Perhaps it IS sad, and I again I appologize for those working 50-hrs per week. But I just can't do it anymore. The corporate direction and disrespect for the employeesIt is very insulting. If you give me a little, I will give you a lot back. But if you slap me in the face - EVERY DAY - then don't expect much in return; just the bare minimum to get by. Friday, March 4, 2011 I can't help but to agree with WYSIWYG, and the others. As hard as I have tried to resist the temptation, and tried to maintain my integrity, the company just keeps sticking more and more knives in my back, and may have finally broken it. You know the saying: You get what you pay for. Well, unfortunately, sometimes you get less than what you pay for, as punishment for being stupid. Besides the fact that they have increase the degree of difficulty of doing my job by 100 %, and expect me to do it in 50% of the time, combined with all of the corporate rape and robbery over the past 2 years, and the constant threat of layoff, firing, out-sourcing, off-shoring, etc., I have been given a whopping 1% salary increase. Sure, some are getting 0%, but some that are deserving of 0% are getting 3 to 4%. That is nothing new of course. Some managers do not necessarily apply pay-for-performance as much as they apply favoritism, biases, prejudices or plain stupidity. If one has dedicated most of their life to the company and now have knives in the back to show for it, then they have every right to be bitter and to want to change their attitude towards the company. If you are young it may not seem too bad, as you have not given much to the company yet, and cannot appreciate the betrayal. And you can leave and get another job. That is not an option for the older folks! Do understand that the people who now feel obligated to change their attitude are the ones that have given the most to the company. Those that haven't given much will not have much to complain about and will never understand. I have worked with dead beats and floaters in my time and have learned to live with it. So it will seem only fair that with the company's nasty attitude, I may be entitled to become one of them. I am earning my pay check, but the next guy is earning his for half the productivity, and 10 times the defects, and keeps getting bigger increases. I have been pulling the weight of 2 for 23 years. Call me stupid! Furthermore, while I still try to continue to do my job diligently, despite the company's nasty attitude, it has become impossible, as everyone else that I depend on in order to perform my job, have a change of attitude, for the worse, and in my frustration I am left with only one option, and that is to join them, since I can't operate in a vacuum. Now, when I occasionally lapse into that loyal, diligent, hard working and dedicated mode that I have applied to my work for the past 23 years, and the efforts to be a perfectionist (it's a hard habit to break), I have to use my recent salary increase as an incentive and a motivation to apply WYSIWYGs attitude. Sorry, the rest of you, but collateral damage's a bitch. You might as well get used to it. After all, your days may be numbered too. Such is the new corporate norm... er... greed! Friday, March 4, 2011 To the Mexico & Czech outsource post that identified serious problems: Google Boeing outsource disaster and see how American corporations continue to be penny-wise or dollar-foolish. Friday, March 4, 2011 American workers need to form ASPCAJ: American Society for the Protection and Care of American Jobs. Heck, we have the ASPCA for animals; American workers surely deserve the same type of protection. Friday, March 4, 2011 I don't know why you think you are "working for free". I believe that Honeywell issues you a paycheck, the same as everyone else. The difference is, you are not actually earning your paycheck with the attitude you put out there. I have been around Honeywell my ENTIRE life - I am a third-generation employee. There are things that could be better, but there are also things that could be a lot worse. People that decide they are only going to put forth the least amount of effort are the reason I am working an average of 50 hours a week. Yes, outsourcing is big, but there is still plenty of work right here in the US. If you think that Honeywell is taking advantage of you, then perhaps you should find another position with another company. I would be willing to bet that things aren't much better at any other Aerospace company. Perhaps if you put forth the effort things would get better. Maybe not within the company, but in your own sense of self-worth. How sad it must be to know you are capable of more, but you do the very least to get by. Friday, March 4, 2011 I am a former 30 year HW employee who's entire area of the engine division in Phoenix was outsourced to Mexico and Czech Republic. I have maintained my contacts among remaining employees and managers at several Phoenix campuses and we talk and meet for lunch quite frequently. I take great delight in the following information that has been relayed to me by a half dozen of these different sources. Seems all is not well in OZ. Much hardware and machinery is being returned to Phoenix from Mexico, and possibly from Czech Republic, and a new manufacturing center is hastily being prepared in one of the empty buildings. Can this be? Is it a just a rumor? I do know that HCMO (Chihuahua, MX) has been a disaster from the get-go. Engineers and maintenance people who traveled regularly to the site all came back with horror stories. The quality of people they were sending here for training was less than stellar. Every single one had a lacksadaisical attitude about everything; when you're dealing with rotating turbomachinery with extremely tight tolerances, they all didn't care and everything was "close enough". Half of one group that was sent to Phoenix, up and vanished. A free plane trip to the U.S. and a work visa in your pocket... who could ask for more? Beats climbing over a fence! The Czech engineers who came to Phoenix were an arrogant lot. They looked at our processes that took years to perfect and informed us that they were going to change everything because they didn't like it. A couple of them even told us outright that we were stupid. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it's best kept to yourself if you want cooperation or might need future assistance. I wish HW "the best in their future endeavors". Does that line sound familiar? You probably saw it on countless emails that informed you that someone had been replaced in their position by someone else. I love the corporate-speak for, "we just fired this guy". Thursday, March 3, 2011 You will have a long wait for better days. The only better days will be overseas. Today, this is the harsh reality of corporate America. Thursday, March 3, 2011 - To: "get a new job", from WYSIWYG: I understand and acknowledge what you have posted. But, I think maybe you would feel diferently about me and other WYSIWYG employees if you but aborbed one more fact which I failed to mention. I love my job. And what is more, I am actually very good at it. My post was not intended to be whining. I don't care for recognition, I am happy to contribute (what little I do). I do not have a bad feeling towards HW (anymore) as negativity just breeds negativity. Instead, I take a realistic view of my environment. Corporate policies have changed and they have "flowed down" their new perspectives. They want us to work for free, which I am not interested in. Continuosly work in fear of being outsourced, which I no longer buy into. Nope, I'm not going to live like that anymore. I show up to work happy. I contribute to my employer as much as they contribute towards me. Not a cent more. If things turn around, I will be there to crank up the engine. I have a lot of stored ideas that I think will be valuable. But to step out of the box, get noticed, raise the bar, etc.... right now, in this fear-driven, micro-managed environment, that would be detrimental to my career. So I am just biding my time, waiting for better days. Cheers to the future! Thursday, March 3, 2011 I'm with WYSIWYG & the last poster. I am not helping any outsourced shcmuck do his job better. I am also not helping any inept management at Honeywell look good. They are all useless. Donald Trump was on Letterman last night & he said it all about how utterly moronic America has become. Thursday, March 3, 2011 If you are so unhappy and unwilling to put forth effort in your job - GET A NEW JOB! Geez - there is no reason to punish those of us that are willing to put a little effort in to our jobs just because you don't want to. Is Honeywell the company that it used to be? No, absolutely not. But, it is a job and until you are willing to make a change to a new company (who probably won't be much better) than quit your whining. Yes, that is all it is - WHINING. Perhaps if you put a little effort in to what you do, then you might actually get the recognition you seem to desire. Wednesday, March 2, 2011 WYSIWYG: I couldn't have stated it any better myself. For me, this represents a complete about face compared to my attitude when I started with Honeywell. No, the company was not perfect then. But at least it was committed to technical excellence and I could throw myself into my work. But no more. Management's only commitment to technical excellence today is to watch it disappear into the crapper. Management acts out its charade for Wall Street. I act out my charade for management. Just do not expect me to give a tinker's damn about the future of this company because I know it won't involve me. I intend to extract the maximum possible dollars for the least possible work, and then leave. Screw 'em all. Won't be bailing out my Chinese counterparts along the way, either. If they're as bright as management says, they can solve their own problems without me. Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - WYSIWYG Ah, Engineering week! Wonderful! But I do not want to be in the spot light lest they see me doing absolutely nothing all day. I contribute the bare minimum, as they contribute to me the bare minimum. They show no interest in developing & training talent in their department (everything outsourced instead) so I show no interest in contributing patent awarding ideas like I did several years ago. No thanks, not anymore. I stay just above the line to avoid performance improvement programs, but give not an ounce more. Taking HW for everything I can before I am tossed with the rest of the North American Engineers. I must appologize to the ambitious, hard working engineers that still remain (are there any?). I am not helping you any with my minimum daily effort (barely keeping my eyes open anymore). You will now have to do my work including your own to keep your L-braket score high and receive your 2% raise. I cannot even sell my stocks, because I alreaady did a few years ago. When they changed the policy to have it market driven rather than getting 15% below price, it was no longer an attractive offer. Yep, they took that perk away too, so not only do I not invest professionally into the company, I do not invest financially either. I am a waste of space. All my motivation to be the best is gone. I am but an empty shell who shows up only to collect a paycheck and then leave the miserable sob's as quickly as possible. Yes, I mimic Honeywell's corporate direction and treatement of their North American engineers. What-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG). Monday, February 28, 2011 No love for Bonsignore here, but you must have never known the legacy Honeywell. That stock had a nice history of growth and splits. Legacy Honeywell was over 100 at the time of the acquistion and getting close to the point where the BOD would declare a split. So historically your comment is meaningless. One could blame the new management of Bossidy and Cote for the poor performance, but even that would be equally meaningless. Perhaps you missed the total market performance since 2000? Perhaps you have no idea what you are comparing. Sunday, February 27, 2011 Our last CEO, Bonsignore, made millions by buying and selling his stock while he was our acting CEO. He would sell it all off and the value would drop, then in turn he would buy it all back, knowing it would rebound just like a inside trader; mind you, he did not do this once but he did it 3-5 times making millions off his already millions in stock while screwing over the employees. In my many years of employment there I watched our stock, like clockwork, go up to $80 and split every 1 1/2 to 2 years. After this moron did this our stock would not go above $32 for at last the next 5 years. No other invester would touch after words except the employees. And what happened to this moron do you ask? He was given his millions in severance and let go. He was not even prosecuted for insider trading. Friday, February 25, 2011 Re: The new policy is that vacation is given in increments: New policy? I don't know where you have been for more than the past 10 years. Vacation is earn-as-you-go. At the end of 1 month you ACCRUE 1/12th of the years vacation. By the way, if you quit in June and have accrued half of the years vacation and not taken any, you don't get paid for it. If quitting is on your calendar, take your accrued vacation before you give notice. Now if you are laid off, you will get paid for unsed accrued vacation. Maybe you should read your benefits manuals. Maybe 30 years is enough for you and its time to leave. If you can't stay up to date on your benefits with the company, how effective are you at getting your job accomplished? Thursday, February 24, 2011 - Re: Engineer's week: A meal and prizes? That's more than our location provides. Here, engineers who originated projects that contributed substantially to the bottom line get a "certificate of recognition" dashed off on plain paper on a copy machine. Engineers who dreamed up an unproduceable, unproven gadgets that have yet to contribute one cent to the bottom line, get stock options or multi-hundred dollar awards. The engineer recognition "ceremony" turned into a political charade which demeaned the contributions engineers historically made to red Honeywell. Self-respecting engineers remained at their desks working as they did day-in and day-out, instead of sacrificing their dignity by participating in the charade. The poster is correct about the return to normal. The following week, an engineer with years of contributions and the patents to prove it, discovered that his job has just been offshored to China and gets walked to the door as an additional thank-you. That's how Honeywell values their Western engineers. Thursday, February 24, 2011 This is Engineers' Week. If Honeywell does as it did in the past, the lip service shall be duly performed with the declaration of engineers as 'valuable resource for the company'. The lucky ones will be taken out to a seventh-grade birthday-party-style gathering in the local restaurant with floor prizes of the weirdest kind will be awarded. That underscores Honeywell's view of engineers as ultra-nerds with no interests outside of office other than in making paper airplanes and mindless little gadgets. The bestowal of the honor of 'The Best Engineer of The Year' will make sure that everyone scratches their heads as to why that person was chosen. Honeywell will obviously mean well, but the engineers, if they have any self-awareness, if not self-respect, will feel as if they are being treated like little children. Of course, next week things will return to normal, and the engineers will be accorded their proper place within the hierarchy at tier seven or eight right there with the barely educated employees. That is how Honeywell treats engineers. Thursday, February 24, 2011 Every company I have worked for has had monthly vacation accrual. The policy you state is the same as every company I know of. You are honestly surprised to hear that if you quit on January 2 that you're not entitled to 6 weeks pay for your unused vacation? I wouldn't complain about ANYTHING if I had 6 weeks vacation. You see, I'm an engineer with 25+ years experience and I started working for Honeywell 4 years ago. I have 2 weeks Vac, which will increase to 3 in a year. How do you attract experienced people with that policy? Stingiest company I have ever worked for. I am actively seeking another job. Thursday, February 24, 2011 I've worked at Honeywell for over 30 years. The new policy is that vacation is given in increments - so much per month. So if I quit today I would not be paid my 6 wks vacation. I might even owe the company money if I have already used my 6 wks. Does anyone have any thoughts on why they can cheat us out of vacation that has been already earned? Has anyone ever challenged this? Saturday, February 19, 2011 It's sad to see that the once dominant TDC is no longer the Cadillac of the industry. Saturday, February 19, 2011 I find reading this blog reasuring in that I can relate to some of the comments. Being at HON for a few years now I see that I'm not the only one who has noticed a few negative things about the company. I also have doubts about it's futur success. I can't see the model being sustainable over the long term. I found myself asking to be included in the group of employees being severed in the upcoming restructuring of our group. How unfortunate when you consider the training spent on people to develop their skills. All I can say is to never let a company determine what your value is and always be in a position to determine your own destiny. Good luck to everyone. Friday, February 18, 2011 Per the LA Times:
"That's not to say that outsourcing never makes sense - it's a good way to make use of the precision skills of specialty manufacturers, which would be costly to duplicate. But Boeing's experience shows that it's folly to think that every dollar spent on outsourcing means a cost savings on the finished product." Wednesday, February 16, 2011 All the Honeywell managers who are slowly exporting whatever prosperity is left in America to Bangalore and Hyderabad should be forced to read this cautionary tale of Boeing's disastrous and counterproductive attempt to save money.
Of course nothing will move these guys, for no matter what happens to the country and the other employees of Honeywell, the managers careers and bonuses and all the perks are assured. There is a special place reserved for these people. Wednesday, February 16, 2011 - To the blogger who writes, "keep quiet, kiss-up and don't bring too much attention to yourself". My response to that is - you get what you pay for. If we, as a society or individually, see reprehensible behavior and do nothing, we are paying nothing to combat such injustices. Some people do "pay" by speaking up or bringing to light what is wrong and unethical. Yes, their lives may even be made miserable, but in the end they can say they tried and had not played the role of a cowering dog. Tuesday, February 15, 2011 The only way to survive is to use Honeywell the same way they use us as employees. Keep quiet, kiss-up and don't bring too much attention to yourself. It's called Survival. Tuesday, February 15, 2011 Honeywell is making it's billions on the backs of it's employees. It is slowly getting rid of any benefits while our 5 CEOs make millions. I honestly think they want the old timers to quit so they don't have to pay out for vacation time and they can replace them with a contact worker. It is what you would call an impresstion company - it gives an impression it cares about it's employees, but it couldn't care less. It's only the bottom line it cares about. It is self insured, but uses the major health-care companies to run it, trying to give us, and any prospective employee, the illusion they have a choice, when they are all the same - crappy. We have a $1,000 deductable before we can get any medical work done. We have a $100 deductable just for our persciptions. Cost's us $25 just to see a doctor, while paying over $300 in monthly premiums. They have tried to steel our vacation time until they got sued. They have tried to steal our family leave by paying the $6 a month short-term disability. Some government loop hole alows companies to substitute a company-paid benefit for family leave, thereby allowing them to fire someone after 6 months along with saving the cost of 3 more months of health care. They turned control of our 401k plan over to a third party, claiming we would have better acces to it while quietly not mentioning the new fees and slowly taking our access away from it. They use this system they made up called HOS, to try and force us to come up with ideas so we have to do more, with less. Friday, February 11, 2011 - to the person who complained about "Wah, wah...": The fact is that Honeywell employees in North America are fed up. If you don't learn from or enjoy the posts, don't read them. I see no valid facts in what you wrote. Yours is an opinion and others are entitled to theirs. Friday, February 11, 2011 "Wah, Wah are we little children on a school yard playground? I am working better, harder than you, I'm better than you." These juvenile posts need to stop. Just stick with the facts. Please! Thursday, February 10, 2011 Sorry, but I have to disagree that Finance and Admin are taking big chunks of salary for "revenue generating" people. Finance, PP&C, and support positions are being eliminated faster than any other positions. The people that remain are expected to do the work that a whole department used to do. DO NOT BLAME the support functions. We work just as hard (if not harder) than the Engineering people, but get a heck of a lot less credit. Wednesday, February 9, 2011 After 5 years at Honeywell, I have seen a drastic change in attitude. Today Honeywell is:
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - from an Engineer: I am surprised that no one talks about the employeement practices of the Honeweywell HR department. Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Emerson is using the tax excuse to outsource more jobs, and at the same time pleasing political buddies. DeltaV is by no means a better product; it does come with a nicer wrapping. The EMR wireless solution is by no means better than ours; they do spent more time lobbying the standard committees. DeltaV SIS is by far a worse solutions than our SMS, they use Hima or Triconex, but fail to mention this. Fisher is great, when are we going to buy proper equivalent? CHARMS is a joke, when are we going to react? Emerson is by far the better marketing company, when are we going to wake up? Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Good managers and corporations use well defined processes to improve productivity, employee morale, and profits. Bad managers hide behind 'Process' to shield themselves from having to make any decisions that do not satisfy their personal egos and to generally make life difficult for employees in a million little ways which all, in aggregate, make the life of the engineers a living nightmare. Honeywell does not have good managers. As a result, sooner or later the good engineers will leave, and the company will be left with paper pushers and little smiling yes men whose only solution to any problem will be to send the work to Bangalore or Beijing or Brno. Sadly, it is already happening. In other words, Honeywell is a company in steep decline. Its managers and no one else are to blame for it. Wednesday, February 9, 2011 The article in Automation World is good, as far as it goes. However, it fails to address the attitude prevalent within Honeywell management - they think that the solution to every problem lies in the Far East or Mexico. It also doesn't address the fact that Honeywell (and others) have abandoned the principles that once made them great and instead have become whores for Wall Street. It has become a viscious cycle - buy a small company, offshore the jobs to China, sell the plant, and finally, lay off remaining remnants of the Western workforce to compensate for missed revenue caused by failure to deliver. All in pursuit of making the numbers, short-term gains, and looking good this quarter. Motivate employees and make them proud to work for blue Honeywell? Why, pray tell? Since Allied came in, what has Honeywell done to be proud about? What kind of employee recognition or morale booster could Honeywell possibly offer that would overcome the reality that Honeywell is a company that doesn't care one whit about its Western employees? Actions speak louder than words, and for years Hon's actions have screamed "We Do Not Value You Or Want You. You Are Part Of The Problem." How gullible do they think we are? Once upon a time, the name "Honeywell" was synonomous with technical excellence. Today, Honeywell's logo should be part of the definition of the word 'corporate greed' and Dave Cote should be the poster child. Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Read Jim Pinto's latest column in Automation World, February 2011. This specifically discusses reasons why anonymous weblogs are so popular.
During a period of recession, leadership skills are truly challenged. The solutions derive from strong management, which motivates good people to do what it takes to win during tough times. Mechanisms must be created for the workforce to share their feelings. It's the bad times that make good companies so much better during the good times. Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - Re: "...it's not better anywhere else." Not true at all. Emerson is an engineering company that consistently performs by providing better products and services. Emerson CEO Dave Farr fights Obama's tax increases rather that becoming his lap dog like Honeywell's Dave Cote. Compare their total compensation packages, company size and growth rates and see who is the superior CEO! Tuesday, February 8, 2011 That is why I say use Honeywell like they use you. Shut your mouth & you'll stay in Phoenix as long as possible. Checkout the Emerson Dilbert blogs. See, it's not better anywhere else. Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Do not apply for any jobs internally. That news gets back to your boss very quickly. Just remember, nothing at Honeywell is confidential; everything that is recorded about you is seen by everyone else. Saturday, February 5, 2011 If you complain they will make your life hell - so start applying to competitors. But, most likely they will send you overseas to an outsourced business center. It won't be anywhere as nice as Phoenix. My motto is to use Big H the same way they use me; it's the only way to survive. Friday, February 4, 2011 You can look forward to a PIP for the next two years. No new hires in Canada Aero in about eight years, give or take. I like this place, but it is long since time to update my resume. Seems everyone around here is slowly dieing off. No investment in the employees, no interest in training new graduates and engineering work shipped to China as quick as possible. Work used to get shipped out to Mexico, but I think they ended up asking for a big pay raise so they were all fired and the facility there mostly abandoned (just a guess). Friday, February 4, 2011 I left Honeywell in the late 90's and when I resigned they were furious. They wanted to know why I never said anything. I told them I said a lot but no one was listening. Looks like not much has changed. The only difference today is that you can't just resign, because jobs in the US are hard to come by. If you want to work training outsourcers to do US jobs, then you may have a great career. Friday, February 4, 2011 - To the "lucky recipient": Be sure to start a journal to track the days between your survey response and when you begin to feel the noose start to tighten. I'll bet anything your next review will indicate that you're not a "team player." Now, expect to either get dumped on with more assignments than anyone can successfully manage, or else be slowly stripped of responsibilities until you begin to be marginalized. That's how it's done. Of course, there'll never be a official link to your survey response, at least not in black and white. Friday, February 4, 2011 I was a "lucky" recipient of a request to participate in an ethics survey for Honeywell. I gave them verifiable, factual evidence of dates and events on absolutely unethical behavior where I work, and the retaliation I received for reporting it in the first place. It will be interesting to see if any action at all will be taken. If I was a gambler, I would give 30-to-1 odds that nothing will happen, except of course more retaliation. Thursday, February 3, 2011 President heads to Pennsylvania to pitch for his clean-energy plans. Any chance of Cote & H-well being part of projects that help America? Thursday, February 3, 2011 Excellent point regarding Cote being skipped over. There would have been a glaring conflict of interest anyway, because Obama was focusing in on US Corporations that are creating manufacturing, engineering, sales and support jobs in the USA. Could Honeywell fit that bill? We all know the answer is a blaring No. Outsourcing will not get rewarded by the Obama administration, and that is one of the most patriotic things our President could do. Thursday, February 3, 2011 I worked for HON in the Aero sector in Canada. The mood at Honeywell was poison; the employees felt they were not getting paid enough and were threatening to join a union. This mixed with the site doing well in a time when other sectors were struggling left them irritated and annoyed. The hiring-freeze was making it difficult because people were leaving and the positions not being back filled, so there was more on others plates. The engineering department is running on a skeleton crew now, they all have left for greener pastures. The place is micromanaged to death, numbers were presented in such a way that it made things look better or worse than they actually were. The workforce there was young and arrogant, wanting it all right now, giving no regard for anyone who has any seniority. Seems the only way to get ahead was to either leave and come back or mess up at your job and get promoted to a position of more responsibility. I am worried for the people still working there, that if they tried to bring a union into that shop one more time, they would shut it down and move the business to somewhere in Mexico. The Canadian dollar is not like it was a few years ago; it costs more to do business in Canada and be competitive. Wednesday, February 2, 2011 - Re: "It doesn't matter how much berating and chest-thumping is done on this weblog.": Maybe, just maybe, this weblog contributed in some way to Cote being skipped over for the job that Obama recently gave Immelt. If so, this weblog served a useful function. Monday, January 31, 2011 It doesn't matter how much berating and chest-thumping is done on this weblog. As long as the HON Board of Directors is kept well-fed and happy and the shareholders and Wall Street see HON meeting the estimated EPS, David Cote will remain in his seat, his salary and bonus will increase, costs will be squeezed, and the workers will continue to get shafted with the threat of outsourcing. It's all a house of cards. That's reality for you. Welcome to the new normal in corporate America. Saturday, January 29, 2011 So let's see...a guy with no particular ambition, talent, or proven ability somehow gets taken under the wing of a corporate sponsor. He rises quickly through the ranks, always being pulled along by someone above him, until he begins to believe his own press and comes to see himself as a elite corporate genius. Ultimately, he is given the reins of blue Honeywell, where he becomes the living incarnation of the Peter Principle. Witness the fact that he hasn't had an original idea since his coronation. Oh yeah, just the kind of guy I admire and want to work for. Friday, January 28, 2011 I beg to differ with the statements that the old Honeywell rewarded hard work. That's not what I experienced in my 5 years at Big H. Thursday, January 27, 2011 The funny thing about Dave Cote is that he doesn't fit the mold that he's allowed to become the norm at (blue) Honeywell. Here is an excerpt from a bio page on him:
So if you have a chance to work for that guy who graduated from a third-rate college or who earned an MBA at night school, take it. You might just find he or she is the best boss you ever had. Friday, January 21, 2011 Cote's buddying up with Obama and the DNC didn't work, because Obama chose GE's Immelt to head the President's Job Council. Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Somebody linked to an article about the Ivy League educated elites. Honeywell is even worse than that. You get to work for the semi-literate managers with degrees from third rate engineering schools who, at best, get a night school MBA while working. Or, more often, they just get an online certification like PMP in one of the MS Office components, even which is beyond their level of competence. Sometimes even non-degreed engineers are promoted to boss over technical people. If America declines as a major player in the affairs of the world, the managers of Honeywell will be among the most important and telling exhibits of why that happens. No innovation. No respect for technical expertise. No loyalty to USA. All process all the time, and that too is so badly managed that the company is a holy mess that is inefficient and demotivating for anyone who actually wants to do something. Perhaps opportunity outside the HON bubble are limited, but despite that I would strongly recommend the younger and middle aged employees to go elsewhere. The future of Honeywell engineers is here. And it is not pretty. Get out as soon as you can. Friday, January 14, 2011 Being a 35 year Honeyweller, and having been laid off several times, I keep coming back because it is still the best deal in my community. And while I hate to see what is going on with the company, the writing has been on the wall for many years. In this ever-evolving economy, it is important to shift gears into a way of life that one can survive in, and in my case, actually thrive under current conditions. Sensible life choices can create a positive lifestyle while living in a very negative economic environment. I'm always amazed at the employee who still goes out spending $35,000 on a new Silverado, knowing full well that their job could be in jeopardy. Having lost my higher paying job at Honeywell in 2001, and now coming back 6 years later, I'm earning about a third less than I was. And while my bottom line is lower, they did give me back my seniority, vacation and benefits. I'm taking advantage of their benefits, even though the 401k match ended. I moved my 401 assets to Honeywell stock last fall and so far have watched those shares climb over $8. I'm making money at Honeywell's expense. Take advantage of it. Sensible life choices has put me in a position of having everything I want and having it paid for. Those kinds of choices have also put more cash in my pocket and more financial resources in my bank than I have ever had before. And doing it on a third less. I was never an exempt employee. I'm sitting at a job which Honeywell is selling out to another company. I try to focus on the job at hand. I try to ignore the management that has put Honeywell where it is. I try to do the best I can. I hope for the best, while planning for the worst. I also have a part time job which has helped me through previous lay-offs. Good luck to all Honeywell employees because you are the best. Life goes on. Wednesday, January 12, 2011 As an ex-Honeyweller, here are my thoughts on the posts over the last few days:
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Motivation is to hold onto our jobs for as long as we can. In the meanwhile, the fat cats still get expense accounts for customer "entertainment" like $100 bottles of wine and lavish expenses at "gentelmen's" clubs. Just lay low, don't complain and don't point any attention to yourself and hang on until they make you redundant because a low paid foreigner will do your job for next to nothing. The American Dream is now officially a nightmare. Tuesday, January 11, 2011 The corporate robbery of employees, and the recent announced recovered amount to date look like this:
Now they are returning 25% of six months of the savings plan's 2% robbery, which works out to % of ones salary equivalent for the year. But they are still keeping the other 75% for that period, the 100% before that, and the 75% of future amounts, in addition to everything else. So, the final count looks like this: Corporate got away with a measly minimum of 12.07%, and the employees are recovering a whopping 0.25%. And that is only if one is enrolled in the plan, and at the maximum allowable percentage. Otherwise, you get zilch. And everyone can't afford to enroll in the plan. It was strategically chosen, for that very reason, as the perfect vehicle to deceptively excite the crowd, while costing the company a very negligible amount. The small brains behind this "brilliant" move must be thinking that they have boosted employees' morale back to the pre-robbery levels. Are we all motivated again and ready to restore our productivity levels back to 110%? Oh yea! Monday, January 10, 2011 It's called American Management Theory - you know what floats to the top. Friday, January 7, 2011 Honeywellers will find much to relate to in this article:
Here's the money quote:
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 This might sound a little bit conspiracy theory, but it seems there is something very sinister going between CEOs and political leaders in this country. Follow me on this. When the banks crashed a couple years ago, many US companies across the board started laying off people by the thousands, even though these companies themselves had not been affected yet: sales were strong, consumer confidence was a little shaky but sales in almost every sector were still there. The government then bailed out these banks under threat of violence in the streets and a breakdown of society. The banks eventually made off with enough money to cover their gambling debts and then some and are starting out 2011 better off than years before. Meanwhile there is still high unemployment in this country - companies that laid off thousands at the beginning of the banking crisis have been running "lean" since then, and have found that they can get almost as much productivity out of their remaining workforce by threatening to lay off even more people. As a result US companies are now sitting on billions in cash, by not hiring, coincidentally many politicians have begun the drumbeat of terminating unemployment for jobless Americans. It is my belief that these companies will begin hiring once unemployment benefits across the country have been done away with. However, they will offer the same positions that were lost a couple years ago but at a 30 to 40 percent lower rate. It's almost as if the CEOs have taken a page out of the book of organized labor and, in unison, have decided to go on a hiring strike until US workers are ready to accept a major pay cut. If they can't outsource every worker in the country then maybe they can break their salaries by waiting them out. Perhaps I am being a little cynical, but is this what they mean when they say the "Great Economic Reset"? Genius. Absolute genius. Wednesday, January 5, 2011 David Cote is like every other US CEO. The bottom line is their compensation package and the Board of Directors mandate on share-price improvements. Employees don't matter to any US CEO. If they did, would US CEO's mandate their US employees to train the overseas, outsourced cheap labor that eventually take away US jobs? US CEO's are the least patriotic "Americans". How many are actually American citizens? Tuesday, January 4, 2011 When Dave Cote talks about Government and private enterprise working together, what he really means is that Government will give private enterprise lots of money and private enterprise will give that money to its executives in the form of bonuses and incentives. Monday, January 3, 2011 Corporations and Government working together? What's Cote talking about? Creating jobs? That's a joke coming fron Cote. All he has done is destroy jobs within Honeywell, moving tons of them to China (especially from Freeport Il.). What is wrong with Obama? Is he so blind, him and Cote? Create jobs? All they have done is destoy jobs. They are for themselves and nobody else. What a joke that meeting at the White House was. Watch it via the link in the December 20th comment. Monday, December 20, 2010
David Cote thinks American companies hiring US workers would be a "be a bad policy". And this man is on the deficit commission?! Thursday, December 16, 2010 What a great tag team we have in our lives! We have CEOs trying to squeeze more out of us for less in return, using the constant threat of layoffs, and governments trying to squeeze more out of that less, from us, in ever increasing taxes. And these two power, money and ego lovers are in bed together and neither of them have much of a conscience. There is a marriage made in hell as far as we kids are concerned! Since the CEOs excitedly contribute to their political cousins using the corporations' monies, and we are forced to contribute to the CEOs' financial well being, and their egos, through slavery and robbery, we are unwittingly contributing to both of these insatiable "blood suckers". What a wonderful world! Also, both of these "blood suckers" conveniently turn a blind eye to the unscrupulous doings of the other, in their dealings with us, especially the political leaders to the corporate leaders' contradictory ways. Money CAN buy anything! Wednesday, December 15, 2010 US corporations contribute to both the Republican and Democratic parties to cover themselves for all cases. CEO's pressure their people to contribute to their campaigns. Wednesday, December 15, 2010 here was a news piece today showing Cote and other CEOs heading to a meeting with Obama. The title of the segment was "Obama Mending Fences With Business". What needs to be mended? What is it that CEOs like Cote haven't gotten? What more do they want? Cote threw hundreds of jobs in Phoenix overseas and shortly afterward he had lunch with Obama. Cote has injured the local economy of Arizona, and now he's on the deficit commission??? He heads over India with Obama??? What more does he want? What rift is there between American CEOs and American government? They are getting everything they want regardless of political party. Tuesday, December 14, 2010 I have been with HI for 20+ years. After leaving for two years to work at another large corporation and coming back, I can say that the grass ain't no greener on the other side. There is opportunity for advancement or even lateral moves (for self-satisfaction) if you are a hard worker and have shown you can handle whatever they throw at you. But, you have to make it happen. They would love to keep you where you are and suck you dry. I would guess that all companies are like that. And no, I am not smitten by they way the big-shots run the company. I do believe they are flailing in the industry in several ways - I will probably be still working for HI when the ship capsizes. Monday, December 13, 2010 I am also stuck between a rock and a hard place. Too old to be marketable and too young to retire. Age discrimination is brutal in our industry. Guess I'll use the company the same way they use me. I have no other choice. Sunday, December 12, 2010 I have been an employee since 1979 (32years) and yes, the Company has definitely changed for the worse as far as employee morale is concerned. Excellent people are leaving in droves because of Senior Management practices. If I was earlier in my career I would leave now; but with only a few more years to retirement I can hang in. Honeywell's on a path to self destruction. Saturday, December 11, 2010 Get an attorney, or even better yet, represent yourself pro-se and file suit. I once did this and it's not as difficult as you may think. Tie them up; they will spend a lot of bucks on legal fees and you may get the last laugh. Saturday, December 11, 2010 - Sue for wrongful dismissal? I always wonder why people are afraid to sue for wrongful dimissal due to costing too much. That is, afraid a company's lawyers will tie it up in the courts until you are fully exhausted of money and then lose the case by default. That in itself sounds unlawful! What about this course of action, for those that are afraid of losing money in the process of protecting one's own rights & personal integrity:
Ihe above is not specifically directed at Honeywell, it is more a general statement. I always thought that the above would be a reasonable course of action if deemed necessary. Do you agree? Saturday, December 11, 2010 So, Honeywell has increased its share dividend to the share holders by 10%. This is very exciting news for the employees (losers), and a definite morale booster. And now the employees understand what the 10% salary theft, 2% furlough theft, benefits cost increases, benefits reduction, deferred raises (which is a "corporate lie" that actually meant no raises‚ and employees' demoralization is actually for, in addition to filling the pockets of the corporate gods. (Let's not forget that the share price has gone from about $23 to about $52, or ignore how many shares the Honeywell corporate gods own). Talk about employees getting raped twice! Why share even some of the fruits of the employees' labor and sacrifices, with the employees, when you can keep it for yourselves and share it with the greedy and the rich? The corporate gods and the share holders deserve all of the rewards, don't they? I can't speak for the other employees, but I am so excited and motivated now, upon hearing this news, and especially, knowing that there are PIPS, instead of pay raises in the offing, that I intend to work a lot harder to meet the new corporate objective of employees giving more and receiving less, and the corporate gods doing the opposite! Friday, December 10, 2010 Count your blessings if your first level manager has your back. My manager screwed up badly. When the point was reached where it was imminent that the consequences of his mistake would be found out, he needed to find some cover, and quickly. What did he do? Instead of admitting his mistake, he blamed me. Naturally I protested, but by that time he had already laid out his version of events to his boss and my appeal went nowhere. Railroaded every step of the way. After that I was rif'ed at the earliest opportunity. Coincidence? I think not. I probably should have sought legal recourse, but who can fight a big-bucks corporate lawyer? All the talk about corporate integrity is nothing but BS mouthwash. This never would have happened at old Honeywell. Wednesday, December 8, 2010 I am not a manager or even close, but I have to disagree that things are as bad as everyone is making them out to be. I work hard and I am recognized for that effort. Yes, I was one of the lucky few who received a merit increase in October. No, I do not kiss up, nor am I anyone of any kind of importance. I do my job and I do it well. Yes, I agree that Honeywell has stopped being a "fun" company to work for. They no longer offer the same great working environment that it used to be before being bought by Allied. But, if you do your job and perhaps offer to do more, you WILL be recognized! I am going to school full time, I have had a lot of medical appointments recently but Honeywell has been nothing but supportive. I have left before - I came back. The grass is not greener on the other side; it is just a different variety! Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Here's a quote from the article "Honeywell and Congress: Best of Friends?" (weblink below):
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Remarkable....
Start of article: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 My first level manager at Honeywell was USELESS. He ignored my input, ignored my statements that competitors are hiring. I do agree that "corporate" hits these managers over the head and they are the mouthpieces that do corporate's bidding so that they still have their job. I also believe that there is no company on the face of this earth that cares about the employees. So many retirees come back as consultants because they know the older products in a way the new folks never will. Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - from ex Honeyweller, response to Dec 6th blog - "Companies don't care about their employees anymore." I disagree. The new company I work for cares about their employees. It is not only said, it is proven by action. I wonder if it is becaues the new compnay is based in France rather than USA and the corporate philosophy is different? And if I may, I would clarify the situation at Honeywell. When I was with Honeywell, what I noticed was that the local managment DID care; but all power to actually DO something about it was taken away from them over the years. No longer is local 1st level managment allowed to give pay raises; also no training; no R&Rs (remember those!?); no bonuses worth talking about; nickle & dimed on the time sheet to the Nth degree; forced to ask their employees to make up for all missed time - EVEN IF YOU ARE SICK. Ridiculous. No wonder productivity is terrible. My point is that the 1st level managers got your back, but it is the corporate policies being forced down their throat and so they must push it on you or lose their own job. It's a terrible environment, but that's what my impression was when I was there. Now I am glad I am gone. I miss my friends there to be sure, but I am glad to be free of that environment. The grass IS greener on the other side :) Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - from "Unreal and sickend in the UK". I've been with Honeywell Maintainance in the UK for 16 years. The morale of all staff is so low you would not credit it. We are losing contracts, not winning new ones. The whole org has changed into a dysfunctional family; bosses are replaced if they get too close to the real workers who help keep it together. We have lost some fantastic people over the last few years and all the good managers have now gone. I really don't know where we are going. All our higher bosses seem to do is self congratulate, while the middle men just bully and blame. It just is not the company it once was. It's now all fur coat and no knickers. Tuesday, December 7, 2010 If you are able to lay low and stay below the radar, you are one of the lucky few. But watch your back! If they are not pushing you to work harder and faster then they will be pushing you towards the exit. Everyone is just dying to be left alone to do their work and to stay under the radar, to the benefit of the company. But that is just not possible anymore when you have geniuses keeping a very close and very uncomfortable watch over you and dictating to you all the wrong and hardest way to do your work, and when you have 5 to 10 people pushing you to go faster, complimented with the constant threats of layoffs, PIPs etc. What else can you ask for? All of this only leads to reduced productivity. If you are the type that pushes yourself harder than anybody else can push you, then, all they are doing is force you to slow down. Monday, December 6, 2010 A lot of us are flying below the radar - it's the only way to survive. Boss gets all the credit and underlings get all the blame. Avoiding management is like walking through a mine field. Process Control roulette is not a fun game. Monday, December 6, 2010 Companies don't care about their employees anymore. All they care about is the bottom line. I lay low, do my job, don't complain because I want to retire in Phoenix. Essentially I stay below the radar so as not to be put out to pasture. Saturday, December 4, 2010 Upper management are the only people that get taken care of. Top level management does not care about any employee. We are dispensable. Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply fooling themselves. Employees need to use the company the same way the company uses them. Heck, milk them for as long as you can because the second they don't need you then you are discarded like burnt toast. Saturday, December 4, 2010 I moved to Emerson from Honeywell. I thought it would be better, but it is not. Marketing hype rules EMP. Friday, December 3, 2010 Yeah, it's hard to make a change alright - especially when you've given the best years of your career to Honeywell. I've invested years in product and process development with the goal of helping Honeywell compete more effectively with high quality products delivered on time. Now, with most of my career behind me, management hands over the fruits of that labor to the Indians and Chinese who, of course, have no understanding or appreciation of what they've been given. Not surprisingly, quality and delivery go to heck in a handbasket. In the twilight of my career, I find myself working for a company that has discarded its committment to quality and customers for nothing more than buzzwords and jingoisms. Yes, I own Honeywell stock. But its miserable performance is scant compensation for the endless frustrations of working for this outfit. Yet, the prospect of restarting a career at this point is hardly attractive, especially when job prospects are extremely limited. The only people in this company getting ahead are upper management and job-hoppers interested only in a couple year stint to put on their resume. Those who have made a career here are screwed. Friday, December 3, 2010 You know, the year Cote signed on with Honeywell for multi million dollars bonuses, that was the year we were told in Honeywell Canada not to expect a raise because the economy was bad. The writing was on the wall already years ago. I was tired of listening to all the Ra-ra-ra about six sigma, ISO and all the other BS they tried to shove down our throats. Needless to say, I moved on to greener pastures. Never looked back. My advice: It is not easy to make a change. You have to believe in yourself and don't give up. Venting on this site will not get you anywhere because nothing will change at Honeywell. It is what it is and will get worse. Wednesday, December 1, 2010 Cayman Islands?? The only people moving to the Cayman Islands are upper managment who sold our souls for a quick flip on bonuses and stock options. The only thing for us poor engineers is a spot in line of our local food bank.... Tuesday, November 30, 2010 Suggestions? What is there to suggest? Not everybody is in a position to move overseas. More and more jobs will transfer to low cost countries. The rate is increasing fast. It started with the less demanding roles: "let's free up your time so you can focus on what is really important!". Today, on a large scale, all large automation companies are constructing Mega-engineering centers in low cost countries. It is no longer limited to low level activities. Despite obvious initial lack of quality, more and more high tech activities are transferred. And these countries learn fast. Their knowledge level goes up. The low quality argument is still valid, but does not hold up against the huge profits of the 2 dollar per hour cost of an Indian engineer. Sadly enough, it isn't the Indian engineer who benefits. They are being exploited by authoritarian local dictators that are filling their pockets in the same way as US CEOs are doing over here. There only hope is a ticket to the US or Canada to live a lifestyle they would never have at home. Can you blame them? Can you blame the US trainers transferring the knowledge? Can you blame the US engineers who are patching up the crappy work so the customer does not notice? I was one of the trainers for low cost countries. Once enough people trained, there was no need for me anymore. My job has been taken over by 50 Indian trainers, trained by me, for the same cost as mine. Serves me right. Where is this going to end? My answer: It will not end. This cannot be stopped. We have long passed the point of no return. Low cost engineering centers have become the backbone of US automation companies. Removing them will bring down the whole company, and the dictators in India know this very well. They look down on the US workforce. And they are smiling. And if you think this might not happen to you, think again, you are wrong. Learn to accept the situation and make the best of it. It is going to get really crowded in the Cayman Islands.... Monday, November 29, 2010 I also left Honeywell for the same reasons stated in the last post. Now I am bounced around the world to train people that are taking American jobs away. The majority of these places are hell-holes no one would ever want to visit. Manila, Bangalore, etc. I need to take shots for all types of diseases for what to help a stock-holder to profit off the backs of slave labor. There is something very wrong with this picture. The USA does not make anything anymore at all. I predict more mergers of Process Control corporations to create the uber-outsourced jobs at US mega corporation.I think it may be time to retire to the Cayman Islands or become a Professor in Costa Rica? Any suggestions folks? Monday, November 29, 2010 I left Honeywell 14 years ago because my middle level management was inept and then they were furious when I resigned. I told them a competitor was interested in me, but they ignored my hints for them to notice me and face the issues and improve Honeywell Phoenix. Since then I have worked at two competitors and it's not much better. I might have been better off staying in Phoenix, because it's a great place to live and there is no winter unless you travel to Flagstaff or Pinetop. Next stop Costa Rica? Anyone offering relocation packages to Costa Rica? Saturday, November 27, 2010 Secret pay raises for L-1, 2,3 is true. PIP for everyone else. Morale is so low here, nobody seems interested to work anymore. No extra effort, no willingness to get involved. Nothing. Just clock in and out 8 hours later. We are walking around like human shells, not human beings. What is management going to do about this? They are in the exact same position and are leaving too. Time to go, literally. Tuesday, November 23, 2010 HON is not a "systems" company and must be responsive to whomever awards the contract. Therefore, some of what creates negative consequences for the HON people must be attributed to those like Boeing who demand "sacrifice." What is happening at these system companies and what are they asking of their people? Is the same outsourcing strategy in place and are they "transitioning" retirees from health care benefits? Monday, November 22, 2010 Yes, they have done a lot of stupid things in the 6 to 7 years prior to the past 3 years. But in the past 3 years, they have rapidly accelerated and advanced from mild stupidity to gross stupidity. Or rather, they may have only shed whatever little sensitivity or humanity they may have had. We have to accept that out-sourcing and off-shoring is the new corporate norm that has been devised to satisfy the new "corporate greed". And it is a viable and feasible option for many reasons, especially if one has shares in a company whose CEO sees this as a quick, cheap and easy way of inflating his personal financial worth and trying to satisfy his insatiable ego, and please the share holders, and meet the demands of the new "corporate greed" culture, all at the same time and all at any cost to everyone else and, all without any effort on his part. For the underlings, you have to look at it this way: you’ll be treated like dirt and may even lose your job. But, your share price, if you own any, will appreciate. For the Overlords, well, they just can’t lose. Their job is more secure, they get huge financial rewards and other compensations, their share price appreciates, they get a lot more shares, all for doing nothing but outsource and rob their employees (how much more innovative and visionary can you get than that?), and their egos are inflated beyond measure! Oh, the power - and the glory! Companies and CEOs that are severely lacking in vision and innovation see this as a golden opportunity for masking their ineptitude, and look smart instead. It is not the method that counts but the result. And at what cost is also irrelevant, especially if the cost is burdened upon the employees. But there is also hidden cost that are being ignored in all of the excitement, at least hidden for now, that will come to bear later. In fact, it is already bearing fruits by the impact on schedule, cost and quality. Yes, quality, that most critical and important aspect of any product, and that don’t seem to matter much anymore to the corporate hungry. Our standards have deteriorated and the results are TBD at a future date. Also, CEOs and companies that are lacking in vision and innovation compared to the competition may not have much of a choice but to out-source and off-shore, and rob their employees so as to be competitive, lest the truth be known that "the Emperor has no clothe!". Nevertheless, there is still no justification for becoming mean and nasty to their employees in the process, especially the experienced and productive employees, unless they intend to completely wipe them out. Otherwise, it is a short-sighted and uneducated strategy and may only come back to haunt them. These geniuses must be a disgrace to the business schools that issued them their papers. Perhaps their papers should be verified. For N.American employees, it seems that the "writing is on the wall". But, it is in Hindi. Monday, November 22, 2010 - To the original "Honeywell did a lot of stupid things 7 to 10 years ago": I suggest that you go to the bottom of this web page and click on the archives. You will see records back to 2002. You will see that a lot of the antics started back then. Not all of these people could be wrong over such a long period! Monday, November 22, 2010 - Re:"Honeywell did a lot of stupid things 7 to 10 years ago.": You must either be new or else haven't been paying attention, or else you work in India or China. Ten years ago Allied Signal bought Honeywell, decided to keep the name, tossed out the Honeywell culture and management, and replaced them with GE clones desperately trying to make names for themselves. The company formerly known as "Honeywell" has done nothing but go into the toilet since. Tens of thousands of jobs have been offshored and employees terminated, employee benefits have been raided to make numbers for Wall Street, and Diamond Dave Cote (who has yet to have an original idea) has been rewarded with millions of dollars in bonuses. The attack of "stupid" BEGAN 7 to 10 years ago and continues to this day. To perpetuate this piracy Honeywell has ramped up its political contributions to buy votes in the US Congress. That Cote apparently has Obama's ear I'm sure helps feed Cote's inflated ego, but does not bode well for rank and file employees. Monday, November 22, 2010 Oh well, this site was a nice open area of communication for a while. But it looks like HR has found it based on the recent plants. See ya. Sunday, November 21, 2010 Re: "King Radio, Bendix King, Allied Signal were not bad places to work until we became Honeywell. And they started to send all our jobs out of the country." First, I hate to tell the person who wrote this comment that "Honeywell" IS "Allied Signal". Allied Signal bought Honeywell thus Honeywell became a division of Allied Signal. Then Allied Signal changed its name to Honeywell. Top management of the new Honeywell all came from Allied Signal. Secondly, Allied Signal was formed when Allied Chemical and Signal Companies mergered, and most of the management and their employment policies came from Allied Chemical. Allied Chemical was known for very bad employment policies and treated their employees like dirt. And they still do. I retired 8 years ago when my company was getting rid of all the older, experienced US engineers because they were too expensive. I still work 32+ hours a week because all the new, young, cheap Indian, Chinese, and yes even US, engineers that have been hired have no idea what is going on. It is really amazing how many old, retired, experience US engineers are back on contract for the simple reason that is the only way to get quality work out the door on schedule. However, working for Allied Chemical ain't no fun, so I will probably hang it up next year. Unless the "owners" of Allied Chemical boot the current board and Diamond Dave, but fat chance that will happen. Friday, November 19, 2010 I agree that Honeywell did a lot of stupid things 7-10 years ago. I also know that I currently work for Honeywell and the things I see going on really excite me. We have by far the best technical solution and broadest portfolio in the industry. We also have right around 1,000 job openings in North America. I worked 15 years at an Emerson rep and the things I see happening at them now reminds me of some of the decisions Honeywell was making 10 years ago. Of course if you look at Emersons current management quite a few of them were Honeywell management 10 years ago so it makes sense. Monday, November 15, 2010 - Regarding layoffs, does it matter what anyone reading on this weblogs thinks? I saw this coming down when Obama put Cote on one of his panels. Then you see Cote on TV giving a speech and Obama standing behind him. Then the uranium conversion facility in Illinois, where the government can not step in and do anything in this matter just goes to show how powerless the Obama administration is against Cote. Or maybe Obama told the Feds to stay out of this issue? Next, the India trip, or should we call it a giant slumber party? You know your job is going to India, China, Indonesia, or somewhere overseas. So start planning and make a transition to another company, another town, another industry. I know it sounds easy the way I say it, but I sacrificed a year in a very cold icy part of the USA, and it is paying dividends now. The rewards are there, you'll have to work for them, but you'll get them. Don't wait for Honeywell to give you anything; the current management motto is 'grab all you can'. Monday, November 15, 2010 The prediction of a layoff in January or early 2011 does not fit with corporate practices. Much more likely to be before Thanksgiving, or before Christmas. Both are cheaper for the company since they would be paying for holidays anyway and effectively save that money in the severance budget. They would also prefer to get all the termination charges on the books in this current year and next year won't have to bear that burden. Saturday, November 13, 2010 As an ex-Honeywell employee, all I can say is that you are wasting time and effort complaining to management. You can't fight the system at this company and introduce change unless you are a 'C'-level person. Even managers and site directors have their hands tied behind their backs. As Rush Limbaugh said, to paraphrase, it's not that there aren't any jobs out there; there are plenty of jobs, you've just got to move where the jobs are. I did this, and so can you. Everything is greener once you leave the Big Red H serf farm. Thursday, November 11, 2010 Someone asked about SAP. We call it Stop All Production. We can not pay our vendors because the bills are sent to El Paso, TX and they run across the border from Mexico, pick up the bills and pay some of them. They only get paid if the match up exact. Our gas was cut off for a week because they didn't pay the bill. The implementation team is a joke as well. I could go on and on about SAP but I won't. No raise, unless your a block 1, 2, or 3. No raise for me. I make less year after year here. Insurance went up 17% for 2011 but I also give thanks as well to our Government-run Health Care for that. (They said it in the insurance power point). This one really got to me. We received an email before the election from some VP telling me to vote yes on a State Amendment that, if passed, it would bring our company more business. Whether I was for it or against it what right do you have to tell me how to vote? You don't know my political views. Thursday, November 11, 2010 There is some talk of pending layoffs across Honeywell aerospace in January, to the tune of 6% to 10%, and one has to assume that that could only mean that they will be targeting N.A. If that is the case, then perhaps Cote and Obama’s date to India must have been to personally deliver the good news to the beneficiaries. It is like the reading of our will. It’s either that, or they are on a honeymoon. Honeywell’s CEO seem to be able to manipulative the most powerful person in the world, on a whim, and have him turn a blind eye to Cote’s anti-American efforts. That makes Cote the most powerful person in the world now. He has blind-sided the President into buying into his outsource/offshore agenda and even has him participating, or "sleeping with the 'enemy'". Of course, the surest way to have politicians ignore others’ agenda that may be self-defeating to a politician’s principles, morals and agenda, is simply, to contribute to their campaign (ambition), financially. Anyway, it would seem that both of these idiots suffer from that malady - of the desire to please and satisfy all others but their own. The world stage is much grander than the American stage, especially for those with grand egos. The only reprieve for the N.A. employees from all of this is that, although the idiots at the top have a tendency to over react and make rash and snap decisions without much thinking or worrying of the consequences, they occasionally, although very rarely, have second thoughts when reality sets in. Otherwise, they are mostly blind and ignorant to reality. They had considered substantial layoffs for last September/October, but then we got busy and the pace of people leaving has picked up. Opportunities are improving out there, and the disgust with these idiots is ever increasing. We just need to accelerate the exodus. The top performers and most productive employees need to leave before they let the others go. A 10% cut here in N.A. could probably translate into multiple times hiring in India and elsewhere; that seem to have been the trend over the past several years. Wednesday, November 10, 2010 King Radio, Bendix King, Allied Signal were not bad places to work until we became Honeywell. And they started to send all our jobs out of the country. Wednesday, November 10, 2010 It's not Shanghai that you want to send the CEOs. Shanghai is vibrant because of its port location. Lucky because of location. Send them to the Chinese interior. They would probably build gated communities and probably improve that economy! What would be more punitive is to have expatrate passports revoked if leaving the country and live under the country of residence pasport. Tuesday, November 9, 2010 Thanks to our CEOs, I had the opportunity to help develop our business based out of Shanghai. I hate to say this, but I personally find the standard of living in Shanghai much higher than in many US cities. All luxuries are abundantly available. There is nothing in the US that I cannot acquire here, and all that at an affordable price. Shanghai is alive, buzzing with activity, and most of all, it is SAFE. You must like your CEO a lot if you want to send him here. Tuesday, November 9, 2010 All the CEOs and company leaders should have to live in the country where they send our jobs to. Such as Mexico, India, Indonesia and so on. Monday, November 8, 2010 - Re: Sad Sad Commentary: The major change happened when we went from "making a healthy profit" to "maximising profit". You could make a healthy profit while retaining a US workforce and use the "Made in America" label and flag waving to please people. Those were the days when spending money on your employees morale and well-being was looked upon as a good idea, provided you still made a "healthy profit". Unfortunately, when you are required to "maximise profit", any extra expenditure is criticised. The being-patriotic-flag-waving is thrown out of the window because it doesn't "maximise the profit" and having US workers doesn't "maximise the profit". As long as the investors do not care where their money is going, then the corporations will not care who they give the money to. Sunday, November 7, 2010 SAD, SAD commentary on the state of our country. The decline of America is being played out before our eyes. Our elected leaders are bought and paid for by our employers, who seek to end our employment by sending our manufacturing and R&D to India and China. These corporate "leaders" don't care about us or our nation, and apparently the government doesn't care either... Friday, November 5, 2010 Dave Cote is traveling with President Obama to India. Dave is going to send more jobs overseas and advising President Obama on the business merits.
Monday, November 1, 2010 I read read that LinkedIn will include a company review feature:
I hope Honeywell think it will benefit them to sign up. The rush of critical (but true) reviews would be interesting! Monday, November 1, 2010 How long will the Sensing and Control AoB employees be retained? Sensata Technologies Chief Financial Officer Jeff Cote says "We expect to realize synergies on the integration activities over 18 to 24 months." But perhaps past behavior provides another indication. This is the second automotive sensor business Honeywell has sold to Sensata. In Nov. 2006, Honeywell sold the automotive sensor business that was part of the First Technology acquisition to Sensata for $90M. Sensata announced the closure of the main FTAS plant in Standish, ME on Jan. 11, 2007. Full details here: Sunday, October 31, 2010 Our local news has just reported that Honeywell is selling it's "Automotive on Board" business to Sensata Technologies who are a Dutch company. Honeywell has said that the couple of hundred people this affects will be retained. I wonder how long they will be retained for? Probably just long enough to be able to blame Sensata when they are let go. It's a good job I left them a little while ago otherwise I would have been part of this sale. Saturday, October 30, 2010 If you go Republician in the mid-term elections - things will get worse. They're more business friendly. Please explain. Saturday, October 30, 2010 Does anyone on here have any information on SAP and how it has affected their plants? Both negative and positive comments please. Saturday, October 30, 2010 My previous post about "transition" was from a KC Plant perspective. Possibly the health plans referenced are unique to that site. I had sent questions to David Cote and there was a response. While we may feel our "contracts" were not honored, a company that is not competitive will not survive. That is not to say a CEO demanding millions in compensation shoud not have regrets when...... Thursday, October 28, 2010 So, I read the Compensation history. How stupid are we, as a population in the USA, to pay someone to tens of millions of dollars to outsource our jobs. What a gullible bunch of collective idiots we are. And if you go Republician in the mid-term elections - it will get worse. Cote is entitled to the compensation because of the system we set up. As a businessman, he is a brillaint Jack Welch shadow. But morally, he is a pig. Ultimately it is the morality that we will remember, because money has no allegiance and no memory. Wednesday, October 27, 2010 It's that time of year again - the annual financial season. Troops, you might want to look up CEO Compensation packages at Forbes.com: You can Google the rest of the competitors. We are hearing about growth but will we see it in our paychecks? Will CEO's take a pay cut? Stay tuned. Thursday, October 21, 2010 Some people have talked about the benefits of outsourcing. It goes without saying that the value of the imported goods and services gets added to the GDP of the country that does the outsourcing. On the micro level, however, for the people who lose there jobs the net benefit is, of course, negative. Even the employees who keep the jobs are also not better off, as most of the profits from outsourcing go to the shareholders and mostly to the CEO and higher level management. I have not seen any analysis that proves this for sure, but my sense is that the two significant developments in the US economy during the recent years - rising income inequality, and unacceptable level of unemployment - could both be easily shown to be caused, at least in part, by outsourcing. Thursday, October 21, 2010 I sent questions, seeking clarification on the "transition."
Thursday, October 21, 2010 As bad as Honeywell has become, it is still the best place I have ever worked. Thursday, October 21, 2010 PIP: Performance Improvement Plan - First formal notice that they want you out. Goals are generally set such they can't possibly be met. L: Refers to a 9 Block Assessment rating. 1.Exceeds Goals and Behaviors; 9. Below standard for both. Blocks 3,6,7,8,9 are the outer L which implies one of the two are below standard. Cancelling Retiree Health? In case you didn't read the Plan, the option of changing or terminating has always been held by the commpany in writing. Thursday, October 21, 2010 How about a little help: What is PIP--is that short term objectives? What is "L"---is that layoff? What is "HOS"? I was fortunate to retire after over 33 yrs. and get on my wife's insurance policy. Am I to understand that all those who retired under threat of losing their Honeywell insurance are now losing it anyway? If so then that is a crime. But then again I'm not surprised. Tuesday, October 19, 2010 I'm a dedicated bench tech with Honeywell, Olathe and don't like being poked at or disturbed over nonsense. I and many resent the new atmosphere that hasn't produced any positive results. We aren't manufacturing frisbees or widgets here; it's called life support eqiupment! Haven't we learned that some people are just better at some functions than others? Can I please just do my job? Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Olathe closing? I highly doubt it. The place is a cluster with horrible management, but Honeywell likes running things that way. Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Hey, I'm all for the closing of Olathe. The site has produced some really evil directors that have been a havoc in aerospace over the last 10 years. If the closure of the site gets rid of these people, that's good. If these guys are given golden parachutes - then that's bad and I really sympathize with the people that really pay the price and get the job done. Tuesday, October 19, 2010 What about Honeywell in Olathe closing? They have been outsourcing products for the last two years. I know because I worked for them for over thirty years. Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Thanks for the response about the Olathe facility possible closing. Has anyone heard about a time frame of when this might happen? Will this be another Deerfield? Why are we always the last to know? I think that this blog site shares good infomation. Monday, October 18, 2010 I heard Honeywell is looking into out sourcing the complete Olathe facility line of products, and closing the facility. Monday, October 18, 2010 Has anyone heard any info about a layoff in the Olathe KS Areospace? Hear that several products will be sent overeseas. Thursday, October 14, 2010 Honeywell's political giving? A few years ago I wondered why my letters to my US rep in Congress regarding Honeywell's unfair practices seemed to receive a very lukewarm reception. Out of curiosity I looked up contributions to the guy's PAC, and there was Honeywell at the top of the list! Wondering if there was a pattern, I investigated the PAC contributions in other locations where Honeywell had a presence. Same thing. It appears Honeywell is actively buying the politicians' blind eye in order to further screw its US workforce. Wednesday, October 13, 2010 Go to ww.youtube.com and watch George Carlin, The American Dream. It's a 3 minute skit and the only thing missing is Dave Cote's name and also many, many more CEO's of America. Here's the link:
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Honeywell locked out 220 of its employees at its Metropolis IL Uranium enrichment facility last spring. Negogiations between the union workers and Honeywell management broke down again for the third time.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 No wonder Mr. Cote can be a part of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility. I smell a corruption is going on in this country.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - Response to October 11th post: Wow, those are the two best posts I have read. I can not agree more, while working at Honeywell I was very busy going on job interviews and searching for a better position. I took my time, knowing that it was out there. When I found it, I left Honeywell the next day. They would have given me no notice if they wanted to get rid of me, so it was only fair. My new job is amazing. I love it here. I forget what it is like to work for a company that cares about its staff, where people get along, where I am happy. Monday, October 11, 2010 - Re: Friday, October 8, 2010: Sure, Cote and his henchmen are throwing away American jobs. But what to do? The board won't get rid of him. The majority shareholders won't get rid of him. Even a democratic president put him on an economic advisory panel. And the impassioned comments on this blog won't get rid of him. And if they did, so what? He comfortably retires with a worst-case scenario of getting hurt when a pallet of money falls on him. Wonder what the next CEO would be like. It's not just the 20-year veteran that makes too much money - you all do according to the corporate management. It's just a matter of time before it trickles down. You can wait for it, in the meantime doing a great job to help provide the resources that feeds the cycle of lost American jobs, until it finally includes your job. Or you can choose not to participate and leave that mess. I was a part of that takeover 3 years ago when one of our owners got greedy (actually it was their children wanting to get mummy's and daddy's assets liquid before they kicked) and sold out to Honeywell. I turned a blind eye for about a year before it got to me and I snapped out if it and left. Once I put it in terms of explaining to my children who I was working for, the decision to leave was easy. If you think venting on this blog feels good, try working for another company. At a personal level you'll feel like you have your life back. At the big picture level, it's the only way to make a difference. Monday, October 11, 2010 I have been reading this weblog for about a year now, and have noticed a common thread with regard to some of the comments regarding outsourcing. I am not a rocket scientist, or an MBA for that matter, but there are some fundamentals of economics that do ring true here. First, companies outsource to decrease the costs of the goods they sell. It is not malicious or treasonous. If they did not decrease the costs of the goods they sell they would not sell them; a competitor would take the business. Second, and granted this is economic theory, the lower cost goods are better for all of us as they create more "consumer surplus", which is defined as a greater benefit to the consumer as they get the same product at a price lower than they are actually willing to pay. The only way to stop this outsourcing is for the consumers to forego this surplus and give it back to the companies who employ high cost workers. Take a look at what you buy everyday. If any of it is made outside of America, then you are the reason for oursourcing, not Dave Cote. You are wanting your surplus and to eat it too. Now, for outsourcing to work, companies need to make sure they are only oursourcing the jobs that fit the geographic area for requisite skill sets. I have no issue with sending low-value added jobs overseas in order to increase the profitability of the company (and allow me to buy a cheaper thermostat at Home Depot). My issue is that they should then take the highly skilled employee and let them develop new products and grow the company. That appears to be where we are missing our opportunity. As for the quality issues related to getting the work done overseas, yes, this is management's fault. They need to realize outsourcing is not just building a plant in Mexico and hiring a bunch of farmers to run it; it is making the investment to make sure the people they put in place are adequately trained in the jobs they need to do. If a company's management were to do this, profits would rise, creating cash flow for our more skilled workers to invest in the future of the company. Interestingly, the Nobel prize for economics was just awarded. It was awarded this year for work in Search Theory. Some of the salient points related to this are as follows:
Friday, October 8, 2010 I originaly worked for a company 5 years ago that Honeywell bought 3 years ago. Many promises were made and never kept. Our insurance benifits went from great to piss poor. I pay more now than I did before and my coverage has gone down, WAY down. I work in the South Carolina area, and from my perspective (not being an engineer or rocket scientist) it seems to me that Honeywell is part of the reason for our recession. It doesn't take much knowledge or degree in economics to understand that OUT SOURCING to over sea's companies takes away revenue that would be spent here in the USA. Why? because all those poor people that lost their jobs due to HONEYWELL closing down manufacturing facilities throughtout the US and sending them to China, Mexico, India or where ever. It just stands to reason that OUR economy is going to be the one impacted. Now for whatever reason they have (Mostly Greed) it would seem that the ones in charge need to be removed from those posistions of decision making. Just today we had a gentleman who worked for the company for over 20 years. His job was safe unitl Honeywell came in. This man never missed a day, always worked hard, was liked by everyone. He just recently lost his wife last year to cancer. He was told yesterday that they wanted him to take early retirement because they were paying him way too much for what he did there. (ets not look at all the years of experience that this man had; but lets look at what he makes. When he declinde the early retirement, they told him: Well then you're fired, we don't need you." Where is the sense in that? Face it people, as long as Dave Cote is in charge and he has his henchmen there to do his biding and dirty work, our jobs are not safe. Thursday, October 7, 2010 Just in case the investors out there are feeling a little uneasy about Honeywell's huge push to move manufacturing off of american soil, let me update you. A year after parts were scheduled to start manufacture in Chihuahua, Honeywell stands at 130 engines behind schedule. It looks like this news isn't making it to the mainstream media, as the stock took a large jump this past week. Could this be due in part to the announcement of Honeywell opening business in Iraq? I guess that the drug cartel wars wasn't enough of a challenge for Honeywell to deal with. Now they want to employ the Taliban. Could this have anything to do with Obama & CEO Dave rubbing elbows for the past Year? I hate to say it but, I think the GE/UTX buyout of the past is looking better every day. Sunday, October 3, 2010 I was RIF’d from Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix over a year ago, after more than 28 years of service. The timing of the 10% department-wide layoff was impeccable. It was after performance reviews were completed, but before they were delivered to employees. So I was denied the merit bonus I was due for the prior year’s work, based on “performance issues” in a review I never saw, despite the fact that I hadn’t had a performance issue EVER in the 28 years I was there – no PIP, no “L”, highly respected by my peers. Add insult to injury, as a manager, I was required to assist in the heart-wrenching process of identifying the others to be laid off (before my name was added to the list.) It was also my responsibility to provide data showing that our off-shored team members could cover the work remaining, just as I had tracked our ongoing required quota of work sent off-shore. Oh yes – there are goals and quotas for that. I’m afraid any political or natural disaster in India, China, or Mexico today would bring Honeywell to its knees. I was also part of a team responsible for implementing some of the new systems over the past decade; not a bad thing in itself, except that the unrealistic timing expectations and incomplete systems wreaked havoc with end users, as evidenced in comments here. Anyone who suggested that implementation be delayed until everything worked properly was deemed a “road block”. Our organization finally brought in a consultant to lead our team in the final push.; except that our “consultant” was actually a former Honeywell employee who had left the company under questionable circumstances, but was a personal friend of the VP. Sound familiar? He was successful and praised for meeting implementation goals. Unfortunately, he met those goals by threatening and berating his project team, brow-beating personnel in the department he worked for, inventing procedures on the fly, and lying to customers, suppliers, and stake-holders. And despite the ongoing loss of U.S. employees in the department, that “consultant” remained, years after the end of the project, benefiting significantly as he worked to fix all of the issues that developed as a result of the accelerated implementation (including a significant lapse in security). I am grateful to have moved on, but I sometimes wonder if I was laid off because I was an expensive, redundant, US-based employee, or because I pointed out that the emperor wasn’t wearing any clothes. As far as the company helping to reassign displaced workers – not true. There was an open requisition in the department I left that I was qualified to fill. My manager got word to me through a 3rd party to apply, yet I was told by HR it was an internal position and since I had been RIF’d, I was no longer eligible. That position was filled with inexpensive inexperience. I worked with some tremendous people at Honeywell but any talent left there has been beaten down and marginalized by the reign of ineptitude and fear. Anyone still there doesn’t need to be told to get out. Anyone considering a position there should run as quickly possible in the opposite direction. There are still companies out there that operate with business integrity and respect for their employees. Unfortunately, Honeywell is no longer one of them. Sunday, October 3, 2010 - HOS-ed? Got PiP-ed? I am sorry to hear you are on a PIP, but not surprised that it is totally unjust. It usually takes a year or two of "bad performance" before they can let you go, terminate with cause. They want you to quit rather than give severance because that costs them too much money. So they squeeze and demean until you quit. If at the end of two years you have not left, then they will offer you severance, but its is only the minimum amount acceptable by law (1 week per year service). Without a Union you have no protection. I have two pieces of advice:
Friday, October 1, 2010 - to the Honeywell person on PIP: After decades at Honeywell, you aren't a new hire. You are probably up in grade, maybe band 4. You are expensive. They need to save money. Honeywell is too good a community and social leader to lay you off, because of your experience, salary, or age. Laying you off because of any of those things that imply age would be bad. They might even get in trouble. So, they put you in the outer L. and find some justification for that. Then the path is open for your PIP, and the door. They don't just lay you off, because of the number of age discrimination claims they have lost. The outer L and PIP is the new tactic. I have seen true top performers let go this way. Thursday, September 30, 2010 I have been put on a PIP by the company’s bullies. Despite decades of total loyalty to the company, exemplary dedication to my work, exceeding average efficiency in performing every one of the multiple functions of my position, exceeding average accuracy of my work, minimal sick days or other time off, all compared to my peers, this is my reward. I must now become proficient in the usage of the 101, all new, unnecessary and idiotically complex tools and processes, some of which are used only 5 to 10 times a year. While it is impossible to become proficient in the use of the everyday tools and processes because they are so many and so poor, now I am forced to master even the ones that are sparingly used. This may not be humanly possible, but such is the expectations of “humans” that have mutated into corporate animals, with a lust for blood. The real and actual work is now totally irrelevant to these bullies, as there is nothing in it for them to use against someone in order to satisfy their lust to bully, insult, demean and degrade a person into quitting, or to set them up for the guillotine, to satisfy the devils’ agenda. So they have now mandated that people, unjustifiably, be put on a PIP. And to do that, they must be forced to the outside “L”, after decades of complimentary work. And to do that, they have to come up with something, anything that may or may not be remotely related to the real and important work. Now, they have a large inventory of irrelevant tasks to choose from. This is all in addition to the normal everyday discrimination, favoritism and biases practiced by some, and, that can be the only explanation for unjustifiable salary discrepancies. Of course, one has to wonder why they don’t just lay a person off with a severance package, like they used to. It is because the new breed of mutants don’t seem to get as much satisfaction out of doing it that way. They need the addict’s or bully’s “rush” to feel the power. They have shifted their focus from the real work, and have now become, exclusively, Bounty Hunters or Mercenaries for the big criminals at the top. There better be bonuses in the offing for the “Headhunters” who have sold their souls. Thursday, September 30, 2010 When Honeywell announced last year that if you wanted company subsidized healthcare when you retire, then you had to retire effective September 2009. I called the Help Line and got a quote on what my insurance was going to cost me if I retired before the cutoff date. The figure shocked me, so I went to my insurance agent to find out what how much it would cost me to purchase medical insurance, with comparable coverage, on my own for my wife and I. Subsidized MY @$$!!! I can get it for about $75/month less than what Honeywell was going to charge me for "subsidized insurance"! Do I smell deceit? Thursday, September 30, 2010 Read a letter to President Obama from the United Steelworkers Union active retiree arm, calling for the removal of Dave Cote from the "so called" Deficit Commission: Extracts:
On behalf of the 350,000 retired steelworkers and their spouses that the Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) represent, we are writing to urge you to remove Honeywell CEO David Cote from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Mr. Cote's cruel and calculated behavior clearly illustrates that he's unqualified and inappropriate to help decide issues such as whether to reduce the federal deficit by cutting crucial programs like social security or by upgrading the faulty military contracting process, from which Honeywell benefits. David Cote's complete disregard for working Americans, makes him unfit to serve on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility. He must be removed immediately, before he can use that position to harm more working people.  Here's the link to this letterThursday, September 30, 2010 When one gets laid off from Honeywell, the terminology is "You got HOS-ed". Wednesday, September 29, 2010
...and some other, more relevant, meanings for H.O.S.
Honeywell Off-Shoring Honeywell Outcall Service Honeywell Over Seas Honeywell Often Sucks Honeywell Overbearing Stupidity Honeywell Oblivious Stewards Honeywell Objectionable Screwballs Honeywell Obtrusive SOBs Honeywell Offensive Snakes Honeywell Opulent Schmucks Honeywell Overpaid Suckers Honeywell Obsession for Substandard Honeywell Orders Sickens Honeywell Oozing Slime Honeywell Orchestrates Slavery Honeywell On Sickbed (as in “HoneySickIll”) Tuesday, September 28, 2010 Mr. Cote implemented HOS for one reason and one reason only. By getting you to work more hours for less pay, by putting into place wage freezes, by having your health care premiums sky-rocket for less coverage year after year. Every year you do not get a raise, every year you pay for your own health care coverage and every year you get no pay increases - all this money that David Cote saves for the company shows up on the corporate balance sheet as a profit. And guess what? David Cote get's a percentage of those profits. While this jerk downsizes and put's people not only out of work but literaly puts them in the streets (tent cities) he sites back with the dumbest of dumb smirks on his face. The only diference between David Cote and Al Capone is that Capone took it with a base ball bat and Cote does it legally but unethically, hiding behind board-room doors. Oh, and by the way, in our plant HOS stands for Honeywell Out Sourcing. Tuesday, September 28, 2010 I agree, Honeywell needs a Union. Aerospace is getting bullied to the point of being downright ridiculous. Your only option is to look for a new job and call in "sick" to attend job interviews. Or to create a union and get some protection. Anyone interested in starting a union? Think they will "shut the place down" if a union is formed? What do you think is happening anyway? Monday, September 27, 2010 I was told by my manager to use MY own money to purchase a Fluke multi-tester because my business unit has no budget for a new one - they have to meet the quarterly expenses quota. I was shocked that this has gone too far. We are charging customers for USD 400 per hour of service, including travel time, and Honeywell is telling me they have no money for a Fluke multi-tester, the tool of my trade? First, they cut on manpower, wherein you now work for 10 hours a day. Next, they cut your salaries. The next thing they cut on is your medical insurance. Where's all the money? PS: I bought myself a Made-in-China multi-tester that cost USD 12. What an image we are projecting to the customers, CHEAP Honeywell! Monday, September 27, 2010 Unfortunately, dictatorships do not run on “buy-in”, and they do demand “yes-yes” by instilling total fear in their subjects. There is another entity that employs similar methods as well: “organized crime”. One has to wonder how can so few make so many bad decisions? It is too bad that there isn’t somewhere that employees can report corporate bullying of employees to, other than to those that are doing the bullying. There isn’t a chance in hell that the bullies will desist from their abusive ways. Nor is there somewhere to appeal for intervention to stop the corporate almighty from their unconscionable and insensitive actions, other than to the “illusory” god, as both avenues are exercises in futility. Who would have expected that years and decades after school, towards the end of our work life for some of us, we would be dealing with bullies again, of a worse kind? I guess we are the lucky ones. While bullying is being addressed in schools, it is now thriving in the corporate world and Honeywell is becoming one of the leaders in the field. After the damages are done, the rich abusers will move on to bigger and better things to destroy. Cutting costs at any price, especially by being mean and nasty to employees, is viewed favorably, and even rewarded in the corporate world, and by the rich share holders. This is the reason why a profitable company’s stock price appreciates when they announce layoffs. Profitable yes, i.e. until the damages are realized. The employees, in the "mean" time, don’t stand a chance, and are always left holding the bag. Unfortunately, new highs for a company’s stock is now achieved by driving everything else to new lows, such as employees’ morale, product quality, customer satisfaction, delivery time, etc. (small wonder that at Honeywell, everything is in the red). Anyway, it didn’t used to be that way. They used to work in tandem. The repercussions are deferred, or TBD, and they can’t be very pretty. While unions can be a double-edged sword, in the new corporate greed culture, perhaps unions may be the only ammunition left, or the last resort, for stymieing the corporate bullies. Justice for employees have slowly eroded, or very rapidly in the past two years, to almost nothing, while, at the same time, the corporate leadership conscience has diminished to new lows, all for the sake of satisfying corporate greed. To the employees, and especially the younger ones: make your move at the first opportunity. The grass may or may not be greener on the other side of the fence, but they may be getting brown on this side, as a result of corporate crapping. Monday, September 27, 2010 Since HOS had been mentioned quite a few times lately, I would like to make the following comments with my years of experience in it:
Thursday, September 23, 2010 Change - Preach it, brother. In the last 6 years, NONE of the changes imposed by management have resulted in making anyone's job easier. ALL of them have imposed more hoops to jump through, and MANY of them have had disastrous consequences. These changes have been imposed without any input from those who understand the products and processes. Much of our time now is spent trying to recover and compensate for management screw-ups, all the while seeing our pay and benefits reduced. Those who resisted change because they were fiercely loyal to the idea that customers deserved quality products have been eliminated. The prevalent attitude among those that remain now is "whatever." HOS has produced a few marginal improvements, but at incredible cost. Every hour spent by production and non-production personnel supporting HOS is an hour not spent on production or solving production problems. And then there's the cost of a dedicated staff just to train and manage HOS. But no one dares to speak ill of HOS because they'll be out the door next. All employees know intuitively that they are less productive now, but unfortunately records from BC (Before Cote) don't matter. No one has the guts to buck the "system" anymore. Imagine a professional athlete who was operated on by Dr. Cote to try a new performance-enhancing procedure. Other surgeons more experienced than Dr. Cote warned against it, but to no avail. After the operation, the athlete is left a quadriplegic. Instead of being sued for malpractice and losing his license, Dr. Cote then takes the patient back to the operating room for more surgery. The patient nearly dies but manages to pull through. After much therapy, he regains the use of one toe. Dr. Cote holds a press conference where he claims resounding success for restoring partial movement to someone who was completely paralyzed. Is he a great surgeon or what? Thursday, September 23, 2010
China is the answer. How many answers do these idiots have for god sake? Herein lies the root cause of all of the problems: too many answers. Trying to do too many things all at once and not able to do any one nearly right. They have imposed the same detrimental mentality or mental anguish on themselves as they have on their employees, i.e. multi, multi tasking to death, at all costs, to the point of becoming vegetables. Talk about shooting oneself in the head over and over again! Wednesday, September 22, 2010 "One process fits all" is certainly a large part of the problem. The follow-on to that is management's complete and total refusal to admit they've made mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes is their stubborn insistence that China is "The Ultimate Answer" despite evidence time and time again that it is not. During his tenure, Cote has shown no evidence of creativity, just a blind willingness to commit to the identical "fits all" path that others have tried, arrogantly confident that his choice is correct. He refuses to listen to or even acknowledge that it's not working. How pig-headed and brazenly stubborn can one person be? Is there no one on the board who can control this idiot? Wednesday, September 22, 2010 This may come as a big shock to the leadership, but no employee will ever resist changes that make their work simpler and more accurate. To think otherwise is ludicrous. What employees will always resist with a passion is changes that do the exact opposite, especially when those changes are dictated to them by the least qualified people, with no consideration for common sense. When the employees are forced to suffer, the company suffers. That is something that seems to have completely eluded the leadership. They may have lost focus on their areas of expertise when they seem to have ignorantly shifted their entire focus to everybody else’s job, but their own. Yes, change is essential. Change is progress. Without change we are dead! However, change, just for the sake of change, is suicide. Replacing simple tools and processes with very complex ones is not change. It is insanity. When there is so much resistance to the changes, by all, young and old alike, then something must be very wrong. When there has never been so much resistance from so many it begs the question, why? And when the change is total and all at once, be it good or bad, it becomes overwhelming to all, and will then have the opposite effect, than was intended. Change also takes time to evolve and mature and become adaptable. Like everything else, change has to go through a prototype phase. Management is expecting instant magical results. What we are experiencing is not change for the better, but one person in-the-know-nothing’s idea of change for the better. Not exactly a wholehearted way to promote progress and embrace teamwork, or encourage willing participation. As for the comment that the hard economic times dictated that the company had good reason to shaft the employees, that is an illegitimate argument. Honeywell was doing better than most, evident in the fact that we have been very busy for the past two years, and the fact that they have squandered millions on mostly unnecessary changes during a bad times, and the fact that they implemented all of the shafting after the economy started improving. And I don’t recall anyone getting a 10% increase or bonus, or the leadership taking a cut in pay when times are very good. And yes, there are smart companies that have treated their employees with much more dignity, as they can expect more from them when times are good, basic economic strategy. Treat your slaves well and you will get more out of them! Investing in your best resources is the wisest investment in any economic environment. Too bad that the leadership seem to have lost sight of what leadership is all about, or is lacking in basic business sense, by treating their best resources as liabilities. Tuesday, September 21, 2010 The problem of HOS is not that it may or may not work. The problem is that the work load of maintaining that program is shifted to production employees who are alreadly overloaded. When there are units to be shipped and money to be made, production employees have little interest in what seems to be another flavor of the year process. HOS upkeep gets in the way of the real work. While into our second year without a raise, it is a hard sell to convince us that Honeywell is not able to give us well deserved raises. When we see the money poured into foreign sites, the excuse of hard times is ridiculous. Honeywell CHOOSES not to support the US worker and jobs continue to migrate overseas. It is correct to think that some employees don't like the changes. Changes that decrease our profit sharing match, increase our continuous improvement goals, curtail our unhealthy yet legal smoking activity, and cut off retiree health insurance that was paid for and not given are changes that one would be foolish to like. I suspect Ed King would be saddened if he could see how his people are treated now. Tuesday, September 21, 2010 In answer to your questions:
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 I have been reading this blog for some time and respect all the views expressed. I currently work for Honeywell Process Solutions have been with them 12 years. I am currently a Production Team Lead. I have a few queries:
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 For the individual applauding the $500 increase in insurance costs for smokers, be careful of what you get behind. The next step is yearly weigh-ins and BMI calculations. You end up overweight (which basically everybody in America is) and it is going to be another $500. Then after that it is going to be age. You hit your 40th birthday and it is another $500. Next comes history. What, you have a history of cancer or diabetes in your family? Let's tack on another $1000. Oh, and that cocktail you have after work a couple days a week, sorry, throw on another $500. As a reformed smoker myself I shouldn't really care about the additional $500. But I do. I didn't join a company to have the CEO position himself as the benevolent father figure and try to teach me a lesson. Until smoking is outlawed by the congress of the US this is nothing more than a form of discrimination. Watch out fat people. Monday, September 20, 2010 As a former employee of Honeywell (Alied Signal as it should have been called) it isn't a suprise that the BS is still there with the board of directors and Diamond DAVE. It is all mind over matter. They don't mind screwing the employees because the employees don't matter. Monday, September 20, 2010 David M Cote and his white-shoe cronies are addicted to money the same way a crack head is addicted to crack. They simply can't get enough. More money, more money, more money for themselves and much less for every one else. When one loses everything and has nothing else to lose they lose it. Pay back is going to be a bitch David. Hope I'm there to witness it. Monday, September 20, 2010 The retiree health benefits change was in the works before Obama was elected. Several years ago they made everybody choose between two types of retirement plan, one where they kept the retiree healthcare but some of the money going in to the account was set aside for the healthcare account and one where they lost the retiree healthcare but all of the money that went in was available for retirement pay. Any new employees could only have the second option. About a year ago they said that anybody who did not retire by September 2009 would lose their retiree healthcare benefits. Just under a year ago they told the rest that anybody who chose the first option mentioned above (retiree healthcare and pension) would now be converted to the second option (no healthcare just a pension) but the money that was taken for healthcare will not be refunded. Now it looks like the system is reaching its logical conclusion by removing healthcare benefits from workers that have already retired. It's not "Obama Care" it's actually "Cote Doesn't Care". Monday, September 20, 2010 At $500 additional per year for smokers, the rest of us are still subsidizing your nasty, self-destructive behavior. Do yourself a favor and quit before it kills you. Sunday, September 19, 2010 As a Honeywell retiree, I just got the letter stating that my retiree health benefits were being "transitioned" into letting me find a new plan. They will provide a consultant to aid in finding my own health insurance. Obama-care strikes again? Friday, September 17, 2010 I work for Honeywell in SC. We lose good hourly workers all the time; but they replace them with engineers that we don't need. We learned that now if you smoke you have to pay $500 more for your insurance. They keep taking and don't care about the people who make their money, the ones who make the parts. Whats next?? Friday, September 17, 2010 Word on the street is that Honeywell is going to ban smoking (i.e. outdoors) on their campuses. Thursday, September 16, 2010 Consider working at Honeywell? You are assuming that they are still hiring in North America. Look around, do you see any new faces in the last 5 years? No, I didn't think so. And when people get wise and quit, do they hire to fill those positions? Not in engineering. Nope, they claim we were "fat" but now with the less staff we are lean again. Lies. Yes it is true, top performances are getting merit increase. Hope you spent the last few years kissing ass to the boss.. or you get nothing but "development actions". Thursday, September 16, 2010 I am periodically asked by a variety of people seeking employment, "what about Honeywell?" My response is: Unless your situation is completely desperate, avoid working at Honeywell. If you have any self-esteem whatsoever, you owe it to yourself and your future happiness to be employed where you will have the opportunity to realize your full potential and be appreciated for the talents and skills you bring to the workplace. At present, the only reason to interview with Honeywell should be to polish the interview process itself prior to seeking employment somewhere else; hopefully with an employer that provides a genuine opportunity for growth and satisfaction. Thursday, September 16, 2010 Apparently, after the corporate rape and robberies of the employees, there is talk of some employees (very, very top performers or favorites, and promoted candidates) getting a salary increase. And as for the rest? You ought to be thankful that you are not getting a salary decrease to pay for the others’ increase, and that you still have a job. This gesture is supposed to make us all forget all of the back-stabbings, and to kiss and make up and feel like one big happy family again. After robbing us of even some of the meager incentives that we worked so hard to earn and deserved, they are very proud of the amount of dollars that they are stealing from us in their shameless and brazen act of highway robbery. There are celebrations all around. Cote is laughing all the way to the bank and away from the scene of the crime, and celebrating with politicians. He is cozy with Obama, and probably getting recognition for his “brilliance”. They make strange bed-fellows, those two; one desperately trying to create jobs and reduce the deficit, and the other masterfully eliminating jobs and increasing “his” balance sheet, through “crime”. Opposites do attract…hmm! We have to guess that these people don’t know how to measure their ill-earned dollars against the reduced productivity they have caused in their employees. They do not want to find out that the numbers don’t add up. Unlike in physics where, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, human nature being what it is, for every action there is an over reaction. Oh well, pay back’s a bitch! Tuesday, September 14, 2010 I look around what do I see? Such potential (sigh) if it wasn't for all these mid-management fools running around like Forest Gump trying to keep the site lead happy and chasing the targets. Shame. It could be a great company, LETS NOT FORGET THAT. Tuesday, September 14, 2010
They saved a lot of money in the past two years at the employees’ expense. Something has to give! Is there not even one person amongst this bunch of idiots with any conscience or basic common sense? Can they all be that selfish and so obsessed with personal gains only, over all else? Are they so blinded in their selfishness and greed to not realize that their short term gains may not be worth it, and that they are sacrificing just about everything else, especially the future? Is it the gang mentality at work here? Is there an intervention program for gross stupidity, or only for other forms of addiction? We better hope so, and quick! Monday, September 13, 2010 With the staggering amount of inefficiency caused by micromanagement, and the overwhelmingly negative work atmosphere that has resulted, it makes one wonder what kind of book-cooking must be going on in order to keep BS'ing Wall Street with favorable numbers. There's no way this can continue. Monday, September 13, 2010 Having escaped the mental asylum that is now Honeywell, I feel compelled to comment. Don’t get used to the new Honeywell as there is lots of room for destruction, and the geniuses are creating more every day. There is no worse form of counter-productivity in an organization than when the least productive people, with nothing to do (non-value-added positions), are then forced to justify their existence by creating numerous irrelevant, complex and cumbersome processes, guidelines etc., to completely slow down the most productive people that have too much to do and, at the same time adding, in multiples, more opportunities for defects in their work. The net result is that the non-productive people are now mercilessly killing off the productive ones. Honeywell has perfected the art. Instead of getting rid of some of these people or reassigning them and keeping the working processes, they chose to do the opposite: get rid of the working processes and keep the “non-working” people. This, sadly, has become the new reality. These people, with no skills to do actual work and who have had the luxury of charging to “indirect charge” numbers for decades, are now suddenly being forced to justify their existence and either have to charge to programs that are now monitoring time charged in seconds, and that are over budget and over schedule every time, due to short sightedness in securing contracts, (but that is another matter), as well as the actions of the new breed of cost-multipliers, or, find an alternative solution. And thus, the brilliantly conjured up con game called “Process Improvement”, or, in other words, the complete demolition and replacement of everything sacred, ingeniously disguised as “Process Improvement”. A perfect con-game indeed, with sustainability and longevity built in by its sheer magnitude, evident in the number of documents invented, and their complexities, or even simplicities, as some of them have no information whatsoever, but whose sole purpose is to point you to several others that may or may not be of any use anyway and, perhaps all part of the strategy to build up the massive and complex stockpiles. This “Process Improvement”, by the way, seems to have its own “indirect charge” number, the masterful re-invention of indirect charge, or a diversionary tactic, or attack from the rear. The military terms are intentional as the agendas are being enforced using military-like force and brutality and psychological warfare. The con game goes like this: a group of people invent a new and ridiculous process/guideline, or unnecessarily destroy and re-invent an old one, and then later, another group takes it to try and improve it, or make it worse, and so on, and so forth. Oh, and they had to destroy all evidence of all the decades of previous, and perfectly working, methodologies for this to work. Again, the application of the war strategy, i.e., the wanton destruction of everything and then the rebuilding, except that the rebuilding in this instance is wantonly counter productive, Essentially, what they have done is akin to re-writing the simple process for toilet usage, and now putting the toilet bowl on the ceiling. Makes everything a lot harder, a lot messier and with lots of opportunities for errors, doesn’t it? Or they have reinvented the wheel to look like a square, and now four teams are necessary to work on the four corners. In the mean time, unfortunately, all of these counter-productive, perplexing, cumbersome and thoughtless inventions are now interfering with the real work in increasing severity, as making sense of them, interpreting, implementing, and keeping abreast with the rapid torrent of changes, corrections and revisions to them, has become an additional and nightmarish full time job in itself for the poor end-users who are already being tortured with multi-multi tasking. Then there is the associated abuse, or slow painful death, used to enforce them. It’s all a form of unnecessary psychological torture to benefit the perpetrators, or traitors. The ones driven to enforce all of this on their people have now been reduced to puppets or Drill Sergeants, and are now hopelessly powerless to do anything about any of it, especially powerless to stand up for their charges, and resist the insane, spiraling-into-the-abyss directives from the slave masters with their Armageddon agendas. But there is a legitimate, albeit pathetic, reason behind the reluctance to protest or resist, as they are faced with a dilemma, i.e., how do they fight against these destructive mandates or directives that they know are wrong, when it is solely invented to provide job security for them? Ironically, the positions of the slaves now seem much more precarious than that of the masters. And then of course, there are the drivers of those people, who know even less, and must justify their existence in the new reality. They have adopted the role of gun toting slave masters, and persist in strangling the help by dictating senseless, bizarre and unreasonable policies, all to the detriment of the company. How on earth has it come to this state where a tier-3 manager insistently dictates ineffective and counter-productive measures that the skilled and experienced workers must now follow to do their job? It is one thing for these masters, not having any skills relative to the actual work, to be forced to understand and get involved with the actual work, but quite another to suddenly and magically become the omniscient authority, who knows more about everything than everyone else that have been doing it for decades, just so that they can justify their existence and deceive their superiors, who also think that they themselves are so smart. These magicians understand hardly anything of the actual work or of the people that are doing them, or the damages that they are causing by insisting on, and forcing the new measures down the employees’ throats, completely ignoring their knowledge, experience and expertise in these areas. They have also all become totally oblivious to any and all other considerations, especially the first principle of business, i.e., customer satisfaction. Nothing can distract them from blindly enforcing these destructive agendas. Reasoning or resistance so far has been futile, as none of it is tolerated. In fact, they are escalating the insanity daily. Here is an example of how far removed from reality these visionaries are. They insist on forcing the auto-routing and work-sharing of every design, even those with as little as 5 components. The EEs, MEs, EMI (our internal customers and, by extension, our external customers) have all rejected auto-routed boards due to the critical and sensitive nature of their designs. Yet we are being forced to ignore them all, and to proceed with the Master’s plan. Our objective is no longer “Customer Satisfaction” but the “Master’s Satisfaction”. Our products have gotten much more complex, critical and sensitive in every way. In a big hurry, yet, these ”experts” are behaving like we are designing cell phones, remote controls or toy planes but, at the same time, multiplying, rather than simplifying the efforts required to performing the work. They seem to think that Aerospace is just another word, and our designs require minimal or no skill. Perhaps they should push the auto-route button themselves, and let us all go. There used to be times when sensible and progressive ideas for creating and/or improving products and processes were formulated by brainstorming and consulting, by teams that performed the actual work. Now, however, ill-conceived ideas are being hatched, mandated and dictated from one almighty brain, and with absolutely no recourse tolerated. A source so stubborn and unrelenting in its blind and destructive demands, that all of the pleading from all of the employees have so far been futile. Did someone say dictatorship? This insanity demands intervention. Imagine what all of this zeal and drive, and wasted dollars from these people could be doing for the company if they were being channeled constructively, in the right avenues - like for motivating rather than demoralizing the employees, and not destructively. Monday, September 13, 2010
I've got a few things to say:
To the Retiree: Someone said earlier, "God help me - Honeywell has turned me from an eternal optimist into a jaded curmudgeon." What a powerful statement. Sadly, I feel the same way, and I've only just begun my career as an engineer. There's something terribly wrong and sad about that. They seem to have no interest at all in retaining young talent. With all the experienced folks quitting/retiring, what will be left? Monday, September 13, 2010 I left Honeywell a year ago this month after 5 years of employment. One of Honeywell's five intiatives is "People", however based on my experience I recommend a change to "People Don't Matter". I can list numerous examples of poor leadership and management, however I won't waste your valuable time. Instead, I will just sum up the whole experience by sharing that after 5 years I never even received an exit interview. I have always been sensitive the "grass is always greener..." adage, however to the contrary, since I left Honeywell I have never been happier. And if I told you where I was working and what I was doing you would be hard pressed to believe me. Saturday, September 11, 2010 H.O.S! Standardize! It's unbelieveable. You aren't Toyota and you don't have a clue. I don't have a chart or graph to plot all the WASTE from this ignorant, un-original idea. Thursday, September 9, 2010 The board of directors are just as much to blame as Diamond Dave. They have the power to get rid of him but they choose to keep him there instead. The board members have the ability to find and read this blog in the same way that all of us have done. My question to the board is, "Why are you still keeping Dave Cote?". If they answer with something about his contract then I would like to point out to them that they are the ones that approved his contract in the first place and if it has payouts for being fired then what were they thinking when they hired a guy who put in his own contract that he couldn't be fired? So, are there any board members reading this who want to answer the question? Wednesday, September 8, 2010 In my opinion, Honeywell is going down fast. I don't think we will survive for much longer. The way employees are treated is very sad; customers just as bad. After 30 years of service, I am planning on leaving the company. Several other people with 30 plus years are also planning to leave the company; it's not a good place to work anymore. This used to be a great place to work, before the demon Dave Cote came along. Why is he being allowed to commit treason? I pray that the devil demon will be exposed for all the word to see corporate evil at it's worst. Tuesday, September 7, 2010 - from a Retiree: Wha Wha Wha.... All you people stop whining. I need Honeywell to stay afloat to keep funding my pension. So all you people at Honeywell keep up the good work. Sincerely, a Retiree Monday, September 6, 2010 Honeywell's only obsessive goal is to make a significant profit. After 17 years, I knew it would not change, and I left for better opportunities, and after 6 years, I have no regrets. Stop wishing, stop waiting, stop wasting your lives. Get out as soon as an opportunity allows it. Monday, September 6, 2010 - RE: JLL: Another attempt to save money by out sourcing to sub-standard contractors. The work gets half done yet the ticket gets closed. Monday, September 6, 2010 As an ex-Honeywell employee out of Phoenix with over 30 years of service, I wholeheartedly agree with the posts below. To watch the systematic destruction of a solid (if somewhat dysfunctional) company is sometimes more than one can bear. I watched processes that took the manufacturing people years perfect being cast aside, 30-something managers with their MBA's and their heads full of crap that was spoon fed to them by people who never worked in the real world who only dabbled in theories. Each one of these little automatons goes to bed each night with visions of sugarplum CEOs dancing in their heads and each one wants to reach that lofty plateau, no matter what the cost. The reference to micro-managing to the lowest possible denominator by those that don't have the foggiest idea of what is going on, rings so true. All they are doing is reacting to the command "produce more, produce faster with less". This ultimately leads to "The Lies". Anyone who has worked at Honeywell knows about "The Lies". Each manager in his quest to please, will knowingly lie to his bosses and will worry about the consequences later because they can usually be covered by anothe lie. Example: A certain part is needed to complete either build requirements or spare part for an AOG (aircraft on ground). The material to build that part may have just been released from stores to the shop floor that morning and the manager knows that there is a 30-day lead time to produce a finished product. Therefore, at the daily production meeting when he's asked about a delivery date, he'll say "Friday". Of course this lie is then passed up the chain of command and sometimes embellished along the way, depending on who has to be pleased, and "THE LIE" could become "this afternoon" by the time it reaches the top. It's always starts as "Friday". The reason for this is that it gives the originator the time to think up a new lie to cover the last lie. The new lie will pass the blame onto the materials people and onto the shop floor as being lazy and inefficient. Also, implicating someone that you don't particularly care for, or whose job you covet, works nicely with the lie. You don't have to prove the lie, that person now has to defend himself against it the best way he can and that leads to ... you guessed it - another LIE! Telling the truth is never a good idea, as one could find themselves labeled as a PREVENTER, in which case, your days are obviously numbered. The LIE is by no means limited to Honeywell's U.S. operations. As more and more of manufacturing and engineering is shifted overseas, the LIE was boxed up and shipped with them. I heard official glowing reports as to how well Chihuahua and the Czech Republic were coming on line. The truth (unofficially) from those on the scene is that a Chinese fire-drill is better planned and executed. Case in point: Hardware produced in Chihuahua is delivered to Phoenix and is given credit for on-time delivery. It is then discovered that these parts are either unfinished or are of such low quality that they won't assemble properly. So these parts are then sent to the Phoenix shops for time consuming finishing or repair before they go to the customer. Chihuahua looks great and Phoenix manufacturing looks like the goat for having so much rework time charged to them. One always rationalizes that the LIE will run its course someday and then management will definitely see the light. You must also realize that getting to the top of the food chain doesn't mean that the LIE stops; you now have a whole new audience to lie to once you reach that position. They are called: customers, stockholders and government regulators. The latter really doesn't count as they can easily be sidestepped with lobbyists and the application of the right amount of funds to the political party in charge. Or, in some people's case, be selected by your friend, the President, for his blue ribbon panel to solve problems that you helped create in the first place. God help me - Honeywell has turned me from an eternal optimist into a jaded curmudgeon. Monday, September 6, 2010 - RE: Thursday, September 2, 2010 – “Taken verbatim from the recent Huffington Post article”: Thank God that the rest of the world is taking notice! Devastating, Demolition Dave perhaps defines and represents the worst and most dangerous form of terrorism! He is home grown. He is Corporate. He associates with the highest echelons of power in the country and thus, can operate with impunity. He is insensitive, unconscionable, dogmatic and fanatical in his drive for more power, and money. He has been terrorizing Honeywell employees for years, and re-writing the books on Corporate greed, and is perhaps now taking it to the next level by getting into positions to expand his evil ways to the rest of the populace. He is also contributing to terrorism by supplying the military, and commercial customers, with defective and substandard products as a result of the cost-cutting measures he has implemented at Honeywell to save money, mostly for himself Monday, September 6, 2010 Defects in our work have been steadily increasing in number and severity over the past two years as was predicted by all, but the powers-that-be that seem to have intended it, and the situation will only get worse. And the consequences of some of these defects are getting more and more serious, as they are impacting schedule, cost, quality, customer satisfaction, morale, etc., more than ever before. Thus, the question being asked more often now, especially by the Brilliant Ones responsible for all of this, is: WHAT ARE THE ROOT CAUSES? And the answer is: YOU ARE! Ironically, the clear and obvious answer, that even the blind can see, is: “PROCESS IMPROVEMENT” or, more accurately, forced “Process Replacement”. They have completely demolished decades of processes and replaced them with prototype processes, meanwhile testing and customizing them to suit each site and vendor as we go along, even for production-level work. All, but the management, predicted a slew of “Change (Corrections) Requests” to be pouring in. Well, they are pouring in with a vengeance! All of these new defective tools and processes have been forcibly imposed upon the employees, using draconian means by the powers-that-be. THey have no sense of the real work, and insist on telling their employees how to do their work and, in so doing, have masterfully wiped out decades of experience, lessons-learned, morale building, and you name it! All of the previous efforts that were in place, and that worked, to reduce the number and severity of defects have been completely discarded and replaced by these idiots, with their new “process replacement” initiative that consist of defective prototype tools, processes, guidelines, notes, checklists, spreadsheets, choice of vendors, work-sharing, off-shoring, out-sourcing, etc., that seem to be strategically designed to increase defects in everything that we do, and to even encourage our vendors to participate in this brilliant effort; e.g.; we are now telling our board vendor, in our PB notes (carefully and strategically added), that we will not reject poor and non-legible silk screening on our boards. How brilliant is that? Now we have received silk screened Production Boards that are of the poorest quality ever (grossly non-legible)! These Wise Ones could not see the effect of their poor decision making when they started, despite the warning signs, and now that it is staring them in the face, they still don’t get it. They are still pushing more and more “process replacement” and diversity. They are in effect, compounding the problem more and more in trying to put out the fires by pouring more fuel on them, thus “…Burning Down The House…”. If they know so much more than their employees as to how best to do the work, why don’t they do it themselves, especially when, in some instances, there seem to be five people driving one to do the work? They insist on micro-managing, by interfering right down to the lowest levels of the work process, where they do not belong. Employees are now not allowed to have any opinion, suggestions, ideas, or even to think for themselves anymore, to improve anything, or to repair the damages orchestrated by the gods. The way we do every little thing is now being forcibly dictated to us! Not only does all of this make us feel helpless, but also useless. In their bungled effort to standardize, they have now created even more diversity across the Corporation, that is tremendously nightmarish for the employees, especially the ones forced into the unnecessary and ridiculous over-kill work sharing initiative (or punishment), when each site is doing their own thing, and are forced to share every little piece of work with other sites who are left pulling their hair out trying to make sense of every little thing. And it is also especially traumatic for the poor checkers. God be with you. All of this should boost morale?! They believe that they are saving time and money, but have they bothered to measure any of this yet? Perhaps not, as the truth will kill them. And to guarantee that the defect-increasing measures do not fail, they have systematically demoralized the employees to the point that nobody seems to care much anymore about anything. God help you if you still care (it’s a lonely feeling), as it has become impossible to function, especially when your work depend on others that don’t give a damn anymore. The new employees’ motto now is a resounding, “Who Cares?" After being in this business for 35 years, and having always been told that I am very good at what I do (pardon the conceit), now, for the first time, I do not know how to do any aspect of my work quickly, or accurately, anymore. My work from the first 6 months of the “Process Demolition” fiasco has more defects in them than I had in the previous 33 years of my doing it. This would have always bothered me before, and I would feel guilty and responsible whenever I have defects in my work. But now, given the stupidity behind it all, and the geniuses responsible for forcibly implementing the root-causes, I feel totally vindicated and blameless. I should be grateful to the geniuses for removing the stresses from me, of trying to do a perfect job. Thanks! Friday, September 3, 2010 Request to all sites: Please post as to how Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is performing at your sites. Are you happy? What are the issues? Where ar they falling down on performance? Do you really need them? Are you happy with their presence? Thursday, September 2, 2010 - Taken verbatim from the recent Huffington Post article: Meet Honeywell CEO David Cote -- the most dangerous man in America. Cote is so dangerous that he's willing to risk nuclear fallout in order to demand that uranium workers agree to cutting their retiree health care and pension plans. Honeywell runs the only conversion facility in the world that can distill pure uranium in Metropolis, Illinois. On June 28, Honeywell locked out its union workers during contract negotiations because the union, United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669, refused to accept the company proposal to eliminate retiree health care and pension plans for new hires and increase workers' out-of-pocket health care to $8,500 a year. Good health care coverage for retirees is especially important to uranium workers who suffer rates of cancer ten times higher than the general public due to their daily interaction with radioactive material; thus, the workers refused to give in to demands to cut their retiree health care coverage entirely. In a major concession, however, the uranium workers' union refused to go on strike in the interests of keeping the plant safe and agreed to continue working under an extension of their current contract. Honeywell, which is already making record profits, decided they could make even more if they played hardball with their workers and risked a nuclear disaster. So Honeywell locked out the local uranium workers with decades of experience operating the Metropolis uranium enrichment facility. Instead, Honeywell hired hastily trained "scabs" (replacement workers) to run the plant. Honeywell uranium worker John Paul Smith described the plan to run the plant on poorly trained scab labor as "a serious gamble." The Metropolis uranium plant is the only uranium enrichment facility in the world that can distill uranium, and it would be impossible to train workers fully on how to run such a complex facility. Cote's threats to our nation's security don't just stop there. Honeywell does billions of dollars of business with the Pentagon as a military contractor. As a member of the Deficit Commission, it is Honeywell CEO David Cotes' role to make sure that the commission doesn't examine cutting waste in the military contracting process that Honeywell benefits from. This despite a recent study by a bipartisan commission that showed that $1 trillion could be cut easily from the defense budget. A different report by the House Armed Services Defense Acquisition Reform Panel this spring showed that the military contract process has so little oversight and is so wasteful that it's actually harmful to our national security. Cote has instead pushed back against calls by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) to cut waste in the military by suggesting instead that the military cut the pay of its troops overseas (many of whom are already relying on food stamps) and make them pay for their own health care. Honeywell CEO David Cote's decision-making process personifies the shortsighted mentality of those calling for cutting Social Security. The families of the 52 million Social Security beneficiaries, whose benefits would be cut, would be forced to take money out of the economy and financially provide for their loved ones. Men like Honeywell CEO David Cote are so dangerously shortsighted that they are willing to risk things like an economic recession, or nuclear fallout that hurt everyone, even big corporations, over the long run. Honeywell CEO David Cote was the president's appointment to serve on the Deficit Commission, but a man who would threaten an entire town with nuclear annihilation in the name of corporate profits has no place deciding Social Security's fate. Honeywell CEO David Cotes belongs on an episode of the Sopranos, not the President's Deficit Commission. Tuesday, August 31, 2010 - In reply to the Aug 9 post: The young 'uns, aka kids at HON, don't realize the extent of being taken advantage of. I was one of them, so I speak from experience. Upon joining the company, I was told that the grass isn't greener on the other side. My dad was a salesman for a long time, and he taught me well about the stench of BS. I took advantage of HON for 3 years and learnt all I could and then left for another place with a massive raise. The fact that I had HON on my resume didn't matter; it was my niche. The young are stupid, and buy the HON brand name just like they love their brand name clothing. It ain't worth it... it just ain't. Now, when I give talks at my engineering society campus chapters, I tell them to sniff out the BS company HR/management tells you during interview, and tell them to ask the hard questions upfront. HON will never die, monsters evolve into new identities. Don't any of you watch movies or read books? Wednesday, August 25, 2010 S&C continues to tarnish its reputation as promise-dates are missed without updates being provided to the team members who are responsible for updating their customers. It's beyond frustrating to learn of a missed date at the same time when the customer calls to check on the ordered item(s). It's very difficult to not look incompetent in the face of such nonsense. I've run out of explanations to give. Monday, August 9, 2010 This is interesting. I guess no one wants to stand up for their identity. I do understand this position because HW will probably retaliate. I dropped out of the company almost 2 years ago because my satanic boss did everything he could to make my life insufferable. Unfortunatly he did not realize my tolerance. Finally after realizing I had no hesitation to confront my "so called" accusers (failure to satisfy internal customers) his evidence gradually dissolved. He then told me that the job was not in the office, but on site. This meant five year stints in God foresaken sumpholes with a weekend visit home once a month! I had a specialty that could only be done by a few people. I saw projects conforming to this being given to less talented new guys when I was out of work. He forced me into charging down time to ruin my record. Maybe it is true that the new kids are taken care of better because of age/cost discrimination. Finally I realized it was hopeless. When they want to get you out the door, usually if you are approaching 60 or more, they can find a way. So I take a week off to think and decide to drag up. Not the best thought-out plan, but I put in 30 years (most of them good) worked for and with some great people, was part of a team that took us on a growth spiral out of a strip center office into an 8 story high-rise, and them was rewarded as described. I miss the people (most) and I think I could have done more. But I also think loyalty and tenure should be rewarded. A caring manager could have structured a position for me where I could have used my talents and knowledge to enhance the division. Unfortunately, corporate objectives have reduced people to a necessary evil. They must be eliminated or reduced wherever possible in order to increase margin, corporate financial standing and most importantly, salaries and bonuses for the officers and CEO. This is no joke. Every company I worked for in my life said that the customer was first priority. No customer = no sale = no revenue = no profit = turn off the lights and go home. All project problems can be worked out and compensated in time, but if no one wants to buy from you anymore, YOU ARE DEAD! The priorities at Allied Signal, now the new Honeywell, place the customer at FIFTH PRIORITY! This was an objective I found insufferable. This is why I no longer choose to work at corrupted Honeywell. Misquoting Tex Avery, "It used to be so much fun, but it isn't fun anymore and I'm not going to do this anymore." I don't think this is unique to the big H. I will bet there are a lot of good companies out there that can offer you a real future and want you to use your skills to help them grow. I also think that the average company is cookie cuttered like the big H. Find a company that asks "what can you do to help us grow". Run from the ones that say "this is how we do things around here" Just a note: When I started with the big H I did it from 1200 miles away. My interview was brief. They called back next day with an offer but could not meet my current salary. They said that if I helped them, within the year they would exceed my salary. I took the job, worked my butt off, got a ton of training and strangely enough when I got reviewed, I got the best raise of my life. Good old boy Texans stand by what they say! Unfortunately, that was then and this is now. The first decade, or so, was great. Then the evil of big corporate America began to seep in. Now you have just another big, nameless financial operation where $$$$ is not one of the objectives, it is the only objective. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 I agree. Look up the definition of the word "traitor" and "treason" and then tell me how that's any different than the actions of Diamond Dave? How can anyone argue that the parent nation has not been injured (through loss of jobs, wages, taxable income, unemployment compensation, loss of technical expertise to other countries, etc.) by his actions? Seriously. Where is the line drawn when pursuit of profit becomes detrimental to the parent nation? Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze seems to be the unofficial Honeywell moto. Squeeze everything that you can out of your top performers to make up for the process flaws and the lack of resources, whether they be people or equipment. When someone goes on holidays there are virtually NO backups available. When equipment breaks down the process to actually get someone to repair it or to get parts takes more time than to fix. Instead of removing barriers they are replaced by bigger ones. And on top of all this they have the balls to say if our efficiencies don't go up they will ship evertything to China, India or where ever. One thing that can be said about Diamond Dave: he has probably produced the most negative motivators in modern times. DD you are nothing but a traitor to your country with your philosophy to outsource jobs and technologies to 3rd world countries to squeeze that extra 1% in profit. That will be your legacy whether you like it or not. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 A few years back when I told people in other Engineering companies that that I worked for Honeywell in the Mississauga aerospace division, they would say I hear it's a great place to work and the pay is good. The other day I mentioned it to a person and they said "How are you guys doing? I hear it's getting really bad there. Are they still slashing your pay and benefits?" I said maybe that part is done for now, but now they just want to take it ones step farther -> just get rid of us all together. I guess the fact that everybody knows really makes it a lost cause when looking for another job. They know you are desperate and will accept a sub par offer. And what the others have posted here is true. Twenty years of exceptional service/performance can be destroyed by one bad review from some manager who doesn't even know you or even met you and you are on your way out the door. And the quotas of bad reviews has to be met with the fact that their are no bad people left, they have all been let go already. The worst part is that all the good people are also leaving (by choice). I just hope the packages are generous when the axe finally falls. Tuesday, July 27, 2010 As a manager at Honeywell, I can tell you that these bad reviews are truly fabricated and constructed to meet a quota. Good performers have been axed only because they have been at the wrong place at the wrong time. The MRR 1 to 9 score is highly manulipulated. Friday, July 23, 2010 I couldn't be more happy to be gone from that depressing place. New job pays more, people are happy, great benefits and respect. Leaving Honey-Ah-Lied was the best decision I ever made. In Canada I saw people getting walked out for "poor performance" after 20 years of excellent performance. If you got a bad review at your last sit down then watch out, you are on the outsource chopping block. Thursday, July 22, 2010 Organization Announcement - Kansas City Distribution Center
Honeywell has decided to close the Kansas City Wheels & Brakes Distribution Center, and move distribution activities to South Bend, Indiana and Phoenix, Arizona locations. Through the company’s ongoing analysis of operations, Honeywell has determined that the business can maximize efficiency, improve cycle time and reduce operational costs of wheels & brakes distribution activities by integrating work currently done at the Kansas City Distribution Center into our South Bend, Indiana Wheels & Brakes facility (“make” products) and our Phoenix Distribution Center (“buy” products). This move will result in cycle-time reduction in the product flow process, as well as a related reduction in inventory. It will also allow Honeywell to maximize existing distribution capabilities in Phoenix. Transition activities will begin at some time in late summer 2010, and should be completed by the first week in November. The transition will result in eliminating all jobs at the Kansas City Distribution Center. Affected employees were notified of this decision earlier today. Over the next few weeks, Aerospace Human Resources will meet with affected employees individually to discuss work transitions and departure schedules. In the next few days, we will be communicating this action to Honeywell Aerospace customers and suppliers affected by this transition, including Honeywell manufacturing and R&O facilities currently working with the Kansas City Distribution Center. We anticipate no significant change to business relationships with customers or suppliers due to this transition. Please understand this is difficult news for Kansas City Distribution Center employees. In the coming weeks, we ask you to be sensitive and supportive of your colleagues, and remain focused on conducting your work in a safe and productive way, and in meeting our commitments to our customers. Thursday, July 15, 2010 An interesting read on our leader (Demolition Dave) from "Answers.com". He actually has a degree (BS). We know what that stands for. And note his first of four areas where business people should focus...."recognizing the importance of people". Is he talking about himself?
Nationality: American. Born: 1952. Education: University of New Hampshire, BS, 1976. Family: Married twice; children: two from first marriage, one from second marriage. Career: General Electric, 1974–1976, factory laborer; 1976–1996, manager; 1996–1999, senior vice president, president and CEO of Appliances; TRW, 1999–2001, president and COO; 2001, president and CEO; 2001–2002, president, CEO, and chairman; Honeywell International, 2002, president and CEO; 2002–, president, CEO, and chairman. Awards: Honorary Juris Doctor, Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University, 2001. On February 19, 2002, Cote was named president, CEO, and a member of the board of directors for Honeywell. On July 1, 2002, Cote was elected chairman of the board after Bossidy retired. Cote had his hands full: although Honeywell grossed $24 million in 2001, the company faced mounting debts, settlements for lawsuits stemming from employees' exposure to asbestos, a stock that would fall 31 percent in 2002, and demoralized management. Cote knew that running the huge company, with 115,000 employees in 95 countries, would prove challenging. He quickly applied his goal-oriented management philosophy to Honeywell, making cash, growth, people, productivity, digitization, and Six Sigma the focuses of his administration. Honeywell lost $220 million in 2002, partly because of asbestos-suit payouts, the purchase of the sensors business Invensys for $416 million, and slow sales. However, by selling other Honeywell units and cutting costs—partly by sending some American jobs abroad to Romania and Singapore, where labor costs were lower, and partly by reducing defects in production—by the end of 2003 Honeywell had amassed about $2 billion in cash reserves. Cote was heavily criticized in the press for the $32 million in compensation he received in 2002, although he explained that the amount was intended to cover options that he had lost at TRW as a result of moving to Honeywell. Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Undergraduate from the best school, business school top of my class, well liked and successful right? No, I work for a company that keeps reducing the workforce, telling you that you should be happy to have a job and never saying thanks. Box 1 Box 2 it doesn't matter. Life just squeezed out of you. No fun just toil. What a life I've made at Honeywell. Can't wait to leave! This just sucks! Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Today is my last full day and I process out tomorrow. 30 years here in Phoenix and I started when it was Airesearch. RID'd because my position has been shipped to the Czech Republic. Still a few years shy of a full retirement, but it somehow doesn't bother me. I see a light at the end of the tunnel and the pain will soon be ending. I have watched building after building being emptied of machines and personnel. It's sad to see some of the best and the brightest talent being cast to the side. It's even sadder to see the garbage that is being produced in Mora and Chihuahua. Parts are not being inspected when they come back into the country. Instead they are being shipped directly to the asembly line. If the engine assembles, then the part must be O.K., if it doesn't then it's a bad part and will then be evaluated. Unfortunately the latter seems to be the common happening. I fear for those that are left behind as Cote and crew seem hell bent to destroy what was once a world class engine manufacturer. When I hired in 30 years ago, an old manager told me that "this place makes money in spite of itself". That was then, this is now. Friday, July 2, 2010 It seems that our political leaders are even more blind, deaf, dumb and stupid than our business leaders. Even though Obama and Cote are in bed together, Obama does not get it, that the U.S. jobs situation is not improving much due to the lack of private sector participation in the economic recovery that is the direct result of the private sector not hiring in N.A. anymore, because they are hell bent on outsourcing and off-shoring all of their work. In fact, there is participation by some in the private sector, such as Honeywell, in adding to the unemployment numbers with their pending layoffs, and suicidal hiring overseas. Private sector jobs aren’t coming back, as in, gone for good. Such is the new and improved “Corporate greed”. Give them credit for seizing the opportunities of the economic crisis. Perhaps our corporate leader forgot to enlighten our political leader to these new realities. Either that, or there is a lack of communication between those two geniuses, or one of them is not forthcoming, or the other is not paying attention. Is it possible that our leaders are not forthcoming or paying attention? Or, could it just be that our leaders in either role don’t really care that much for the little guy? Now, there’s a news flash! Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Are you talking about the Olathe plant? Parts shortages, and they are laying off three buyers. Makes sense? Products that have never been reliable since they were dumped on the production floor. Large section of upper floor devoted to storage. Empty cubes abound. Our biggest moneymaking customers were rudely treated because they are commercial aviation and the plant was originally general aviation. Who spends more: a private pilot or Boeing? This plant could not have been managed any worse if they tried. As it stands, we still give them the benefit of a doubt that they are merely stupid. For a year and a half we have seen this ship sinking and no SOS is going out. End our agony and let the captain go down. Wednesday, June 30, 2010 On the one hand, I agree that Honeywell does not think that people are it's most important asset, except that as assets are evaluated as their biggest cost. On the other hand, to ask employees that "work" 50 % of their workday to collect data is non-value added is BS. The problem is the elimination of the people that would evaluate and implement fixes from the data. Honeywell takes the "lean" mentality to the ultimate - reduce the workforce by 20% and expect at least 10% growth - the math does not work - and these are the smartest people running the company. Wall Street doesn't care - fudge the numbers get the profit - move overseas - the American way. Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Please anyone that has any info on a layoff. Hopefully it will include a voluntary RIF. I work for Areospace and am hoping that all of Areospace will be outsourced. I am the most unhappy worker you will ever meet. I pray for a layoff. Monday, June 28, 2010 I got smart and left Honeyhell. I have to say that in the two years that I have worked there, it was the worst job/career I have ever had. While I loved working with my peers and suppliers, upper management had no clue on where they are going nor how to get there and thay still don't. I feel for the ones that are left because I know that their jobs just got more unbearable. Sorry guys, I had to go. I started my new job today and you would not believe how happy everyone seems. Processes are in place and wants you to be a part of the solutions to make things better not dicatated at how to do them and then blame you for when it fails time and time again. Get out when you can, there are jobs/careers that will value you as part of a team and organization. Monday, June 28, 2010 It's not "Honey-Ah-Lied". It's "Honey-I-lied". Saturday, June 26, 2010 When Allied took over Honeywell and took the Honeywell name - because Allied had ruined its name with customers - some of us said the new company should have been named Honey-Ah-Lied. The company death march of forcing out its long term employees will continue as long as Honeywell gets to write off all its lay-offs as loss of "business goodwill" and uses that to reduce its taxes every year. If the tax rules changed and companies like Honeywell had to pay additional taxes for ruining American and European economies - and got zero tax credit - the layoffs would magically stop. Because (as many of you have already pointed out), all the great cost saving from sending jobs to poorly-trained, developing nations' sites disappears when the real costs of setting up infrastructure and repairing trashy products is added in. Cotes and all his greedy minions should all be on trial for economic treason! Wednesday, June 23, 2010 So in the UK, still no pay rise. Our side is making mega bucks, but still need to hire contractors rather than replace people who have left. So lack of skills, lack of experienced people but still get hit over the head if there is a failure! Friday, June 18, 2010 I'm hearing that the RIF is planned for late July. Mostly North American operations. They will axe a token few overseas to make it seam like it's corporate wide, but N.A. will take the brunt of it. Wednesday, June 16, 2010 It seems that rumors of pending layoffs in the very near future, perhaps starting as early as next month, are in the air again. What else is new? But this time, it also seems that the layoffs will be for real, and not just a rumor. And, will most likely be in N.A. or developed areas, of course. What form it will take is not quite clear, but indications are that it will be targeted, and that it will be performance-based (the PIP at work?). They have been quietly implementing that approach over the past two years, and also playing the conveniently invented “redundancy” card, and may be about to take them all to a whole new level. Both, the “targeted” and “performance”, criteria would seem to make a lot of sense, for several obvious reasons, at least from the company’s perspective. And that is quite a surprising development on the leadership’s part, given their penchant for irresponsible decision making, especially in the past two years. Nevertheless, I dare them to offer up the standard “voluntary RIF” proposition. While layoffs have become a necessary evil in our culture, the common method employed by companies in the past, much to their own detriment, have been very questionable and irresponsible, i.e., “voluntary RIF”. Why? Because this method allows for some of the companies’ most experienced and productive employees to leave, and all of their worst ones to stay, thus fool heartedly missing their “targets” every time. Who has a better chance of finding another job, or a better one anyway? Of course, leaderships’ have been too smart to realize this in the past, until now. Believe it or not, they just might be applying the lessons learned mentality here, which is indeed a rarity. Wow! Of course, it only took them a few decades to learn this lesson! Yet, give credit where credit is due? Perhaps in a few decades they would have learnt something else that the rest of us have already known. From the company’s perspective, and after the misguided mistreatment of their employees, mostly the top performers, in the past two years, this new approach makes sense. Because, if the layoffs are not targeted, but offered up as a voluntary RIF this time around, as was the case almost every time before, there will be such a stampede of volunteers, that the company would have to beat them off with a stick and will have to solicit police escorts to manage the exodus and restore order. And who will be the first in line to leave this time around, more than ever before, and after the mistreatment at the hands of the leadership, if the company were to provide voluntary RIF opportunities? Why, some of their top performers! Why would a bottom performer want to leave a good thing, especially when not much more is expected of them? Unfortunately, in this new approach also lies the injustice that is painfully obvious and most punitive to the top performers, and most rewarding to the worst performers, now, more than ever. A top performer may never again be offered the opportunity to receive the deserved reward of a layoff package, and the worst performer is basically guaranteed one. Furthermore, the top performers are now expected to deliver more, especially after the “winners” are gone. Also, top performers have never been compensated much more than a bottom performer, relative to the difference in their performance/productivity levels, due to the unfairness of pay-equity, biases, prejudice, favoritism, discrimination, sexism, etc. Yes, these practices are running rampant. They have always been, and will always be. Such is human nature. And pay-per-performance has always been a myth, as it conflicts with pay-equity and, is rendered ineffective when impacted by the other variables. And let’s not forget that the 10% salary cut, and the furlough, served to punish the top performers more than the bottom performers in a monetary sense. Welcome to the new (Corporate) world order, where the losers are the winner, and vice versa. And why would anyone want to be a top performer in this new order? Perhaps it should only be to enhance ones resume’ and marketability, and then to high tail it the hell out of here on the next back-stabbing rampage by the leadership. They will keep coming at you. It seems like it can only get worse for you, the better you are! Nevertheless, this latest strategy by the company may be a little late in coming, and may have the opposite effect, as it has served to motivate or fast-forward some of the experienced employees’ in their decision to leave now, rather than later, as there isn’t much to look forward to, or to wait for, such as a package There may be one last vestige of an “opportunity” left for the top performers though, which may be, unfortunately, a double edged sword, if you are not indeed inclined towards leaving. And that is, the closing of your site. Sorry to be so blunt and direct. Monday, June 7, 2010 Let's just cut to the chase and outsource Honeywell's senior management. What we'd get couldn't be any worse, and might even be better, than what we've got now. Monday, June 7, 2010 So they are outsourcing warehouse, inventory and receiving now. I remember when they tried to outsource shipping. Everything went well for the first week and then the calls from customers started coming in asking where their stuff was or why they were sent the wrong parts. The outsourced company was not keeping track of shipments and so Honeywell had to send out a huge quantity of new parts at no charge. They canceled the contract and quietly went back in-house. The guy who came up with the idea of outsourcing got his bonus and his commendation even though it was a complete disaster. Here is what is going to happen: The guy that thought this up will prove that the new system is saving money by showing the figures for the first month or two. He will get his bonus and commendation and move on. After a couple of months the vendors who manage the inventory are going to keep as little as possible on their shelves. They are going to miss one or two important shipments and shut Honeywell down for a few days. Inbound parts will start to go missing. More defective parts will make it through receiving and on to the manufacturing lines reducing overall quality. Minneapolis or Morristown will send a team in to the plant to figure out what is wrong. The team will show how bringing the whole thing back in-house will save money. The team will get their bonuses and commendations and move on. Honeywell will bring the whole thing back in house, rehiring a bunch of workers who are now not so hot on Honeywell along with a bunch of new people who have to be trained. Their best workers will have found other jobs elsewhere and will not be available for rehire. I am so glad I left Honeywell. I now have a more stable job in a better environment with better benefits and a bigger salary. I pulled out and rolled over all of the money I had with Honeywell including their shares. I will never buy a Honeywell product or recommend Honeywell products or employment to anybody. Sunday, June 6, 2010 - Dear Colleagues: After an extensive evaluation, a decision has been made to augment the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) initiative with a Third-Party Logistics solution (3PL) at Aerospace-Phoenix (34th Street). VMI and 3PL are significant initiatives in the Aerospace project to reduce cycle time and inventory. Using both of these initiatives will allow us to reduce working capital and improve cash flow because Aerospace will own much less inventory until we need to use it. In addition, our suppliers will receive real-time data on the demand for their inventory, which will allow them to plan more efficiently, improve delivery and reduce costs. VMI agreements have been reached with a number of our suppliers. Through VMI, these suppliers will assume the role of planning their inventory for our site and will keep the inventory on their books until we pull it to use in our factories. To achieve more significant benefits of VMI, Phoenix Engines has also signed an agreement with a 3PL provider to outsource some of our non-core inbound functions including: receiving, incoming inspections, delivering parts to our factory, tracking day-to-day inventory, and managing the warehouse that contains supplier and Honeywell inventory. Beginning July 12, 2010, the service provider will provide these services and serve as a link between our suppliers and our factories. To ensure a smooth transition, we are working closely with them to develop systems and processes to support VMI and 3PL for the Phoenix Engines site. As of today, all impacted employees at our site have been notified. We will continue to keep you informed as we move forward. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please see your supervisor or Human Resources representative. Thank you in advance for your support and ongoing commitment. Tuesday, June 1, 2010 The May 30 blogger is no doubt correct in his assertion that the 'old' Honeywell was a good place to work and that the 'new' Honeywell will not change. But I, for one, have no intention of slipping quietly into the night. Those who have experienced firsthand the way 'new' Honeywell craps on its employees have a nearly sacred obligation to ensure that the true nature of the beast is fully revealed. Existing employees need to be fully aware how widespread this is, so that they may adjust their expectations and career plans accordingly. And more power to those who choose a path with a company that actually values its employees instead of viewing them as liabilities to be abused at every opportunity. Potential future employees likewise need a means to evaluate what they're getting in to before it's too late. Nothing would be more appropriate than if this ultimately causes Honeywell to lose good employees to its competitors, or if potential future employees choose a competitor instead of Honeywell. Call it poetic justice. Perhaps one day the cumulative effect of these losses will become visible to the government, to customers, to competitors, and to Wall Street. Then the pitiful stuffed shirts masquerading as executive management will finally be forced to recognize that valuing employees requires more than lip-service if the company is to remain viable. Tuesday, June 1, 2010 The truth about outsourcing as I see it. It's a simple formula.
Sunday, May 30, 2010 - From: Don Anthony Husted [dahusted@aol.com]: To the posting on May 19 that said “Morristown is unaware of the level of favoritism shown in promotions and advancements” in Aerospace and Phoenix. Wrong. Morristown is well aware of it and it is how Allied operates. And to the May 20 posting that said “Remember when they said that their people were their most valuable asset.” You are thinking of the old Honeywell, not the new Allied that calls itself Honeywell. When Signal Companies merged with Allied many years ago, people who knew Allied told people at UOP that we would be sorry. Allied treated their people like dirt and only the biggest SOB’s got promoted. For a time UOP was protected from Allied because Signal Companies (fka Signal Oil and Gas) knew UOP and the UOP business model, and later by Union Carbide and later Dow Chemical. But over time UOP has gotten use to the boot of Allied on its neck, that is why you do not see too many postings from the Allied side of “Honeywell”. The ones who would post are long gone to competitors, or retired. It appears to me most of the postings on this site are from old Honeywell. I never worked for Honeywell but from what I have read it was a good company to work for. However all, you now work for Allied. Get use to it. It is their style of business. If you want to move up in Allied (aka “Honeywell”) you need to play the game. Be the biggest SOB in your department. Or find a position with a competitor who treats its people like human beings. Allied will not change, so accept being dirt, or move on to another company or retire. It will do you no good to complain to your boss or to post to this site. Monday, May 24, 2010 All of the comments on this site can either be construed as constructive criticism to be used as lessons learned for changes and/or improvements, or as unwarranted attacks to be ignored. Unfortunately, given the arrogance and mindset of the almighty, infallible and beyond reproach leadership, only the latter view will be observed, because admitting that they may have made mistakes, or that they may need to change course, or rethink any of their strategies, is akin to alcoholics or drug-addicts admitting that they have a problem The past two years especially, has shown how determined and uncompromising their decision making has become, regardless of any negative impact to the business or their workforce. But they can take comfort in the knowledge that they are immune to the consequences of their ways, a luxury that will never be afforded the rest of us. Like governments who can increase taxes and add service charges on the masses to compensate for fiscal mistakes and incompetence, corporate leaderships can similarly punish and bleed their workforce for their own miscues, without bringing any of the negative repercussions to bear upon themselves. Sadly, the luxury of this attitude does not allow any room for correction, change-of-course etc. because this will be construed as an admittance of mistakes being made. But don’t give up Honeywellers. People have been known to recover from lapses in judgment, and to even wake up from the dead. LOL. Of course, it has become very clear in the past two years that the leadership does not believe in the practice of “lessons learned” to change or improve anything. They have totally destroyed any and all such opportunities from decades of learning, only to start all over again with a whole new set of "unlearned lessons". Tch! They have arbitrarily adopted OS (Operating Systems) from other companies, with no regard for similarity, or lack thereof, of the business models, compared to that of our own. Some years ago they adopted TQ from Motorala. Lots in common there, to our industry! And that has now become totally irrelevant anyway. HOS has been adopted from Toyota Production System (TPS). And who are some of the other companies that have adopted this system? GM, Ford, Chrysler. And what do these companies have in common, besides recently producing products with record number of defects in their most critical component systems; breaking, accelerator, steering, tires etc.? They produce similar products. Again, lots in common with Honeywell! Ironically, one of the precepts of the TPS/HOS is that "MANAGERS DON’T TELL WORKERS AND SUPERVISORS HOW TO DO THEIR WORK". We, however, seem to have every level of management telling us how to do ours, and even what tools to use. A perfect system will never work when it is being twisted and distorted by warped minds. In fact, if you look at the TPS/HOS statement, you will notice that this company seems to be virtually violating or misinterpreting/manipulating almost every one of its precepts. They also, always have a tendency to force the vendors of our design tools to customize their tools in the worst ways to the point that the tools are no longer user-friendly and thus, deviate from their intended purpose, thereby frustrating the users and the tool providers. They seem to think that they know better than everyone else, about everything. Yet, they are incapable of originating any ideas of their own, but to blatantly plagiarize and then, indiscriminately butcher others’ ideas beyond recognition or use. They are hell bent in taking a round peg, then making it square, and then trying to force it into a round hole. They seem to be increasingly lacking in the capacity to appreciate the reality, that the operating system of a mechanic or a plumber may not necessarily be adoptable to the workings of a doctor. Except that, everybody has to flush... Maybe! Monday, May 24, 2010 - from the blogger on May 18th. "To all that are frustrated": Well, I did it. I found a job outside Honeywell. I'M FREE. To all those that keep saying, "You're lucky to have a job" - get over yourself, the market is opening up and good people will find jobs. Honeywell will lose some great people (although they won't care). It will hurt them in the long run. Good luck to all of you! Friday, May 21, 2010 - from current Honeyweller: Honeywell International not only treats their managers badly, the union workers are being treated badly as well - 10% pay cut, no retiree health care, raise in insurance, no 401k match, no pension for new hires, no time-and-half after 8 hours, no provisions for 6th and 7th, No seniority considerations, no scheduling, company put you where they want you. Honeywell can contract out any job, and those honeywell workers that lose to the contractors gets a 4500 severance package, No union security, no grievances, reduction in vacation, reduced holiday pay. It is no wonder the managers and the hourly cannot get along. Thursday, May 20, 2010 There seems to be a contradiction with Honeywell and how they treat their employees any more. Remember when they said that their people where their most valuable asset? Those days seem to be past. While Honeywell is buying companies for $140 million+ and sending out rave reviews of all their success, we are still waiting for some type of pay raise this year. I guess Mr. Cote and his cronies will get a bonus for screwing the workers again. Last year it was a 4% pay cut before taxes on our 401k match, and then the 3 weeks unpaid furlough to quickly destroy the chance of getting ahead in 2009 with the miserable pay raises dished out then. So do you think the pay raise this year (if given) will be retro (fat chance)? What makes me upset the most, is the attitude my mid level management that uses the economy to promote fear for our jobs. "At least we have a job".... and "what about the other companies"? Comparing us with other companies as an excuse to screw us, is like saying we should pay more taxes because Canadians do. Yes we can find other jobs, but I'd love to see a CEO that not only pays lip service to "caring about empolyees", but stands behind it. I dont' think I'll be attending anymore town meetings until Honeywell does the right thing for the people that really make the company what it is today.
Regards, Thursday, May 20, 2010 We have that same problem. Everybody who is in and gets promoted into management is from the hockey team. And guess who plays hockey? Wednesday, May 19, 2010 I'm really surprised when I look at our management team in Phoenix and see a only 35+ white males in seats of "power". Honeywell is a biased company. Aerospace is lead by white males who give the best jobs to their buddies. Morristown is unaware of the level of favoritism shown in promotions and advancements. Most of the diversity at Aero comes in the form of lower level Band 3 or Hourly workers. With VP making over $250K plus bonus, where is the real economic strength? It ain't in shop. It is the band 5's and above. What a waste of so much talent. Just because a person isn't white and male, they don't have a chance at a higher level position. I'm leaving and can't wait to start working with real technology company that believes in the strength of all of its people. One that promotes all kinds of people, not just club members. Wednesday, May 19, 2010 - from Olathe, Ks: One of their HOS (Honeywell Over Seas) guys should suggest that they take data on all the time they spend taking data. Maybe someone, like the stockholders would finally relize how much time and labor is wasted on data that is rarly ever used. The only useful results that I ever saw were that our productivity was down, mostly from taking data and not doing the real work. Wednesday, May 19, 2010 - Re: "Sunday, March 28, 2010 - If Honeywell is so awful, quit playing the victim and get on with your life." That's real helpful. I notice that you were unable to refute any of the comments made here. Tuesday, May 18, 2010 That's the Honeywell way.... Spend more and more time reporting on the less and less you are doing, until you achieve equilibrium by spending all your time reporting on the nothing you are doing. Tuesday, May 18, 2010 To all that are frustrated with spreadsheets and check lists, I feel your pain. My division is so immersed in these; I can't get any "real" work done. The management spends their day looking for ways to babysit our progress, and then report out on it to their leadership (I use that term loosely) . I have never felt so underappreciated. Management treats us like we are 6 years old and have no clue what we need to do to accomplish our goals. I had the opportunity to leave Honeywell and work for a competitor. I made a HUGE mistake. If you get the chance to get out do it. I'm fed up and not going to miss the next chance to get out! Tuesday, May 18, 2010 It seems like you are a victim of the HOS. All the forms, checklists, spreadsheets, whiteboards etc. created are for visitors and Corporate VIPs to look at. They are good "tools" but HON leadership and site leaders misuse them for controls only and totally ignorant of the HUMAN side of things. Do they care? Of course not, as long as Wall Street buys their stories. Sunday, May 16, 2010 To the British chap who is wondering about, and drowning in all of those magical forms, checklists, spreadsheets etc. that will solve all of the company’s problems. Employees generally feel frustrated and stressed when they are given tasks that are seemingly irrelevant to the real work, and that can’t be of much real value, if any, to anyone, other than to add check marks to a bunch of other forms, checklists, spreadsheets etc., as was suggested, and to create work for the creators of the forms. These forms were never necessary before, and they now seem to serve only as a distraction from the real work, as they obviously have not served to decrease but rather, to increase the number of defects since their imposition, all to the detriment of the company. Understandably, the leadership is trying to reduce costs and cycle time. But how, in their warped thinking, do they hope to achieve this? By adding more and more non-value-added and time consuming tasks! Brilliant! I suppose that more work equals less time? Otherwise, the sole purpose of these exercises must be for management to exert their power over us. Management seems intent on subjugating and insulting us into kindergarten level of obedience. That is perhaps why, more than anything else, we are having issues with this. They seem to think that this is the best way to apply or utilize our technical skills. We are not trusted to do anything right anymore, but management in their wisdom, seem to trust that if we have completed these forms (which are much more important than the real work!), then the underlying project will be magically correct….What? In fact, it seems as though, if we did not complete our project, but completed the forms, we may be up for a promotion! The real work does not seem to count for much anymore! So, we must fill in all of these forms (er...toilet paper!) with due diligence, and be sure to use the right color pencils, as they have to look nice or, neither us nor our managers will get the half of a balloon, or the half of a lollipop that they do not want to give to us anyway! And, they may even tell our parents if we don’t do it. We don’t want that now, do we? Arrgh! We are being weighed and measured based on the completion of these “magical money-making” forms, rather than on how much work we do, and on how well we do our work. Our obedience with regards to this, more than anything else, will determine whether or not we will receive the 0% salary increase that’s coming to us….What? So, we must be good little children now, if we know what’s good for us. Bye, bye! Friday, May 14, 2010 - Re: May 11 - former manager to Olathe Kansas site: Thank you for documenting my case as a casualty in RIF due to manager’s personal reasons. This practice is also widespread in Honeywell Process Solutions. Only “yes” men can survive in HON. Tuesday, May 11, 2010 As a former Honeywell manager, I feel as though I can finally tell the truth about all the nonsense going down in aerospace/avionics. After moving from another site to the Olathe Kansas site, I was shocked to see the horrid conditions that had been standard practice in Olathe for years. Supervisors forced into misleading comments to associates, loss of respect for anyone not management, and a backstabbing culture thru out management. Every answer to problems are dealt with through discipline, even the most trivial of mistakes. This attitude has created a morale slide that has been going on since 2003 and has gotten noticeably worse in the past year. It looks as if Dave has finally given them permission to be the SOB’s they always wanted to be, and it is the only thing they seem to be really good at. Morale has gotten so bad because of the management team that people are asking there managers to downgrade their yearly reviews so that they can volunteer for RIF’s and be accepted. During past RIF’s employees were selected based on managers personal reasons and once they were selected for sacrifice the yearly review was adjusted to fit the situation. We were told to make sure there was an overwhelming good reason to let this person go. Many time the real reason was because the person had a disagreement with some witless manager, sometimes over quality or customer issues. Most reviews were highly falsified to avoid anyone questioning the decision to let the person go. It is amazing to look at the number of managers that have retired or moved on to other jobs due to the attitude of the Olathe management crew. Many of these folks have stated that they can’t change anything for the good and their conscience will only stand so much! I sincerely hope that all U.S companies are not managed like this. (P.S. I sold all my Honeywell stock as soon as I could). Sunday, May 9, 2010 Quote from The Wall Street Journal:
And you have neglected to mention to the shareholders, the salary cuts and deferred raises and all of the other back-stabbing measures you have “executed” to demoralize the employees for a long time to come, just to realize short term gains, irrespective of long term pains! And that you extended salary cuts and imposed the furlough when everything had already improved. And that perhaps the most skilled 25% of your work force would really like a layoff package this time, but that you are too cheap to offer packages, as they will cut into those bogus short term gains being bled from the employees (your lifeline). And that the 5% number is very deceiving, when all of the layoffs of skilled employees are in NA, and are being offset by all of the hiring of trainees offshore. We know that neither you nor the shareholders care to know any of those inconvenient truths. Nice! If you’re happy, and the shareholders are happy, what else can anyone else ask for? What…are…you…doing---Dave? Thursday, May 6, 2010 I have been free of Honeywell for 6 months, but when I was a hiring manager, you had to get approval of the CEO to hire even a temp. In addition to this not being a best practice in delegation of decision rights, I think that unless the new hire had a Phoenix address, chances are he would come under great scrutiny and the request would be denied. I know this because we got email after email announcing promotions and reorganizations among that same clubhouse full of clowns out in Phoenix moving from one job to the next, doing nothing for the company. Good luck to all you guys still there. It is so much better on the other side. When you work for a company that thinks employees are a liability and looks for every chance it gets to steal back benefits and compensation, it is enough to make you sick every day. But the good part is people on the outside still recognize the Honeywell name on the resume. It should be good until the communist Chinese begin to use some of the tech that Honeywell is moving out of the US to Asia for their first weapons R&D programs, if that has not started already. Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Honeywell is actually hiring in the US? Wow, I did not think it did that anymore! In Aerospace the mantra is: If you work in a developed market - you are lucky you have a job. And if you do not like it, then leave! If you work in an emerging market - How fast can we send your site money? And all of you get a promotion! What I do not get is: how the company is so gung-ho and sends all the knowledge out of the US, but then warns you that we have to protect the intellectual property. I see some logic flaws there. Time to get the heck out of Honeywell. Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Honeywell's management doesn't care about all the inefficiencies or whatever shortcomings are highlighted in the blog: "Honeywell’s Leadership perspectives". Honeywellers can rant, whine, or even quit for all they care. Honeywell is "TOO BIG TO FAIL". Wednesday, May 5, 2010 - Call for Referrals to Honeywell Process Solutions:
Refer someone successfully, and earn $$$$! Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) is a $2.5 billion strategic business unit that improves the productivity and profitability of industrial facilities on every continent around the world. HPS offers a full range of automation and control solutions to key vertical markets, including Energy, Pulp & Paper, and Chemicals/Pharmaceuticals, and develops/markets industrial automation systems and advanced software applications. We are constantly looking for dynamic, highly energized people to join and grow with HPS. We would like to thank you for supporting the referral program! We’re continuing our focus on employee referrals this year to support our high growth targets. We continue to request your support with these efforts and will offer referral bonuses to each employee that recommends an external candidate whom is hired. If you know potential candidates, please refer them through the formal online process as well as to the hiring manager/applicable HR person. Also, please ensure that the candidate indicates your referral when he/she applies for the position. If a position doesn’t have a req number listed, then please contact the hiring manager directly to refer your friend. Turn your connections into Extra Cash! We have positions in the US, Canada, and LAR! Referral bonus amounts can differ by position, region, etc. Please contact the regional HR leader to learn more about the bonus for a particular position. Check out the Corporate Referral Process website for more detail. Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - To the blogger who wrote "Honeywell’s Leadership perspectives": You are brilliant! Now, how do we organize that 'Sick-Out', at the end of the Qtr, so we can start slapping these management idiots in the mouth with the reality that they need us more than we need the multiple layers of them!? Please, if things won’t change for the obvious, let’s give it a nudge in the right direction! Might help....might not... but it will feel good to make them squirm, even if it's just a little bit. Monday, May 3, 2010 Well, here we go again. The rumor has it that we will once again be having a forced shut down this summer. I just wish they would hurry up and tell us. In any case, I'm going to book some vacation during their proposed "Shut Down". At least this will make it seem like a "paid vacation" See, if you do a little bit of planning, Honeywell doesn't seem like such a bad place after all. Monday, May 3, 2010 Diamond Dave hates western employees. First, he imposes endless wasteful procedures. As a result, efficiency and morale plummet. Next, more employees must be sacrificed in order to make the numbers. A self-fulfilling prophecy is created, further justifying his belief that western employees are a problem and that jobs should be offshored as quickly as possible. We have been cynically and ruthlessly forced to become non-competitive; to surrender the excellence that formerly was our trademark. All due to one guy in a position of power, and his warped perception of how things should be. He and executive management make out, while most western employees suffer. What a system! Saturday, May 1, 2010 - Re: April 29, 2010 Honeywell’s Leadership perspectives: Thank you, thank you! You said it all, for all of us. You should look after yourself first(career), then your health and your family, ignore all the BS from diamond Dave & the management team. Thursday, April 29, 2010 - RE:"Honeywell’s Leadership perspectives": Brilliant! Could not have said it better myself! It is time to hit this management where it hurts the most. If everyone called in sick on the last fiscal day of every month the bottom line wouldn't look so good. Time to disrupt the corporation as a whole, and show them (pigs at the trough) where they would be without us (soldiers on the front line). Let's get organized and put this thing to bed! Signed: Tired, demoralized and fed up. Thursday, April 29, 2010 Honeywell’s Leadership perspectives In the middle of the worse economic crisis, we chose to overhaul our business by introducing multiple and complex new tools (that were not market-ready and that can sometimes behave like a virus), and multiple new processes and guidelines (that are incomplete, inaccurate, in draft stages and changing every day), while at the same time, introducing work-sharing, off-shoring, outsourcing etc., in order to save money and time. Furthermore, we chose to do all of this at a time when we are busiest, and budget and schedule constraints are extremely challenging, and the competition is getting stiffer, and the customers are getting meaner While these endeavors may have been very wise and noble causes in almost any other economic time, we chose to do it at this, the worst time. We know that to have introduced any one of these numerous, inhumane changes and morale-killers, would have been very challenging to all involved, but we wanted to maximize the effect to a devastating and unbearable level by doing them all at once. We know that these changes should have been phased in slowly, perhaps one at a time (and some not at all), to be effective, but by doing them all at once we have managed to shoot ourselves in the head over and over again. That is not an easy feat! And all of this should eventually have the opposite effect. But who is looking? We are leaders because we do not know anything else. We have taken away all of the tools that you have spent the last 10 years mastering and are familiar with, and gave you new tools that should take another 10 years to master; but we want you to master them in 10 weeks. We have replaced your familiar design tool with 4 new ones, because the first of the 4 is so error-prone and defective, that you will need the other 3 to mask the defects and weaknesses in the first. We are way too smart to have seen that one coming. The providers of the tools could not have lied to us. Could they? No! We believe that the tool sellers are always right and our employees are always wrong. If the sales people say that their crap can take us to Mars, we can afford to believe them because it is the users that will have to suffer with the crap. And who cares if they drown in it. And who cares about getting back from Mars. The new tools and processes are so amazing that they will fix even the users that are, were, and always will be the cause of human errors (defects). We have taken your one simple process, standards and guidelines that you have spent decades refining, simplifying and perfecting, and shoved it up your rear end, and then shoved 101 new and defective processes, standards and guidelines (that are in draft stages, incomplete, inaccurate and ever-changing) that you won’t even recognize, down your throat (there is no escape!). This should take 10 years to become familiar with, but we want you to do it in 10 weeks. Never mind that they are not ready. We have created numerous "checklists", and checklists to check checklists, and have our checkers checking, checking - you get the idea. We have created this absurd environment that now requires all of these absurdities. We have added so much more to make your work much, more complex, and to multiply your old cycle time and expect you to reduce that cycle time. Are you with us? Why use one simple proven process when you can use 10 new complex ones to do the same thing? We have successfully turned our most experienced, productive and knowledgeable people into bumbling idiots. We intend to fix all of our processes that were and weren’t broken, by breaking them all, or totally destroying them, and add many, many more broken processes in the name of gross stupidity. We don’t believe in making small fixes to broken things, but believe in destroying everything, together with those that were working perfectly, and creating a whole new set of broken untested processes, to be consistent. We want you to produce perfect data/products in record time, using these multiple new imperfect, incomplete and defective new tools, processes and guidelines. We have taken your simplest of tasks and make them more complex, so that all of your years of experience will count for nothing. When we are done with you, you won’t be good at anything, except perhaps suicide. We, the leadership, know better than you, as to how you should do your job and what tools, processes, guidelines are best for you. Forget that we ever asked: "What do you need to do your job more efficiently, cost effectively, and simply?" We didn’t know what we were talking about. Forget that we always said that you have been doing a very good job over the past decades. We didn’t mean that either. Sorry! In other words, we are going to make your work so much more difficult and stressful, and we want you to do it in one quarter of the time and more accurately, while we remove as much incentives and motivation as we can and shatter your morale for good. Our objective is to maximize your stress levels and minimize your morale. You can’t have both now, can you? We have taken the very best and most productive of you, who are very, very good at what you do, and assign you to non-value-added tasks that will leave you perplexed and frustrated to death, not so much from the tasks but from the stupidity, thus reducing/eliminating your enthusiasm and productivity. We strongly believe that the Corporation is making money from the new cumbersome, complex and ridiculous tools, processes, guidelines, checklists, etc. we are creating every day, and not from our electronic hardware designs and other products. That is why we take our best people away from the real and critical work to work on these non-value-added absurdities. If the best of you were already giving the company 150% of your effort, we now expect you to give 250%, and we don’t care that you are now thinking of only giving 50%. Then we can use the “performance” card to “terminate” you. You see? We can’t “lose”. And you can’t win! If you have been a loyal, dedicated and hard working top employee who, over the decades, have given your body, mind and soul to the company, we have now ripped your heart out too! Why won’t you die? We want you to forget everything we ever taught you over the decades (TQ, DFSS Green Belt, Black Belt, Lean Engineering, IPDS 5S etc.) about reducing/eliminating steps in your processes, and reducing/eliminating defects, to be most efficient and cost effective, as we have now multiplied the number of steps in your processes 10-fold, and multiplied the number of opportunities for defects 20-fold, to make sure that we erase from your psyche any such thoughts of efficiency and accuracy, and thus, we can guarantee lower quality, and increased cycle time. Forget that we told you that quality must take precedence over schedule. And we now have lots of inexperienced people around the world, working 24/7, to help us to lower our standards. Look out Toyota, we aim to be number one! We hope that you have not noticed that we want you to transfer your 30 years of experience to our off shore partners in 30 minutes or less, while we are also transferring your benefits and compensations etc. to them as well in that time. We want you to forget what we have always said about taking ownership and pride in your work. With work-sharing, off-shoring and outsourcing etc., you don’t have to give a damn anymore. Isn’t that nice? Just when you thought that the company does not care about you, we take all of the pressures off of you. Now you can screw up and blame others. You can now stab your co-workers in the back or in the face, and they can do the same to you. This, we believe - no, we know - is conducive to a happy and productive work environment. We have to tell you that the company’s products are very competitive, but that we need to be careful so as not to become complacent, lest we become like Toyota, even though everything that we are doing is leading us down that glorious path. That realization will be felt later. But who cares about later. Not us! We are basically, politicians. We know that we won’t be around when the fall-out from all of this hits the fan. We would have been finished raping the company of its reputation and it’s experienced employees, and the remaining employees of everything else, and will have moved on by then. We don’t have to think long term, you see. We have chosen a variety of new vendors and out-sourcing entities, all of whom wants different things, to guarantee that you will never be able to satisfy any one of them. And our increase in defects should improve, i.e., increase the cost and delivery time of everything that we do. Vendors love excuses to delay and increase the cost to us. We are now providing them with plenty, with our new defects-increasing measures. We are standardizing, but yet providing different instructions from each site, to confuse the crap out of our vendors! And work-sharing between sites should confuse everyone else. We are too smart to appreciate that outsourcing technical and complex electronics’ designs is not the same as outsourcing car bumpers and tires. We believe that the outsourcing and off-shore entities are much more capable than the locals. We know this because they have failed so many times before that they will get it right this time. Right? We have excelled in “Negative Productivity” by keeping the people with nothing to do so very busy creating new processes, guidelines, standards, etc., to add much more unnecessary work to the people with lots to do (and who know how to do it) just to make their work much more difficult and stressful. That will suck the life out of them. And we are so damn proud of ourselves. We will keep you happy and motivated by keep reminding you that you still have a job. We know that you are busier than ever, and that we have gone out of our way to make your work and home life as miserable as we can, but that is beside the point. We like to remind you that other companies are laying people off, and hope that you will not notice that those companies are slow-to-dead, while we are busier than ever. We do not want you to notice that we have been quietly and subtly getting rid of people through several ingenious methods, to avoid visibility, and are brain storming new methods every day (we have “ways” and we know your “number”). After all, we are one of the “best” companies in the world. We told ourselves that, and we told Fortune Magazine the same. So how can you dispute that? And that must make our employees feel good too. We had to hide our disappointment when we did not see as many people leaving the company as we had anticipated after we have stabbed you in the back, and the face, thus you have forced us to rethink our strategy and to find alternate methods to screw you more and more, to force you out. Stubborn buggers! At the same time, we had hoped to keep some of our experienced people a little while longer to coordinate and fix and correct the “perfect” work from off shore and outsourcing, but they seem to be leaving. Wonder why that is? We are aiming towards globalization and standardization, even if it means getting there through sub-standardization. At least we will be standardized by being consistently substandard. We believe that we can standardize by adding multiple methods, cultures, levels of experiences, tools, processes etc. - just about everything that should have the opposite effect. We could have simply adopted the decades of best and proven practices from sites and methods within our business, and use them as our baseline for standardization. But that would have been too sensible, too easy and too cheap! We chose to discard the best with the worst and settle for mediocre. We have taken full advantage of the opportunities of the economic crisis and use them to shaft you really well, even though our situation isn’t anywhere nearly as bad as that of others. In case you don’t know, our new goal is to satisfy: Ourselves first, Shareholders second, Customers third (maybe), “Tools Providers fourth (or before customers), and so on and so on, and then employees last, or not anymore! We are sleeping well at nights (and also sleeping for you) as we know that you can’t be sleeping. We are utilizing to the fullest our lack of conscience and morals (never really had any) to reduce your morale. Sounds nice? Forget the saying: It sometimes gets worse before it gets better! And think: It can only get worse, for you that is, and you’ll be fine! We are diligently working to find what other crap we can we pile up on you. And if you do not like it, you can always quit. That is the point. Do you get it? We can’t be “undercover bosses” as we are smart enough to know that the truth will kill us. While we have gone out of our way to make your work-life much more difficult, complex and stressful, we have not neglected to do the same to your personal life, so as to further lower your morale and totally destroy any lingering thoughts of loyalty and dedication you may be harboring:
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Anybody playing "BS Bingo" while reading Fradin's memo? There oughta be a lot of winners after that "classic" Honeywell announcement. Wednesday, April 28, 2010 So, since Honeywell are doing so well, we all get a pay-rise by the end of Q2 right? Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Wow! Roger Fradin's message is inspiring. I am ready for another furlough or pay reduction, just say the word Rodg! Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - To the blog-poster from Australia: Your HPS division CEO, Norm Gilsdorf, was promoted from UOP (division of Specialty Materials) in 2009. Our loss is your gain - he is a terrific manager. I imagine you will find, like we did at UOP, that there are definite advantages to a big company in terms of resources and financial backing. Unfortunately, what we've also experienced is conversion to a culture where only those at the top are promoted and given pay raises. HON is "churn and burn" all the way. Having an opinion and voicing it gets you ranked a "C" player and fired or forced out. You may have some advantages, in that there are some protections against "constructive dismissal" in Australia, as there are in the UK. But here in the US, it's called "get rid of older and more experienced workers and replace them with younger, preferably offshore, employees". Read any independent assessment written on the pros and cons of Forced Ranking. HON is a textbook case on how to wreck an organization with this outdated and dehumanizing system. The number of articles in the HR journals on Forced Ranking kind of peaked around 2003 because there isn't much more to say about it -- most well-run corporations have figured out that it is no way to treat anyone you even pretend to care about. Either HON never got the message, or they simply like to have a fearful workforce with an average age trending toward the early 30's. Take a look at a presentation from one of the senior HR management at a 2009 conference: http://hrtomorrow.csom.umn.edu/past/2009/present09/Woodward.pdf Page 21: "Top 10 lessons learned" number 7: "People have to leave... Turnover is not only ok but necessary". This is fine coming from a 30-something HR person charged with swinging the ax, but anyone can pretty much see where it leads. It would be far more honest to simply fire everyone and only hire people under short term contracts. Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Message from Roger Fradin, April 27, 2010
Sales were $3.1 billion, up 4 percent from the first quarter of 2009. The majority of our Products businesses are starting to grow again for the first time in a year while our Solutions businesses showed significant strength in orders and backlog. However, our regional ACS performance was mixed. Asia Pacific delivered double-digit sales growth, the Americas was flat and Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) experienced sales decline. We are positioned to see sales improve as the economy recovers, but must still challenge ourselves to find ways to generate more revenue. Operating Income was up 24 percent from the first quarter of 2009. This solid performance continues to be driven by controlling our costs and ensuring our pricing strategy reflects the overall value we provide our customers. In addition, our restructuring actions had a positive impact on our first quarter margin rate and operating income results. We expect further market recovery and now must prepare for increased customer demand by optimizing our supply chain. Cash Flow was up 82 percent year over year due primarily to good working capital performance and capital expenditure management. These are outstanding results and builds on our strong cash performance in recent years. ACS generated $24 million in Indirect Spend savings in the first quarter. Unfortunately, we did not have any indirect spend savings in March, which is a trend that we need to quickly address. We must be vigilant in managing our costs even if our outlook appears to be on the rebound. The largest area for reduction continues to be travel, so please continue to evaluate if travel is needed, particularly when it comes to internal meetings. View our financial results and key highlights from across the ACS portfolio. ACS is a major contributor to Honeywell’s success and will continue to outperform our competitors if we focus on the global trends across our industries and our key initiatives: Favorable Trends: Key Initiatives: Focus in these areas will allow us to continue to expand our market positions in the industries we serve and outperform our competitors. Our strong customer focus, cost management and investment in innovation and process improvements continue to fuel our growth. I’m confident in the future of ACS and Honeywell and look forward to seeing even stronger results as economic conditions stabilize and eventually improve. Thank you for your dedication, contributions, and focus on delivering for our customers, the corporation and shareowners.
President and CEO Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Obama and Cote - now there's a team. As if Obama needs any more help bringing this country to it's knees. Here in our plant, we have all kinds of issues going on in H.R. Women do not get paid what men do, and now that Wall Mart employees have won their law suit, isn't it time Honeywell pays up too? After all... we were told our time-cards were getting changed a while back because Wall Mart employees had a law suit going and Honeywell didn't want that to happen to them! It seems there were problems with equal pay for equal work and if you work it right and "tell Daddy everything" you can be brought right up to the top of the food chain while everyone else has to earn their way up over many years. And how dare you bring this nasty little issue out in the open. We have people quitting daily because this place stinks so bad. It's down the road for me real soon. This place needs a few good lawyers! Friday, April 23, 2010 The recent posts are evidence of a few things that we already know:
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The famed Honeywell Operating System (HOS), which draws from various world famous operating systems including the Toyota Production System, was launched at JKM Automotive on 27th March 2009. The HOS will introduce world-class best practices into the Dynamatic® Group. JKM Auto™ is the only Honeywell Supplier in India, and, the third worldwide, to launch the HOS. Thursday, April 22, 2010 According to the website article posted on BusinessWeek:
Thursday, April 22, 2010 I have over seven spreadsheets to fill in everyday, alongside doing my work! Just so my manager gets a green tick. Oh, by the way, people won't even bother the H&S people for a plaster because it shows up Red on the Health and Saftey chart.... Something is very very wrong with this company.
Regards Thursday, April 22, 2010 Yeovil UK is still waiting for payrises. HPD's they stated Wage Reviews in Q2... Okay, guess they mean the end of Q2! Thursday, April 22, 2010 - To the poster on March 28,2010 who wrote: "Quit grinding your axes and take control of your career.": I guess you're either a manager or some sub-level management idiot who call themselves things like 'Operations Execellance', THAT or you're some spotty young prig who's only just joined. In any case, you need to WAKE UP and learn that some people actually want the company to survive. Unfortunately its people like you who are bringing this company to its knees. Trust me mate, Cote won't save you when the shit hits the fan in your department, neither will your boss. Thursday, April 22, 2010 So because of the 'downturn' our company can no longer afford to replace anyone they lose. Instead, in some cases, pulling people from other departments to fill the gap. It can't afford to allow people to travel outside the 50 mile radius to talk to Vendors or Customers. Were not able to get anymore Temporary workers because there is no money in the pot. Most people gave up unpaid holiday last year in able to help them out so I ask myself the question: If a company can't fund or support the workers they have how can they advertise jobs in emerging market regions to do the jobs we do? And WHY? What's the hidden agenda? Has anyone else seen this happen in the UK within their department? Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - To the April 20 poster who asked, "Does HOS exist?" No. What exists within Honeywell is CYA. It's what happens in a culture of fear is combined with unrealistic expectations; responsibility but no authority. Brought to you courtesy of Diamond Dave Cote. Wednesday, April 21, 2010 I stumbled across this blog while googling and have to admit to being shocked at the strength of feeling in evidence. I joined Honeywell Process Solutions in Australia from a competitor organization a while ago and it has been like a breath of fresh air. I attended a kick-off meeting earler this year and the quailty of people and their energy was infectious. There are issues around no salary increases though and people are hoping local management can get that sorted out. I hope whatever has gone wrong in Aero doesnt happen here. Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Can you work for a company if you don't trust it or believe in it? How do you meet your HPD quarterly tasks if you have little or no faith in your manager? What does Honeywell stand for except spreadsheets and VOTTR targets? I've worked for Honeywell for a few years now and I have never experienced such a terribly unorganised, yet self-praising bunch of middle management prigs. Here is Honeywell's manifesto summed up in two sentances: "More for less" and "If you can't really meet the targets, fudge the figures". Now don't get me wrong; there is nothing illegal about what they do. You see, in the UK the Americans are deemed to be the big brother of the aerospace world. If the Americans say jump, we jump. So every week, the USA monitors our arrears and delivery targets through SAP and gets us to report back. If its green you're okay; but of its red, your manager is told to pull their finger out. So what do we do? Our manager doesn't like what he sees, an excel sheet is printed and we Honeywell mineons move the dates to get us back into the green area = Americans Happy. So after all of this fudging.... oops, should i say 'arrears management', work on a weekly basis I ask myself one simple question? Does HOS exist? Monday, April 19, 2010 My advice to you is if you like doing nothing, apply for a job at Aerospace headquarters in Phoenix. Ask to do a job related to HOS or Operations Excellence. They are still hiring, but it might be hard if you have not already failed in your current job role, that seems to be a pre-requisite for the higher paying jobs out there at least. Monday, April 19, 2010 According to Vault.com, a corp. survey website that has "tagged" our beloved HI perfectly, lay-offs are generally performed every fall. This is looked at as a standard cost cutting measure at the end of every year. In this article everything that Vault had described about this companies directive, which was written by an director level manager in 2003, has been very accurate. Not much has changed and don't think it will until it's too late and the Executive(Rats) jump from the sinking ship! Monday, April 19, 2010 Has anyone any info to share on when we can expect the next layoff in Areospace? We have orders, but cannot get parts from the suppliers. Lots of people walking around with nothing to do. Why not lay off some people? I would be one of those that want out. This is the worst coompany anyone can work for. The people that are running things do not have a clue. We are all on a sinking ship. Thursday, April 15, 2010
For your info, Honeywell's CFO has been named as one of the Best CFO by Institutional Investors magazine. Check out Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - from Honeywell, Aerospace, Canada: I'm out, I'm out, I'm out! What a relief, to be free of that place. All of the stories in this blog are true. Take note investors who come by this web page - invest in the competition. Honeywell is about to tank after their "short term gains" are exhausted. To all those hanging on until retirement, I wish you the very best of luck. To the rest of you - now is the time, read the writing on the wall. Good luck. Tuesday, April 13, 2010 No, HR does not treat their own HR managers any better. I am in HR and I recently left Honeywell Aerospace. If you want some insight on how we are treated, look at the turnover rate among HR managers and directors and I think it tells the whole story. An HR manager can contribute nothing in a company that does not value people or long term relationships with employees. It made me absolutely sick and it is wonderful to be free. Sunday, April 11, 2010 - To the March 29 poster on "Lay-off List" - If you are in the "Outer L" of the 9 block ratings, you can be sure you will be let go if a layoff is announced. I am an Aero manager, so I have some insight on this. HR is doing everything in their power this year to make us fire people in the outer L 2 years in a row. If you have had a "Personal Improvement Plan" letter recently from you manager, then I would say your time is up. I hate my job as a manager because of BS like this. HR MAKES US put 10% of the people in the outer L, and now they tell us we have to fire them. I'll bet my paycheck HR doesn't treat their staff this way. Sunday, April 11, 2010 I have worked for Honeywell in the UK for 30 years. Morale is the worst I have ever known it. No pay increase this year and engineers are leaving to find employment elsewhere. I have joined Unite the Union as I don't trust anyone in management or HR. I just hope I can hang on to Retirement! Friday, April 9, 2010 Honeywell has changed it's offer to the salaried employees at Dynamic to match those of the union employees. Happier faces today! Thursday, April 8, 2010 Yes you are right about the Honeywell access line. I was a manager at an Aerospace site and was told by HR who the "suspected" caller was on both occasions where it happened to one of my front line supervisors. HR cannot be trusted to do anything but lie to your face. Be careful. Thursday, April 8, 2010 The union employees at Dynamic are to get two weeks severance for each year worked without cap. Pensions are recognized, six months of benefits after termination. Truly precedent setting. Staff employees are to get one week severance if employment exceeds five years capped at 26 years. Pensions recognized, six months of benefits to follow. Many sad faces around here... Wednesday, April 7, 2010 I suppose the below blog from the Honeywell Middle East employee is a HBS employee. The characteristics of the Human Remains Manager (I liked the terminology) sound like HBS HR Dept. Wednesday, April 7, 2010 Under no circumstances ever call the Honeywell phone line on Ethics Violations or Harassment. My experience has been horrendous trying to get a manager to treat me like a human being. Has anyone ever seen a TV commercial where a lawyer warns people not to talk to an insurance adjuster explaining that they are looking out for the company’s best interest and not yours? That is exactly what you get if you make a complaint - a “claims adjuster” distorting anything said and never following up to verify if you were harassed. Making a claim will only get you a bad PR because you are not a “team player”, “does not support management”, and not good at “communication”. Do not try to change this organization from within because it is corrupt. Spend your energy finding a job with a company that values it’s employees. Wednesday, April 7, 2010 In regard to Cote's 57% pay cut: Sure his 2008 total comp was listed at 30MM and his 2009 comp at 13MM, BUT if you look closely, he received a 14MM bonus in 2008 that will actually be paid in equal installments in 2009 and 2010. That means the true value for 2008 was 16MM for 2008 and 20MM for 2009 (with 7MM held back for 2010). That looks like a 25% increase from where I'm sitting. Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Can some one check the Honeywell Affiliate in Middle East. Every day, it is going horrible. Please, every one is crying. Monday, April 5, 2010 Check the stock blogs. People are selling their Honeywell stock in droves because of Cote's emphasis on China over the US. Maybe the tide is turning. Monday, April 5, 2010 - To the March 29th poster: How do you know you are "on the layoff list"? And furthermore, how can I get on that list? It would be such a relief to be free of this place, it would be worth the stress of having to find a new job. Wednesday, March 31, 2010 Diamond Dave is really on a roll, and is a financial wizard. By closing down U.S. and European factories and moving them to China, India and Malaysia, cutting highly-paid U.S. employees and instead hired cheap Asian workers, and even set-up an R&D in India, Honeywell stock price hit a 52-week high as of March 31. Dave Cote doesn't care if the products are sloppy. He got all his numbers right at the bottom line. Wednesday, March 31, 2010 This is the first time I've seen this blog and I find it very interesting - considering how similar everyone's experiences are to my own. I was with S&C and was laid-off about a year ago; one of the happiest days of my life. The HR person didn't know what to do, based on the way I was responding and how visibly relieved I appeared. Like some, I was also a member of management, but that really was not much more than a paper title. Our hands were tied to the extent that nothing positive could ever be done because of the behaviors instilled by a completely incompetent "leadership" team out of Golden Valley. I use the word leadership very lightly in relation to this group. One thing I find a little surprising is - I always thought S&C was simply the worst group possible, and somewhat an exception. I still think it is the worst, probably because of my experience. But to hear the same concerns from so many other groups helps me understand how deeply seeded the problems are. It's not even complaining' it's simple descriptions of bad behaviors and actions that crippled S&C and it appears will cripple Honeywell in total. To all of those that remain, best of luck, as I know personally the hell you live in every day. For those like me, celebrate the separation and learn to recognize the signs wherever you land (or are) to minimize exposure to this type of thing again. That is without question the only real thing I ever learned during 8-years at HON. Wednesday, March 31, 2010 I am glad that I will be leaving Honeywell next week for better prospects elsewhere. In the Middle East Honeywell is delaying payments even to employee expenses. HR Department: We are blessed with a Human Remains Manager who does not even reply his calls/mails, leave alone address employee concerns.HR had conducted a survey and conveyed that the results will be broadcast. Never heard anything after the survey closed since maximum concerns were with HR. Monday, March 29, 2010 Another casualty report. Honeywell's oldest factory outside of the United States is slated to shut it's doors. Honeywell Canada has been told it's Dynamic factory will have the doors shut by the end of 2011 at the latest. The workforce was pared down from approx. 900 people 10 years ago to less than 200 now. All engineering and design support was removed from the facility last year and shopped to Minneapolis. The "Men in Black" have stated they have no compassion for the 30 and 40 year employee's and that they were lucky to have their jobs for that long. Severance is an unknown entity at this point in time. Monday, March 29, 2010 Does anyone know when we can expect another layoff in Areospace? I am hoping it will be soon....and I am lucky enough to be on the layoff list. I do not want to work for this company anymore and am trying to find another job. Such a sad place to work. Sunday, March 28, 2010 Quit grinding your axes and take control of your career. If Honeywell is so awful, quit playing the victim and get on with your life. This is enertaining reading.....I must admit. Saturday, March 27, 2010 Honeywell Aerospace is in a death spiral, and apparently leadership has no desire to stop it. They have given a large percentage of our business to the competition, have very little new avionics product introduction, and have trashed the service side of the business. Funding for quality improvement is now limited to flight safety issues only for the most part. It really looks to me like they are getting ready to spin off the avionics part of the business, but I am afraid that by the time Diamond Dave is done moving everything overseas - which is ruining our quality, reputation, and ability to develop new product- there will be nothing left to sell. Over the last 20 years, I have watched companies such as Garmin, Thales, Collins, L3, Universal, and many others take more and more of our customers away from us. Honeywell's limited efforts to compete are often too late, and too weak, because the company is being ran by finance rather than those who know the business and how to stay on top. Friday, March 26, 2010 - Re: Stock price at a 52 week high. What Dave Cote is doing is trading the long term health and vitality of the company for short term gains on Wall Street. It will not be sustainable. He is exchanging the talent, resources, and knowledge built up over decades for cheap Chinese labor. The momentum of the company will allow this temporarily, but eventually it will grind to a halt. The know-how will be gone, and no one will be left to help keep China afloat. Quality will suffer (it already is), customers will go elsewhere (they already are), remaining employees will leave (as they have begun to do already), suppliers will adapt to Honeywell T&C's by requiring COD (they have started.) Dave's house of cards is teetering, and eventually the financial whiz-kids will run out of spin. Best to not be holding shares of Hon when that happens. I listened to Dave's lies 8 or 9 years ago w/respect to stock price and paid the price. Now I'm ditching Hon as quickly as possible before it crashes. Thursday, March 25, 2010 Honeywell's stock price is at 52-weeks high. Diamond Dave must be doing something right by transferring factories and job off-shore. Or is this just an illusion? Another Enron in the making? Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - Response to a previous blog: Honeywell is run by the people in Finance. They dictate everything. There is not one person in upper management that has an engineering background. The site leaders and senior management who have engineering degrees have forgotten the Code of Ethics (see Order of the Engineer, IEEE's Code of Conduct, or Engineer's Code of Ethics/Conduct from any engineering society). In fact, when you are finally approved for a capital purchase, you will be charged 5% interest by corporate for the purchase. Then corporate can say they made a 5% profit or use it to play their "financial engineering" games. Talk about robbing one's self. The reports of HON profit to Wall Street are based on one HON division selling to another and making a "profit". All these paper profits and financial reporting games will catch up with them. Monday, March 22, 2010 Is Honeywell run by accountants/analysts or by engineers these days? Don't get me wrong as I'm not debasing them. I'm a Honeyweller and everyday I have to attend to customers' complaints on products, software that doesn't work. I have to explain to the customers that they have to pay extra or buy new ones to replace factory-defect equipment/devices. Defective products have been coming out everyday. Bad software that can shutdown a whole factory has no solution. Isn't this crazy? No wonder customers have been labelling Honeywell with a big "M" as in "Moneywell". Monday, March 22, 2010 When you think you have heard everything, something just pops up and smacks you in the head where you say you got to be kidding me. No, really! Here is the story: Mary has worked for Honeywell for 30 plus years and something happens where she is terminated. Here’s the catch: she was given a severance package, was told that they would not fight unemployment and that she had to sign a document disclosing why she was fired from Honeywell to her next employer. Really! Oh yea, the reason is so ridiculous and fabricated I can't even explain it. WOW! I am sure we will be reading about this in the months to come? Sunday, March 21, 2010 I have been a Weller for over 20 years. I used to be proud of what we produced. Sorry to say that ever since the merger, its been like watching a train-wreck in slow motion. Extraordinary rendition for Diamond Dave would be poetic justice for the substandard crap we are supplying our Troops. Sunday, March 21, 2010 I agree about the nepotism at Aerospace. For one example, in approx 2003, we decided to do quite a bit of dipping into one Director's background because the business decisions were really out of whack and excessively supporting the VP. After some investigative work, it turned out that the VP and Director were quite the set of buddies - including doing each other renovations on weekends. Just one small example. Both are now gone. Sunday, March 21, 2010 Hey, lets see the Aerospace leadership team lead by example. Let THEM make non essential cuts in their staff or forego any of their bonuses and perks. Do you think that would ever happen? Everyone knows there is no performance management out there - either you are entitled to the benefits of the "Phoenix jobs bank" or you are not- and entitlement is gained with seniority or simply having worked out there and failed in some sourcing or operations job and moved to a staff position. What a waste of money! I would not even pay someone a dollar a day to call other people and ask for "updates" all day long and host conference calls. But you can do that at Aerospace HQ and earn six figures if you made the right friends along the way. Intermarriage really does thin the gene pool; our Aerospace leadership team is living proof, and the continued decline of the quality of the decisions they make shows that they do nothing but seek each other's approval and reaffirm each other's words. To hell with the people in the field working for the customers. What a sad joke that is. Sunday, March 21, 2010 Most of the comments here were 0% pay, furloughs, etc. Honeywellers, eat your hearts out. You are on top of the food chain if you work for the Head Office just like two guys from Global Security, who are travelling in style around Asia in the name of "investigation". They travel from one country to another and staying just only for one day in each country. How on earth can you do an investigation by staying for a few hours in each Honeywell office? The main reason: One of them mentioned that he is collecting air mileage so that his family can travel for free! Sorry, Honeywellers, we are at the bottom of the food chain! Friday, March 19, 2010 - HW Aerospace, Canada: Same story here. Our pay raise was left "to be determined" but officialy 0%. I feal sorry for the local management team. They have no power anymore, and thus no ability to retain staff. Too bad because some of the best talent that has been developed over many many years are leaving in droves. Furthermore, they are not allowed to hire external talent (hiring freeze North America wide) and must depend on their globalized staff to fill in the blanks. Yet the engineers KNOW that the quality of work coming out of the offshore locations is below minimum acceptable standard (usually they just ship us a bag of parts that does not work). It will take YEARS to develope the skill set to equal the least of the staff that recently quit (to find higher paying jobs). What will the management staff do in the mean time? I do not know. Tough times for us here at Honeywell I think. Staff are so over worked due to very very lean operations. Something has to be done soon, or the breaking point will be upon us. Or maybe it is already here... Friday, March 19, 2010 - Addendum to what I wrote in March 18: Tianjin ACS factory did not experience any furloughs or lay-offs in 2009 while other Honeywell sites are suffering. In fact, Tianjin factory is quiet 5 days per month and two weeks per month for Q2 and Q3 2009. But still employees report to the factory while picking their nose in their workplace. Management told us that China is an emerging market and China will save the day for Honeywell. (Say what??) Management told us that once the company offended the Chinese authorities by instituting lay-offs, Honeywell may be booted out of the country. While the rest of Honeywell is suffering especially North America and Europe, happy days are still here in China. Friday, March 19, 2010 Hey, people. Diamond Dave don't give a hoot about your comments. Just look at the recent stock price jumps. It's increased his and his cronies value substantually. Unless you have the capacity to influence the stock price, you have no value to Diamond Dave eat - you're just anoying - not even. Watch the insider trading and see who sells off Honeywell stock. Let's face it. North America is DEAD for job growth from Honeywell. Everyone should take lessons in Mandarin and Hindi. Force your kids, at threat of death, to learn these languages if you have any brains and sense of survival. Forget engineering or other manufacturing based skills. They are useless. If you have full command of these two languages and English - your kids will rule the world! Let's face it. With the huge USA debt load, there will be no future in the USA for the next generation. Friday, March 19, 2010 The blunt truth is, during his tenure Diamond Dave Cote has brought nothing original - absolutely nothing - to Honeywell culture. Everything he does is copied and ripped off from other corporations. He has no creativeness, no originality, no imagination, no people skills, no technical knowledge. Due only to his position he has instilled an atmosphere of fear which has enabled him to initiate and perpetuate his rape of Honeywell's vitality, up to and including its most valuable assets, its employees. This fear extends all the way from Dave's immediate worshippers to sniveling, weak-minded self-important first-line managers who enjoy strutting like peacocks while mouthing the company line, but who, when faced with common-sense questions from workers, wet their pants and turn mean. Diamond Dave has repeatedly stolen from the employees and bled the enthusiasm, the energy, the vitality, the experience, the skills, the knowledge, the loyalty, the can-do spirit; in sum, the "quality", from a once-proud company. All this for paying a few pieces of silver to Wall Street and pocketing his bonus check. In exchange he has left disorganization, confusion, frustration, distrust, scorn, fear, low morale, dissatisfied customers, damaged careers, damaged communities, a damaged country, and a damaged corporate reputation. Again, all to pay a few pieces of silver to Wall Street and line his pockets. Well, Dave, aren't you quite the guy? It took a really exceptional "leader" to pull this off. Now please leave Honeywell TF alone. Please. Whether Honeywell can ever return to being the company it once was remains to be seen. Considering that the talent that has been laid off or quit, rebuilding the skill-sets, knowledge, and talent will take many years. Rebuilding the enthusiasm and trust will take much longer. Friday, March 19, 2010
Layoffs are bad for businessExtract from latest JimPinto.com eNews, referencing this Honeywell weblog.At Honeywell, pay-freezes are the rule, and employees are slaves to spread-sheets while jobs are steadily outsourced to India and China. Meanwhile, CEO Dave Cote was on the list of top-paid CEOs in 2008. In 2009, Cote's incentive plan was suspended, and bonuses for top executives were canceled. But still, poor "Diamond Dave" (as Honeywellers call him) pulled in only $13.2M, compared with $30.8M in 2008.
Thursday, March 18, 2010 There are no lay-offs at Tianjin-China ACS factory. No furloughs since 2009, even though those guys are not doing anything and the factory is quiet. Thursday, March 18, 2010 I work at a site that services 2 major airlines. We have furloughs and shut downs to support internal goals that just have nothing to do with making a profit or serving customers. Then we all earn OT the next week. This is crazy and makes no sense. The least informed employee among us can sit down and see the foolishness of spending $3 to save $1. But I guess since we have CSR's now that do not speak English, the customers have nobody to complain to. The pay cuts for our managers were a joke. Cut their pay 10% and watch their work performance decrease 50%, and who can blame them? I guess it will never matter to someone who does not work at a plant; but for us to see it, it is very sad. The emails and slide presentations and townhalls are all a bunch of BS. Nobody believes anyone in Phoenix is anything but a liar working to keep his or her own staff job safe. Nobody makes a decision, nobody tells us the truth, nobody makes any sense anymore. It is a shame. All we needed was a strong leader, one who could communicate a vision to us and motivate us to work hard for a purpose (and no the value of our executive team's stock options does not count). All we have are liars and thieves who communicate with spreadsheets. They wont even let us make survey comments about the decision makers, I guess it is better to talk to other Phoenix people at HQ than the guys out here with the dirty fingernails doing the work. You people in Phoenix at Aerospace HQ should be ashamed of yourselves. Cowards, all of you! Thursday, March 18, 2010 I work in the UK and we all feel your pain. We've heard (even though we shouldn't have) that we are to have a pay freeze for the next three years. We were a small, dynamic company in the lighting control industry. We were in the right market at the right time and business was (still is) booming. We were acquired by Honeywell about 2 years ago and now, morale is at an all time low. We can no longer react quickly to new customer requirements, we now have what is laughingly called Velocity Product Development. It is a collection of spreadsheets, PowerPoints, systems, processes and meetings specifically designed to hamper any attempts to launch a new product quickly. Still, unless we all move to India, we probably won't have to worry about it for much longer. Our parting gift will be a new acronym for their collection, ESAD. Eat Sh1t And Die. Thursday, March 18, 2010 I'm gone from Honeywell. Recently I went to a Town Hall meeting at my new organization. Wow! What a world of difference when compared to Honeywell's in the presentation, tone, attitude, forecasts, investment philosophy and approach. I couldn't believe it! Funny how it goes. What goes around, comes around. Honeywell closed my career along with many many others. But I ended up in a position where I definitely influence whether Honeywell gets our contract. Guess who will never never get the contract? This is the ultimate in justice and stiffing the Leadership Team (whether they are still there or not) that un-necessarily putting all those good people out of work - we're not talking unprofitability, but just squeezing out a few more gross margin points by outsourcing to Asia. I know because I have all the financial statements. Another item. When I joined my new org, others came to me and told me of their impressions, as they hear it on the street, about what is happening at Honeywell. Let me tell you that at the street level, the impressions were so bad, that even I, an axed and piss-off Honeywell employee, ended up giving some defense - but not much. But they had their facts right on - especially with their wives, brothers, sisters and cousins, fathers, mothers, etc... working at Honeywell. Honeywell is a destroyer of communities in North America - and communities will remember for a long long time. This is irrespective of the public hype. Those of you that are still at Honeywell can dismiss this as a single disgruntled voice. No doubt, one voice will not make a difference in your life or in Honeywell's profit. You will still get up at 5:00 AM, kiss your wife goodbye, get in your car with ultimate enthusiasm and cry at the top of your voive: "What can I do for Honeywell today?" Good for you. But be aware that Honeywell has stabbed so many people in the back - that they are all working against you. So remember your 10% pay cuts, hating to drive into work and Diamond Dave pep talks - you're lucky to have a job! I wish you luck and I commend your loyalty. Thursday, March 18, 2010 Why does it seem that the majority are surprised by "any" of these actions by Corporate management? This is Allied Signal, and this is what they do: Take a strong company, and bleed it until it's so inefficient that it's good-name is ruined across all markets. But, the stockholders and executives continue to reap the bounty of modern-day corporate piracy. So, if you're vested like many of us, you deal with the BS and watch it all go down! Thursday, March 18, 2010 I left Honeywell Aerospace in May 2009 after three bittersweet years and went to another major defense company. I can say that the grass is greener outside HON, contrary to upper management's thinking. I do miss my amazing and talented ex-colleagues, but I have not had to attend any meeting at the new company. No management muddling at my new employer, I can get parts, no one in corporate in Phoenix makes decisions on capital purchases (decision is made locally), health benefits are better (same plan and provider as at HON), need I go on? The straw that broke my back at HON was my manager telling me that my 1.4% promotion raise was justified as gas prices had come down to $2 a gallon. WTF? I was treated as another plug-and-play engineer, another EID, another metric, another statistic in the HON mantra of Sick-Stigma. I am one of the rare younger engineers in my niche field. But I was just another EID. Not anymore! Wednesday, March 17, 2010 I heard that the engineers in the Czech Republic got "nice raises". But of course, there's nothing available for North America. Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Torrance Aerospace site - no raises, but boy are we lucky to be here. Honeywell is a (third) world class employer, we are all grateful and will accept the next furlough order that comes from King Dave, knowing that he courageously shares in our sacrifice, just like our former illustrious leader Rob Gillette did. It just brings tears to my eyes. Or is that the nausea coming up from my stomach? Wednesday, March 17, 2010 No payraises at Specialty Materials. Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Phoenix facilities - no raises. Possible furlough(s) to be announced tomorrow (3/17/10). Tuesday, March 16, 2010 No pay raises at Allentown (Aerospace). No surprises, either. Tuesday, March 16, 2010 No pay raises in Aero, but we did add a few new directors, VP's, and Ops Excellence power point jockeys at Phoenix HQ. I hear there may be a furlough if they need new carpet or office furniture in the executive suite, also. Tuesday, March 16, 2010 No Pay increase at AERO Toronto, ON. Possible two more furloughs. Tuesday, March 16, 2010 No Pay increase at AERO Albuquerque, NM. Monday, March 15, 2010 ACS is waiting until the end of the second quarter. Monday, March 15, 2010 UOP will not give a raise. It will be "looked at" again in June. Monday, March 15, 2010 No pay increase at Aero Plymouth, MN. Furlough first week of 2010, possible furlough in July. Monday, March 15, 2010 - Attn: All Honeywell's followers: We are curious to know how many employees, or divisions, got a raise this year. We at Sensing and Controls got 0.00 $, plus the 10% cut last year. Has anyone heard if the cut may apply this year again? Remember, you must act like you like your job... Sunday, March 14, 2010 Let's see, a salary of over $13 million for a man who only knows 3 words: "Offshore", "India", and "China." He's still overpaid. Friday, March 12, 2010 I wonder when they decided to drop their bonus? If they decided late in the year then that would explain why they never publicised it. Friday, March 12, 2010 Apparently Dave Cote did the right thing last year, as mind-boggling as that is. I can't understand why they wouldn't have publicized this more.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 When Diamond Dave Cote goes to India he receives the red carpet treatment. Literally. He and his limosine entourage get a traffic-stopping police escort from the airport through town, just like a visiting head-of-state. Once they reach the "campus" he is greeted by specially installed red carpet. India figures nothing they do will be too excessive for DD. And why not? Over the years he has stubbornly held to his belief that India (or China) will be The Solution that will make him a genuine Honeywell Hero, despite mountains of evidence that indicate otherwise. So despite lackluster mediocre performance, he continues to reward India by handing over thousands of US jobs. Face it, in his version of Honeywell the only job that matters is his, and he has surrounded himself with sycophants who refuse to tell him otherwise. Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - A new UOP poster here. While in the process of shipping as many engineering positions as possible from Illinois to New Delhi, we were given an unexpected accounting reprieve from the outsourcing executioner. At the start of 2009, the internal cost of a Delhi engineer was changed from a ridiculous 30$/hour in 2008 to a more realistic 70$/hour for 2009. The folks here were very optimistic that we could compete at this "price", since we were only about 40$ more an hour. This says a lot about the efficiency of our well trained (millions of dollars spent) eastern counterparts. If it would have stayed that way, we could have shut them down. When the final accounting was done for 2009, it seems the current cost structure didn't exactly make the New Delhi office seem like such a good idea. Diamond Dave said it was a good idea, so it has to be, right? God forbid someone grow a pair and tell him otherwise. So the internal cost of the Delhi engineers, who for the most part can't tell their backside orifice from a spiral wound gasket, has been cut in half for 2010. And the poor schmuck that priced them at their real cost for 2009 is probably unemployed right now. You want to know what the sad part is? At over 100$ an hour internally billed, we could still compete with these guys priced at 35$ an hour. We really can. But we will not be allowed to in the interest of DD mandated globalization - we will be redcued in number until we are ineffective as a whole. Our efficiency has increased dramatically because of reduced headcount with the same or more work to be done. We stupidly sacrifice to get it done because that is the way UOP taught us to work. It is part of our culture that Diamond Dave seems hell bent on destroying. Tuesday, March 9, 2010
and they are lucky to have me! I am a smart, driven, unique, and useful software engineer, and they are lucky to have me!
Monday, March 8, 2010 Sad but true. In my position, I attend/participate in a quite a number of Aero leadership meetings. I've heard it over and over... we must do what we can to move the jobs overseas - that is the first desirable option. But then the next topic is usually around "we have a lot of thin spots in our skill sets. How can we recover these people?" Without strong ethical leadership at the top, this rudderless ship is doomed to circle the toilet bowl... Sunday, March 7, 2010 Source: Seth Godin's Blog:
Sunday, March 7, 2010 I am sure that someone in Honyewell senior management (or one of their minions) reads this blog and probably thinks it is simply some kind of peanut gallery throwing garbage at our illustrious, award-winning leader. In my opinion, some of the most articulate and HONEST people around are contributing and I say: "thank you". Folks, Mr. Cote is the anti-Midas. As far as we're concerned at UOP, he has taken a nearly 100 year old company, installed his apparatus and pretty much turned it into an ATM machine, which is rapidly running out. This is just a continuation of what has been happening under Allied Signal since the 1980's but now the machine is starting to be unreliable and it's time to get out the blowtorch. I have never seen such a "political entrepeneur" in action before, it is truly a sight to behold. I have met the kinds of investment "analysts" who run around attending roundtables, roadshows, conference calls and the rest of the crap that Wall Street likes to parrot back to investors in Morningstar, Forbes and so forth. Forbes used to be a somewhat believable magazine but is pretty much a tool for the "we love us" crowd. They must be either stupid or short sellers. Whoever runs any company in such an unethical way has no business advising the President of the US. That being said, the president himself likely is doing this for show anyway. I hope Mr. Cote enjoys a good discussion with his other advisory board member, Andy Stern (Service Employees International Union President) Mr. Stern can work out a deal to get those American scientists and engineers good janitorial jobs. Friday, March 5, 2010 It's not just Aerospace, either. Every aspect of Honeywell that Diamond Dave touches has been turned to crap, although he is revered in India and China. Guessing that love affair will end as soon as they begin to realize how merciless he is. Thursday, March 4, 2010 I always think that Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) is the worst, and Aerospace is always 90% better than us. Makes me feel a little bit better now, because I got laid off last year. Thursday, March 4, 2010 Like many others on this blog, I too just recently left Honeywell Aerospace for other opportunities. In the last all-hands meeting from the President of Aerospace, Tim said that upper leadership will not be taking bonuses this year. Why do I get the feeling that upper management's ideas of no-bonus will not match the no-bonuses at lower levels? Time will tell and soon. Last year the rank and file took a 10% pay cut for half the year, and when they gave that back, they furlowed the entire Aerospace company for the first full week of 2010. Cuts at Corporate, nope! The primary goal is to offshore as much as possible at all costs. The idea that Dave Cote would be on any advisory board for the US Government is very SCARY, unless he is going to offshore the Senate and Congress? It would be a good idea for someone to question the number of jobs he has created in the US in the last 5 years, verses the number that he has sent to other countries. After that question is answered honestly, the entire truth would be on the table. Of course at that level of management and politics, the truth is different than the working class version of truth. Thursday, March 4, 2010 I don't do a lot of blogging, but reading through this collection of comments, this may be the most negative employee forum that exists on the Internet. The thing is, I think almost everything I have read is true and I agree 100%. I left Honeywell last year and actually began working somewhere that I could contribute and have a career (with things like pay raises and promotions, which by the way are still regarded as important employee incentives at good companies). I think everyone should get out there and look. The good employees don't have to put up with the kind of garbage doled out in Aerospace and served up as leadership and strategy. Thursday, March 4, 2010 I think that it is totally fair that we are able to slam Gillette, Speranzo and Vidano on this website. These guys have had a negative impact on tens of thousands of people (including families). In the pre-Internet days, these guys would operate in secrecy and no one would really know what went on. Today and here, their actions and behaviors can be evaluated and judged by all. It's a 360° review that we were forced to do at the site level, but were directed not to evaluate senior leadership. Funny how rules are only for certain people! Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - To the post complaining on Mar. 1 about Aero HR: It's not HR. They are simply doing what they are told. HR doesn't dictate policy. I wouldn't blame the Aero HR VP, but the Aero SBG President. I'm so glad I am out of a place where employees are considered the biggest liability that must be disposed of at all costs! The rest of you should leave the first chance you get. It will be the best move of your life. Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - To the Tuesday, March 2, 2010 posting on Unions: I agree with you in that Unions are a force that HR really listens to. I can tell you that the unofficial policy at our site is not to do anything to upset the Union. Give them everything they want. The problem is that Honeywell, at the executive level (Phoenix Aerospace), has a serious anti-union stance and is not willing to work with them or any other organized group. Because I am Management, I have seen Aerospace Corporate powerpoint presentations that sites having unions are to be "contained" or "eliminated". I can probably give you the server where to find this presentation. Eliminated means "transitioned" or closed. Aerospace has seen some of this activity through Gillette, Speranzo and Vidano (the real CHAMPION of Site Closures). I've been on a number of Collective Agreements. Let me tell you that the number and depth of derogatory comments that I heard at the Corporate level at midnight to 3:00 AM negotiations from "intelligent" people would make your ears curl. I have never heard such derogatory language from "intellegent" people. So I came to th econclusion that you don't have to be "intelligent" to be Honeywell Leadership. All you have to be is a bully - with an education less that high school. All you have to do is threaten everyone on a daily basis with their jobs - and you will be successful. Cote's bible! Or, is it Honeywell's culture? Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Cote is doing to Honeywell what he did to TRW and they were glad to see him go away. He was on that 10% reduction with them and almost crippled several internal departments with the reduction demanded each year. God help us if Obama picks him for a political appointment. Tuesday, March 2, 2010 I totally agree with the comment below on unions coming in. I have been to training classes that are supposed to help me identify union activity. I am supposed to tell why unions are not wanted. You know what? I am to a point where I would encourage people to get a union. HR doesn't want one so they can keep screwing us with no pushback. Evil will triumph when good men do nothing. I don't see another alternative to pushing back on HR, unless we have the numbers of a union. If we push back by ourselves, we are labeled as troublemakers. Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - "Stealing from the employees." That is the clearest and most concise description of today's Honeywell that I've seen. Thank you. And just when you think you've seen it all, when you think they've taken all there is, they find something else to pilfer. Again, and again, and again. Monday, March 1, 2010 I really can't understand the Phoenix area Aero HR policies. For HR being sooo afraid to have unions come in, they seem to be doing everything in their power to encourage one to come in. As a manager, I would expect HR to give me the tools I need to manage my group. Instead, HR says 10% of my group are poor performers that I must begin documenting in order to begin the termination process (yes, we have forced distributions that HR wont admit to). This year, Steve Kelley HR VP says 5 of the 9 blocks in the 9 block are "outer L" and they must be put on a PIP (personal improvement plan). The PIP states you must improve or be terminated. So even if its your first year in the outer L, you are now on a PIP. You get a PIP 2 years in a row, and you are gone. I really believe HR is tasked with reducing headcount without having an official layoff. No one could be so insane as to come up with these ridiculous policies unless they were intent on reducing headcount. And giving generous raises to the non-U.S. sites this year, while we get nothing is the ultimate insult. We are training those people. The sad thing is, I enjoy my job and the people I work with. I respect the Engineering management. HR is just ruining this company and making me look elsewhere. What value does HR add to the products we sell? NOTHING! Monday, March 1, 2010 - To add to the comments: I've since left Honeywell after a very long career there. As a consequence, I knew no other life. Life was very good prior to about 2001, but then it really went down the tubes very fast - but I didn't know it. When I was going home it was like replaying a nightmare. I only realized later what Diamond Dave, Gillette, Speranzo and Vidano did to the organization - for their own self benefit. Where I am now, there is no crap. Yes, there are issues as in any organization; but this place loves my contribution. At Honeywell, I was not loved - even at the senior level. Most of the problems came from the really tight centralized and autocratic control exzerted by Phoenix. There is even a case where a hamburger flipper became a Director. Can't say more - but the "hamburger flipper" words were by the fellows own admission on a multisite telecom. Honeywell WAS a good placeto work at - until Diaond Dave arrived at the scene. We know, that as a Republician, Diamond Dave really does not like the the heath benefits paid. So you have seen an annual paring back. Monday, March 1, 2010 As a manager at Honeywell, I can tell you the layoffs have multiple effects:
I am not based in Phoenix, so as far as management goes at Honeywell I am a nobody and my opinion is not important, but outside the castle walls things sure look different. What are you guys doing out there? Sunday, February 28, 2010 After seeing how Honeywell treats its employees, I feel an obligation to advise graduates and anyone else looking for work to skip Honeywell and look for a place where employees are valued and careers are possible. Honeywell has become a stagnant cesspool of despair where noxious gasses bubble to the surface in the form of periodic new directives from Diamond Dave or one of his lemmings. Some of us are stuck here, but we at least can do others a favor and help them avoid getting trapped in the slime. Sunday, February 28, 2010 Word on the street has it that the major airplane manufaturers no longer wish to have Honeyell on their platforms. What does that say for the future of the Honeywell Aerospace division? One by one our customers are leaving. If corporate relies on mergers and acquisitions for growth, they will surely fail. If any of these new aquisitions have Boeing or Airbus as a customer then they (Boeing/Airbus) will undoubtably leave. Diamond Dave's strategy is not only affecting employees, but customers as well. With an unmotivated workforce and a less than satisfied and dwindling customer base, it's no wonder that the stock is not performing to its potential. Has Wall Street caught on to Honeywell's propaganda machine? We can only hope so. Only Dave Cote's exit will give Honeywell any chance of turning things around for employees, customers and eventually the shareholders. After all, without a dedicated, highly motivated workforce and a satisfied and stable customer base, why would anyone want to invest in Honeywell? Sunday, February 28, 2010 I heard that Honeywell Aerospace will be doing lay-offs soon, combined with more furloughs. I am thinking the lay-offs will affect individuals who have 6 or greater on their performance. Any truth? Saturday, February 27, 2010 No raises this year! 25% MIP payout! I think everyone should be updating their resume and looking unless they want to continue to make involuntary contributions to the Dave Cote foundation and the Aero HQ Phoenix jobs bank for washed up managers. Though I guess the continued on the job training on power point BS and conference call buzzword bingo may count as "vocational training for the learning impaired". Maybe a tax deduction for that? Outside of ideological extremists or the US Government (who are both looking more and more alike these days, by the way), I cannot think of any causes less worthy to send money that I rightfully earned. I know life is not fair and to accept this, but I cannot believe that Honeywell leadership is not even interested in the APPEARANCE of fair treatment to the employees who worked so hard to keep our company profitable, wait are we still making a profit. Oh yes, I forgot, we are making BILLIONS of dollars and nobody gets a raise but senior executives. Friday, February 26, 2010 According to Bloomberg News, in 2008, the second-largest contributor to PAC's and political candidates was Honeywell International Inc. Honeywell gave $3.1 million for 2008, up from $1.6 million for 2006. Or this, from The China Post - Honeywell International Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Cote, whose corporate political action committee gave US$3.1 million to federal candidates and parties for 2008 campaigns, was invited to meet with President Barack Obama about proposals for an US$816 billion stimulus package. The whole purpose of CEOs and the corporate PACs making donations is to get on that guest list for whoever is running government. The whole purpose is to befriend whoever in the end is going to win so they can have access. It goes beyond this. If you check the federal candidates for office who received contributions from Honeywell, you'll find many of them from districts and states where Honeywell layoffs have hit the hardest. You can't even complain to your congressman or senator with any hope of consideration because they're already in Honeywell's pocket. Getting on this commission is no coincidence. It's about payback. It's about power. We've already seen how Diamond Dave manipulated the company for the benefit of upper management and to the detriment of the US workforce. What's next? Thursday, February 25, 2010 - On the topic of Cote on the deficit commission. Cote is the only Republician in this group. Remember that Republicians lost the ellection! They are in the DOG HOUSE. Congress is so divided that this Cote panel will have no teeth. So I would not worry that Cote will actually make a policy impact. But what I am concerned about that Cote will use this potential appointment to raise his personal profile with the wimpy Honeywell Board of Directors - a form of nepotism to enhance his personal benefit. What I would closely watch are the political contributions that are made subsequent to Cote's tenure. Pay more attention, not to what Cote contributes, but what his VPs and Directors are told to contribute. In the past I Googled on what Speranzo and Vidano contributed - among others. They were amanzingly similar and followed the pack. These are of public record. I'm wondering if there was any collusion or unspoken dirrective? Thursday, February 25, 2010 Cote for the new federal deficit commission? First thing he'll do is offshore all the little people's jobs, then give all the upper managers a bonus. Then he'll give Honeywell a bunch of no-bid contracts, (of course he'll still have shares in the company). So much for "Change we can believe in". Thursday, February 25, 2010 Well, Well! No raise, and I hope that Diamond Cote has large pockets to cart our money away. $ billion dollar company, and we cannot have a 1% raise. What’s up with that...? How can one Aero space site be completely controlled by the personnel in the H.R group (one individual). Doesn’t Cote know that, if it weren’t for the little people, his pockets would not be running over? Why doesn’t Cote invest his bonus money into his employees (the little people)? Thursday, February 25, 2010 Dave Cote will suggest that we outsource the entire Federal Government to China and Mexico. Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Good! Maybe if Cote goes after our top heavy government, he'll learn a thing or two.......and leave us alone for awhile. Tuesday, February 23, 2010 According to Business Week: U.S. President Barack Obama is considering Honeywell International Inc. chief executive officer David Cote for the new federal deficit commission. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-22/obama-said-to-be-considering-honeywell-chief-for-deficit-panel.html Why would Cote be considered on the list? We need to stop this from happening. Sunday, February 21, 2010 Call it the GE/Allied Signal culture, but the personification of that culture is Cote and the board. It is them upon whom the responsibility for the demise of legacy Honeywell rests. When the day comes (and it will) that talent and abilities become the differentiators between successful companies and those who merely wish they were, Honeywell will finally realize that they squandered the most important resource they ever had -- their employees. At that time one can only hope that there will be an accounting, and that these fools will be forced to leave after receiving the full measure of scorn they so richly deserve. Thursday, February 18, 2010 What built the legacy (red) Honeywell, and what has been destroyed by the Allied Signal/GE culture, is not a specific person or policy, but something simpler, and much deeper. It is the fact that management across the business no longer realizes that character is more important than personality, that education isn't the same thing as wisdom, and that business ambition that is untempered by common sense and experience is dangerous and unsustainable. Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Yes I also wondered how Vidano and Speranzo in Aerospace Aftermarket lived with themselves, carrying out Cote and Gillette's orders to hurt other people and do the wrong things for a company that was so many thousands of peoples' livelihood. It makes you wonder why people compromise and do what they do for money, and where their souls are. But then, Honeywell never paid me the kinds of bucks those guys earn, so I guess I will never know. Insignificant people like me actually have to look people in the eye when I tell them something and stand behind it with my actions. That used to be called leadership, before Honeywell became what it is today. I wonder if they live in such self deceit that they actually have no regrets. "Just business", they probably tell themselves. They will all be judged, and their arrogance or connections or money wont do anything to save them. I hope they find their way, even if it means finding a new beginning outside of Honeywell, before it is too late for them. Tuesday, February 16, 2010 This is so typical of the new Honeywell culture. Sleep with a potential customer, kiss his @$$ and promise him the moon. Then deliver an inferior product and lie, lie, lie to cover things up. The amount being spent to fix problems that were caused by either a bad design or something that we knew we couldn't deliver, staggers me. But like the best of politicians, management puts a great spin on things and makes it sound like we had to do it for the good of the company. Meanwhile profit margins go down and our formerly "top" customers say, "I've had enough" and give good money to our competition. But as long as Diamond Dave gets the thumbs up from the shareholders, then all must be good at the OK Corral. Monday, February 15, 2010 I have worked for Honeywell/AlliedSignal for 24 years. I have been in the manufacturing business for 33 years. Never, never have I been so demoralized as I am today. Our leadership (Dave Cote, et al) are traitors to the people that made this a premier company, and to the Unites States of America. My only prayer is that I can hold on long enough to make it to retirement in 2 years! I used to think this was a GREAT company - but no more! The middle level leadership is unable to speak the truth for fear of being terminated (many good leaders have already left) The only thing that matters is Cote and his bonus. God have mercy on his soul! Monday, February 15, 2010 Here is what there are going to say at the investor conference... "The economy has been bad during the past year, and we have seen that reflected in our sales figures. However, we have done better during this recession than we did during the last one, so the company is in good hands. We see very little growth for the first half of this year, but it will pick up in the second half of the year. To show you what a good and solid company this is, you will see that our free cash flow is still high. We have positioned ourselves solidly in the (insert buzzword here) market..." They will talk about high free cash flow and being poised for the future. They will not give anything definite and will dangle the carrot of growth at least 2 quarters out from where we are currently. They will talk in nebulous terms about investment and potential growth without giving any real numbers. They cannot give real numbers because the numbers show that investment in R&D has plummeted and their skilled workforce are leaving in droves. It is just going to be a whitewash of unverifiable statements such as "we are invested in our future" and some numbers obtained by some questionable accounting, or by giving incomplete information about how the numbers were obtained. Investors will go away feeling happy; Dave Cote will have pulled the wool over their eyes once again and the stock will stay about where it is now. However, as the recovery starts to pick up the pace and Honeywells numbers do not show as much growth as the rest of the economy, the investors are going to start asking questions. At that point, Dave Cote will say that he has navigated the company through hard times and that he is going to retire and spend more time with his family. The resultant bust that Honeywell goes through due to Dave's complete mismanagement of the whole deal, will be blamed on the new CEO. Sunday, February 14, 2010 I have been with Honeywell quite some time, and am sad to see what has been taking place recently. It is OK for a company to care about profit; that is why they exist. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. I have been reading these blogs with some interest for the past year or two, and am amazed at how negative everything is. There is ample opportunity at Honeywell that is not realized without taking it from the working people, especially while increasing rewards to the senior leadership team. We furlough only to ramp up to the next week. We cut pay on lower level people and leave the executives alone. We do not buy new equipment and instead enter into expensive operating leases or "maintenance agreements" that cost the company 3 times as much. We have hiring freezes but email after email comes out of Phoenix HQ announcing reorganizations, new directors, new VP's, new program managers. What's the difference after all, when they are the same people milking the system year after year? There are some good points about working at Honeywell, though I have yet to find anything good about the type of leadership that comes from our Phoenix HQ. There is a complete lack of diversity there, since they spend their whole lives out there in the desert and have no perspective on what happens outside of Phoenix, which now is most of the work in Aerospace. The plants in Phoenix are not leaders in efficiency, HSE, cost, quality, human relations, or delivery. It is a shame that this happens right under our so called leaders' noses. Anyone that remembers engines knows what I mean. Do as I say, not as I do in my own house. This type of hypocracy must end. Are we here to turn a profit or not? If so, empower the people closest to the action to make decisions like hiring, firing, captial spend, etc. and hold them accountable. Funny how that actually works at other companies. If you want mindless lackeys running the plants in the field, pay them all $40,000 and keep on with your spreadsheets, conference calls, and micromanagement, because the managers that are WORTH more than that have had it and are all probably out looking. I say - start with the bloated Phoenix gravy train and start setting a higher standard for the rest of us. The jobs bank out there has to come to an end, and the tenured managers/directors/ OE specialists/HOS specialists/ etc.. out there doing nothing but making slides and hosting conference-calls need to be held accountable or eliminated. Have you ever heard of a VP cutting his staff to set an example? Or is that just what is expected of a plant manager or program manager? This has to come to a stop sooner or later. I hope you guys wake up out there... Saturday, February 13, 2010
Check out this little jewel of information - Saturday, February 13, 2010 All of these sound bits accurately reflect the angst and demoralized state of the most valuable part of Honeywell - its employees, AKA intellectual capital. Honeywell only cares about profit, which is clearly evidenced by the amount of time devoted to monitoring and managing its finances. There are no real long term business plans for growth and IR&D. Instead it’s the same old thing day after day of what’s our revenue and gross margin numbers and what are you doing about increasing it? And my favorite management attempt at motivation…. “Well if you don’t fix it we’ll find someone who will, and you're out!” Friday, February 12, 2010 So, Honeywell is having its Annual Investor Conference on Monday, February 22. It's the dog-and-pony show, where major investors are lubricated not to sell their shares. But going into this meeting, Honeywell shares have declined significanly and can't seem to sustain an upward trend. Normally you would fire the CEO for this performance. Focus of the meeting are presentions for China & India. If you look at the metrics of growth for these areas versus North America, North America has actually out performed since 1975. This ia also the concensus by economists. The expectation is that they will out perform in the coming years. But if the US comsumer is not buying, these economies won't go anywhere. Friday, February 12, 2010 You can't go wrong with Trane. When I have to get service because of down-time on my chillers, I am able to call the technician directly on his cell phone - even on long weekends. No hastles. As you can guess, long weekends is when the equipment usually has issues. Go figure. When I call Honeywell for a tech, I always got an answering service or they bogged me down with quotations and purchase order requests. How do you get that administrative support on a long weekend? What I missed telling you is that I am a Honeywell employee - on the same dammed team! You wouldn't know it, though. The experience is like dealing long-distance with China. Johnson Controls is even superior to Honeywell when it comes to customer service. Johnson Controls also has direct access to techs when there are issues. The paperwork is always taken care of later and it is always fair. When you call them, they have a live person on the phone who really knows her stuff. The issue here is company orientation. Others, with their structure, are truly oriented to the customer. Honeywell is oriented to the Accountant first, and maybe the customer later - if he pays a premium and if they have time. Note that Speranzo (a hot topic in previous blogs below) forced all of us to switch all of out services to Honeywell - a method of forcing internal Honeywell sales inspite of quality of service. We knew that Honeywell would only turn around and re-source the contract to Trane and Johnson Controls after taking a healthy profit. So this is the problem with Honeywell. With all the high level rhetoric, the place has lost contact with the people on the floor that know best. ALL decision are centralized in Morristown or Phoenix Wednesday, February 10, 2010 I came across an article today concerning Honeywell http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x210267296/Marshfield-energy-audit-under-way-after-officials-decide-against-hiring-Honeywell. Does anyone know about the "shoddy workmanship and overcharging" mentioned in the article? Wednesday, February 10, 2010 I think we have far too many directors and VP's and people who say they are managing the business in Phoenix and not enough people servicing customers or doing the work. Aerospace is so top heavy it is ready to collapse. How many people do we need doing "operations excellence" or telling everyone "we are just resources, you own these processes and the progress"? These people are part of a bloated cost structure that makes Diamond Dave think the answer is laying people off. Aero headquarters is a jobs bank for mediocre managers, the only thing you need to be eligible for the welfare program is an Arizona zip code. Monday, February 8, 2010 Diamond Dave couldn't do "Undercover CEO" because he is so stuck on himself that there are pictures and video of him everywhere. I would know that weasel if he showed up one day for me to train. I might have to even give him a forearm shiver or two as well. He wouldn't want to be exposed for being such a scumbag. Hopefully that show will help these CEO's realize that the people you treat so bad are the ones keeping you in your position. Monday, February 8, 2010 After working 29 years at Honeywell I have nothing but regrets. I sometimes feel ill just thinking about coming to work... so much stress. The employees are treated less than human. I treat my dog better. I pray everyday that they shut down this plant and outsource everything. I tried to take the RIF but was not lucky enough to get it. I would just quit even knowing that there are no jobs out there if I could only get unemployment until I can find another job. Getting a job here was the worst mistake I ever made and I would not advise anyone to work for Honeywell... ALL I want is out and a way to support my family... will keep praying for another layoff. So many people I work with feel the same way. Pray with me. Sunday, February 7, 2010 I bet Diamond Dave Cote would never have the ball to do CBS' "Undercover Boss". Sunday, February 7, 2010 - To the poster of Feb. 3: Consider that what has happened to you since UOP was bought by Honeywell is a microcosm of what has been happening to the rest of us since old Honeywell was acquired by Allied Signal (and other companies that have been purchased since then.) We feel your pain, because we've been experiencing the same thing, only longer. To Diamond Dave, employees aren't resources; they are a drain on the company's profitability. Something to be screwed, used, and abused to benefit stockholders, until they are eventually disposed of with the trash. As painful as it is, you guys would be well advised to forget any and everything you may have felt about company loyalty, and depart asap. It will only continue to get worse, with the attendant negative affect on attitudes and mental health. Diamond Dave wouldn't have gotten the message even if you stood up and left the room en masse. Here's how Wikipedia defines 'psychopath': "A personality disorder whose hallmark is a lack of empathy. Researcher Robert Hare, whose Hare Psychopathy Checklist is widely used, describes psychopaths as "intraspecies predators who use charisma, manipulation, intimidation, ..... to control others and to satisfy their own needs. Lacking in conscience and empathy, they take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without guilt or remorse. What is missing, in other words, are the very qualities that allow a human being to live in social harmony." Psychopaths are glib and superficially charming, and many psychopaths are excellent mimics of normal human emotion; some psychopaths can blend in, undetected, in a variety of surroundings, including corporate environments." Sound like anybody we know? Sunday, February 7, 2010 I just found this blog this morning and find it quite interesting. Most things are pretty accurate. Gillette ruled by fear and now he's gone, but don't think that environment is gone because it didn't start at his level and Cote is still here. For those of you much earlier in the blog who say "Honeywell" messed things up when they took over, you are sorely mistaken. Even though the press called it a merger, make no mistake Allied Signal "bought" Honeywell. They only kept the Honeywell name because it had better brand recognition. As a 25+ year heritage Honeywell employee, I can guarantee you the management style that took over in 1999 was nothing like heritage Honeywell, so please don't try to say this company represents what Honeywell was all about. John C. Honeywell has been rolling in his grave ever since that dreadful day. Also keep in mind there are no heritage Honeywell people in exec. management - they were all driven out by Allied Signal and GE - the clones. With that said, I agree that morale is at an all time low - and we've had rough patches before, but nothing like this. I try to keep a positive attitude thinking the worst is over, and every day I go to work I am unpleasantly surprised that it isn't. Our product quality continues to fall beause of standardization and the fear factor discussed elsewhere in this blog (everyone in middle management being afraid to say no - that won't work in our business). I'm sorry but I will say it - one size DOES NOT fit all (and that's why my management keeps me away from exec mgmt because they know I won't keep my mouth shut). Building things for Space, Missiles and Munitions is a far cry different than building things for commercial or even military aircraft (much less Home and Building controls). The government should be really worried. Especially about outsourcing. I get involved quite frequently in "what-ifs" and am appalled and amazed at the things our exec management even wants us to consider, especially in the business unit I work in. If Honeywell executives had their way, the entire company, except the executives in Phoenix and Morristown, would be outsourced. The government needs to realize that Honeywell is no longer a company who really cares all that much about the Defense and Space business. They don't care about your requirements or your needs. They'll take your money, but other than that they don't care, make no mistakes. And the ones that take all the punishment for late deliveries, overruns, failures, etc. are the dedicated workers, who are told by upper managment to "fix it" but aren't provided the tools or the envirnoment to do so. Even though there are still a lot of empoyees left who care about doing a good job, the stress level is driving a lot of good ones away, because they can't compromise their personal values to satisfy management goals. Even though the economy is bad and it's not a good time to change jobs (something HI mgmt definitely takes advantage of), even though it will have negative effects on retirement, I can tell you I am out looking. And yes, I have already commented on the White House contact-us website. Saturday, February 6, 2010 I will say it again. We all se what is going on with Honeywell and all the major corporations in America. Amreica is being sold out by them. If Obama is focusing on jobs now. He has to hear us. Go to www.whitehouse.gov and email the President with a link to this weblog. There is strength in numbers. We, the people, ARE America! And we have a president and Congress and Senate that works for us. Make some noise, people. Friday, February 5, I agree with the comments on Aero leadership. They just keep recycling the same people in Phoenix, we will never go anywhere. Rob Gillette got what he deserved and the First Solar board is now asking themselves why they spent so much money on a guy who is such a dud. Maybe he got over there and figured out it was more difficult than shutting down factories and moving them to China and Mexico. Wednesday, February 3, 2010 Diamond Dave was on a little press and politics junket to Des Plaines on 2/2. Touting the new "Honeywell" biodiesel that UOP developed, he had some allegedly non-corrupt US House Rep take a spin in a big Chevy truck powered by the stuff. While The Man himself was here and wasn’t too busy overtly pressuring senior management to join the HIPAC (Honeywell International Political Action Committee), he took an hour out of his time to have a little talk with about 400 UOP employees. I say 400 because the “conversation” was limited to one live room with a limit of 300 and two satellite rooms in Des Plaines that had limited capacity as well. It was not broadcast or available via telecon anywhere else. The meeting started with the usual stuff that I gather is common from The Man. He talked about the stock, the dividend, and the Wall Street analysts that he would love to be able to coerce by any means into driving the stock price higher. Then he talked about how important the stock was. Then he talked about the importance of the stock some more. He did also mention that he also has to consider customers and employees at some point, but I believe that was because his handlers told him to do so in that little ear bud we could not see. Surprisingly, I can’t say it was boring. It was more shocking than anything that he was facing a room full of people and couldn’t even pretend that we mattered. I guess he may be sociopath enough to tell the truth as he sees it and think everyone else feels the same way. He also talked a lot about “bad companies” versus “bad times” and attempted to convince us that this was all due to bad times. Seriously, why waste a crisis? Most of the rest of his delightful time with us was devoted to Q&A, which started off slow. Who wants to complain to glittery Diamond Dave Cote when he’s standing right in front of you and has the power to make you a distant memory before you even leave the room? But the questions eventually heated up. I didn’t take notes and do not have a great memory for the spoken word, so I’ll summarize his answers to the top few questions as best I can recall:
I guess it boils down to a basic philosophy difference: real customers and real employees versus faceless shareholders represented by analysts that have no moral position in what transpires between the employees and customers. UOP culture focuses on the customers first, then the employees, and the shareholders have historically benefitted from the success of the former pair. Honeywell culture focuses on the shareholder with no consideration for the customer beyond what money they have and zero consideration for the employee. I fear greatly for UOP, its customers, its employees, and their families. Diamond Dave does not. Tuesday, February 2, 2010 The damage that Gillette, Speranzo (VP Integrated Supply Chain) and Vidano (VP Aftermarket Service)have caused, is trancending. The damaging trio! Gillette went to First Solar. Look at the stock FLSR. It's in the dumpster as when Gillette abandoned Honeywell for First Solar. Speranzo wanted Gilletts's job, but didn't get it - so he went in limbo looking for a new career. Tim M. had no place fo Neal. Vidano also abdoated to Defense & Space - with the depature of Gillette. I wonder if he will live up to the title of Champion of Out-Sourcing in Defence and Space - with th egouverment looking iover his back? It's amazing how damaging, fickle and irresponsible these executies are. While they were in place, they reigned through fear! This is their legacy. Monday, February 1, 2010 It's amazing what a place like Honeywell can do to you. Last Christmas I was doing a bit of Christmas shopping, like many people around. Normally I go about my bsiness, spread a bit of holiday cheer and even hold doors open for people. But, in this one case, I saw a lady that purchased a Honeywell humidifier. And for some reason, the characteristic red and white box markings just set me off - an event that has never happened before. Instead of just passing by and rushing to my next destination, I stopped, took the lady aside and explained to her why she should NOT buy a Honeywell product - like the humidifier. Clearly the origins of this spontaneous eratic behavior were in the antics that Aerospace execs would play - who are all gone from Aerospace today - Gilette, Speranzo and Vidano. The latter of these came to be known as the Site Closure Champion. Word always went out prior to his visite for everyone to be on their best behavior - because his reputation preceeded him. Great environment! <> The point is that every persons job outsourced you have one less salesperson for Honeywell product. You will tell 2 people the good news, but tell 10 people the bad news. Monday, February 1, 2010 The funny thing about the Secretary of Treasury visiting here was - right behind him, literally, there were 3 Honeywell employees from Mexico videotaping a line they are sending South of the border. Sunday, January 31, 2010 I just emailed the President and copied the address of this blog with a plea for help. Again, go to www.whitehouse.gov and go to the "contact us" web-page. If enough of us do this, he will at least hear us. Saturday, January 30, 2010 Working as a CSR in S&C, it is very difficult at times to hear so many customers express frustration as to the inability to supply products on-time and on a consistent basis. Once a week it is expressed that the brand of Honeywell will never be purchased again because of the high prices and inability to produce the parts in a timely manner. Jobs that are scheduled to take 4 weeks often take 6-8 to complete, and customers refuse to accept the time that engineer's may take to do their part before production gets the job on the floor. We've seen orders be in the engineer/design phase for 30-45+ days and then have the 4-10 week lead time on top of that. Try explaining that to the engineer at a major university or NASA, Parker Hannifan, Baxter, etc., etc. every day. At times all you can do is tell the csutomer they have every right to be upset and hope they don't yell at you too much before hanging up on you. Honeywell seemed like a mess when I started, and, after reading this blog, I see the the inadequacies are all over the company and not just limited to my location. Now with rumors of more lay-offs and furloughs hovering over the whole company, what I thought would be a great career move by joining Hoenwyell turns out to be more of a dead end with no future. After seeing people with 10, 15, 20 or more years be let go, there is no reason to think my job is safe. Friday, January 29, 2010 I see that EMAI held their kickoff meeting in Monte Carlo this week. This makes the effort of enforcing the furlough total BS. Friday, January 29, 2010 I think someone should contact Michael Moore and have him do a documentary on how Aerospace is shipping high tech (or at least as high tech as you can go when a company won't by new equipment and wants to use duck tape and coathangers for maintenance) manufacturing jobs to Asia, which will lead to the Chinese developing an aerospace industry that will one day allow their Air Force to challenge ours. Well, at least we will have highly paid people at AERO HQ in Phoenix who can make power-point slides to describe their progress to the general public. Good thing we are expanding the number of people in our company who work THERE. What business does Dave Cote have at the white house, begging for money, when he does not even try to pretend that he cares about new hires, expansion, or capital purchases in the US? Friday, January 29, 2010 The president claimed to keep jobs from being outsourced in most of his election speeches, but yet we are still hearing about more positions disappearing. Employees are being forced to travel to Mexico and train individuals to take more American jobs and nothing is being done about it. Sometimes I wonder if we should be afraid more of Bin Laden, or Dave Cote and his actions. I also wonder if the president even cares. All of them since H.W. Bush haven't done anything about NAFTA and the destruction of what made our country great: Manufacturing. Friday, January 29, 2010 - Comments to "whitehouse.gov": Got it. Done. Who's next? What next? Thursday, January 28, 2010 If you really want the government to know what is happening at Honeywell e-mail the president on www.whitehouse.gov. Tell the president about outsourcing at Honeywell. If enough employees do this maybe someone will listen. Today one of the presidents advisors is at the Golden Valley plant in MN. Thursday, January 28, 2010 One can only hope that when it finally comes to the government's attention what Cote and the board have done to their US employees that there will be sufficient punishment involved to make it hurt...and hurt bad. Traitors. Thursday, January 28, 2010 Officially / Unofficially. The new policy is there are no progressions(being promoted in your current job). Of course they do not have the guts to tell all the worker bees. The only way you can get a promotion is to apply for a higher level job. And, of course, there are not many new job posting. In all the surveys, the US employees say there is no career growth opportunities. This new policy sure helps. NOT. Plus, no merit increases this year too. It just keeps getting better. Honeywell Management figures that in the US it is hard to get another job. "You are lucky you got a job and you should leave if you do not like it". Honeywell's new mantra. Wednesday, January 27, 2010 At 9:29 PM Jan 27, 2010, Obama said in his live speech that it is time to slash the tax incentives for those companies that ship jobs to China. This applies big time to Honeywell in a big way! Honeywell is one of the largest exporters of jobs overseas - they do it very secretively. It's time to hang Cote ("Et tu, Brute") & his Board of Directors and piers and their outsourcing policies. We need to recognize that these people are evil and do not have the interests of the USA employee at heart. USA is becoming second place to Germany and France - who are seriously re-investing in their economies. Just listen to the convesation about replacing the US dollar with the Euro as a currency standard. It may be crazy to think this would happen, but with the increasing US debt and 10+% unemployment, a lot of countries are really nervous about holding US dollars. Cote is so passé - so 20th century, so OLD - like the dinosaure of GE Capital of Jack Welch age. We know today, after the GE crisis, that Jack used GE Capital to mask (cook the books) many of GE's problems. No one talks about Jack anymore. Neutron Jack has been neutronized! It's 9:55 PM. I don't see Cote rubbing sholders with Obama as he did when Obama started his term. Has there been afalling out? See this evidence in previous blogs on this website. So that was the State of the Union address. People are out of work in America! How long will you stand for it? Why does Cote use Americans to work against Americans? Cote uses American Transition Teams to ship your jobs to China. I had spoken to one transition team member. He had told me that he was on 26 transitions teams. That means product move was being planned at 23 sites. Perhaps you are one of them? Monday, January 25, 2010 - HOS- Honeywell overseas: Good luck USA.! Dave Cote and most of his "crew" will be long gone before we see the full impact of the hemorrhaging of jobs. They are heroes to the stockholders today but will be seen as the sleazebags they really are in the future. I hope they can be happy in some of those third world countries that will own our jobs. I guess with Dave's bonuses he could always buy his own county. It seems like a very long time since I worked for a company that I could be proud of.
Retired Manager Monday, January 25, 2010 Is there a nation wide freeze on raises? Or is it just the Olathe, Kansas location? Most of the employees at that site have long since stopped believing anything the managers say. (Oh and don't forget to do your yearly code-of-conduct training.) Sunday, January 24, 2010 I currently work for Honeywell in New York. Honeywell acquired the Pittway Corporation (Ademco) back in 1999 and I have slowly watched the jobs move to Mexico and China. Instead of leading the market with new products we now follow. I have seen many competitors’ products being analyzed so we can design an equivalent product. The smart ones in my department left a few years ago. Engineering is slowly being moved (hardware/software/QA) to China and India. I have heard our raises this year will be 2% but they will not be given in April (April fool’s day!!), they will be pushed back a few months. Furloughs may also take place after the first quarter. I also heard the building will be empty in about 1.5 years when the lease is up. Morale is low but most of us really don't care anymore. If you work hard or do the minimum you are treated the same. Sit back, do the minimum and job search. I will not help transfer my job out of the country.
Sincerely, Saturday, January 23, 2010 VOTE! VOTE Your conscience - VOTE for your brothers and sisters around the world! VOTE! Saturday, January 23, 2010 This isn't directed so much at Dave Cote, as it is towards the Board of Directors. I work in one of your facilities. I have worked there for a long time and I plan on trying to do many more years until I retire. I have pretty much given the best years of my life to this company. I have given up time with family on holidays so I could cover for a guy who just happened to have the opportunity to spend Christmas with his. I have been with guys who trudge through the muck of a creek at 1:00 AM on a very very cold night out of concern for their neighbors and their health and security during an environmental excursion. I have seen guys come to the aid of a fallen coworker and go above and beyond in their efforts to revive that friend and coworker. I have lived and bled with the guys for a long time. Ok? See where I coming from with this? So let's cut to the chase. You have taken away my retiree insurance plan. You have taken away half of the 401 matching percentage you contibute. For those lucky enough to even be able to participate, that is. Some poor bastards don't even get that. You have, after have giving us 2% raises last year and week long furloughs, announced that this years raises are going to be reassessed at the end of the 2nd quarter as to whether the company can aford it or not. And, all the while sending out SM updates about the millions and millions of dollars to be made over the next 3 to 5 years. All this as the economy crumbled and the cost of living shot up through the roof. Now don't get me wrong, I really thought the million dollar aid package and the humanitarin flights to Haiti was I a very kind response to peoples suffering. You should be applayded for the effort. So with that said, let me conclude with a question...... Shouldn't one of you guys at the top really let Dave Cote and your other cohorts know that there has been a building collapsing for a few years now, and it is landing on me and my family. Both, my family at home and my family at work. How about a little charity around here? Friday, January 22, 2010 - To the individual who asked about the 2009 Honeywell Proxy statement: No, the board's comp package is on page 15, they took a little over $2MM together, around $250K each. Not bad for attending 5-6 meetings per year. Page 25 outlines the merit increases in base pay our officers qualified for and received, a year when no hourly or mid level managers were eligible. Page 28-29 outline the ridiculous bonuses officers, including Cote and Gilette, received. Page 36 outlines the nearly $80,000,000 in salary, stock, and bonus our CEO and four other top Honeywell officers combined earned in 2008. Page 51 shows their golden parachutes, or how many millions they would get by getting "dismissed without cause" or for other reasons, like a buyout. I guess that is what a RIF is called when you are a big-time executive. The employees I laid off last year got squat. I am not saying all executives do not earn their pay, not at all. I am sure many of them worked very hard to achieve their goals and try their best. But in a year when my family's already meager income was reduced 10% and we had to put groceries on our credit card, the fact that these guys not just took home millions, but accepted RAISES for hitting cost targets that were partially possible because of wage cuts simply disgusts me. The fact that they are all hell bent on moving our manufacturing base to China to continue meeting these targets (vs. improving what we have here in the US and EMEA) infuriates me. Leaders should share sacrafice and lead by example. Or at least be smart enough to pretend that they do when so many people are watching. To hell with them all. Friday, January 22, 2010 You bet! I'm glad the blogger noticed, I did the calc. and total of senior management compensation plus board of directors (each is paid about 2X the average US board salary) comes to roughly $75 million if I throw in some of the perks, etc. If you divide that number by the 2008 income from operations, I come up with about 2.5 percent. If a mutual fund charged this kind of management fee, I think it would be very questionable. This is beyond belief Thursday, January 21, 2010 I'm not a financial wiz, but after looking at last year's proxy statement, did the board of directors rape the company for over 70 mil? Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Customers screaming for their parts. But some customers like United Technologies and Pratt & Whitney have cauht on long ago with their policy to get off of Honeywell programs and parts. Their attitude is: "Anybody but Honeywell". And they have just cause. Wednesday, January 20, 2010 After this week through overtime, mostly everybody on the shop floor will have managed to make back any lost wages due to the furlough. And at time-and-a-half we only have to work just over 26.5 hours. Not a bad deal! Sure, our on time delivery is down to 50% and our profit margin is non existent. But our middle management is the best in the business at cooking the books and making excuses. Customers screaming for their parts. Who cares. It's not like they can go to Walmart for a part. They are getting screwed and there is not much that they can do about it. You've got a sweet deal Dave Cote! As for us, we're just lucky to be working under you. Wednesday, January 20, 2010 I recently had to do an RPS (Rapid Problem Solving) - over-used & huge waste of time. It was about why deliveries were being missed for a certain part number. What it came down to (already known) was that a cell was hogging the test equipment, basically 24/7, and we had no time allocated to it. But during the proposed fix I was told to not mention this. I was "advised" to instead propose that we dedicate more techs to testing these parts. No one ever questions how we could test these parts if we still didn't have access to the test equipment. So, your bonuses are safe. No need to purchase more test equipment. The problem has been swept under the rug! P.S.Military programs should be very worried. Tuesday, January 19, 2010 Interesting, reading all these posts. As an ex-Honeywell employee I can only say I'm glad I left this dysfunctional outfit. Believe me there is life after Honeywell. No more corporate ra-ra-ra and all these BS Townhall meetings. I will never work for a publicly-traded company again. The guys on top of the ladder get the big Bonuses, the guys at the bottom the shaft. Look no further than Wallstreet. These "Spindoctors" walked away with Millions in compensation. Good luck to all of you. Finding another Job is hard work, but if you really want a change you have to be determined and believe in yourself. There are better companys out there; just don't give up. Monday, January 18, 2010 Yes. At my site it got to a point that we could not even buy a 2"x4" piece of lumber without being on COD. Reason was that Honeywell (Phoenix) actually exceeded the 90-day pay period. So the supliers clamped down one after the other to COD. It would have been easier to get petty cash and go get it yourself - but even petty cash was eliminated. Your only option was to pay for it out of your own pocket and really risk it not being paid on a expense report. No one had enough faith in Honeywell to assume that this expense report would be paid. I'd rather buy a 2x4 and wack the Aerospace Leadership in the head - really disconnected from the needs of the floor and day to day needs that they themselves requested. It must make a business leader look stupid to report on a leadership or sales call that he can't ship product because shipping lumber is not available for the shipping crates. But, no leader will be caught dead reporting this on a telecom. So, we end up taking expensive labor ripping apart wasted crates and rebuilding new ones - a process that costs a lot more than having the right materials in the first place. Way to go, Aerospace Leadership! Aerospace Leadership needs to start supporting the floor - not in conflict with the floor. Monday, January 18, 2010 When and where? And what do we do when we get there? Monday, January 18, 2010 Yes, we can do this and join as a 401k employee share band. Lets get together at the Annual Shareholders Meeting and ask tough questions! Done? Monday, January 18, 2010 - Regarding the 75 or 90 day terms: This is Honeywell’s way of maximizing profit by, essentially, getting a short term loan from their suppliers. Remember from Economics 101 Time Value of Money? In essence Honeywell needs to maximize profit from finance gimmicks not sales of quality products that are profitably priced in an open market. Pity the small Mom and Pop companies that can’t tell Honeywell to “go pound sand”. This strategy is a slow death to them while turning down Honeywell’s orders is a fast death. Sunday, January 17, 2010 Has any employee thought about leveraging the votes associated with our collective 401k shares to make our voices heard to the board of directors, specifically on executive pay? Coming off our furlough, seems like the time for this is about right. I think we could have all exercised our right to have a say at the shareholder's meeting or get something on the ballot that would at least force the company officers to share in any type of pay cut or furlough they pushed down to lower level employees. Or better yet, show them what a wage cut feels like by forcing the board of directors to allow shareholders to vote on this. Go to the company website, investor relations section and view the 2009 Honeywell proxy statement. This is a public document and is official communication from Honeywell to the investing public. Pages 20-53 of this document outline our CEO's and his cronies disgusting pay package. Pages 20-30 outline how Dave and his boys NEED a competitive pay package related to business results, not like we do, we are just lucky to have a job, right? It even mentions the same Honeywell behaviors that we supposedly all work to, but it manages to justify raises for the guys at the top and NOTHING for the people whose backs they stand on. Funny how they tell us these lies and then steal our merit raises and base salary and then cash their options in the next day. Grotesque that our board permits it. Page 37 of the 2009 proxy statement outlines the "perks" that the company pays for. Over $900,000 for things like the use of the company jet and company bought life insurance and Dave Cote's home alarm system. How many engineers took a 10% pay cut in 2009 to pay for this? Page 51 shows Diamond Dave's $14.85 million golden parachute, which he would receive if he was ever terminated by the board for any reason. How many weeks of severance did we give the machinists, CSR's, and forklift drivers affected by the last RIF? Not even close to this.... What about the over 50's that were forced to retire because Honeywell did not want to help them with medical insurance they promised them years before? This information is public and on our website. We should print and post it in breakrooms all across the company. It is grotesque that our leaders in Phoenix and Morristown can be so arrogant, greedy, and selfish while honest people suffer. Somebody needs to do something. These guys are stealing not just from us, but from America. And its all right here under our noses, down to the last cent. Can we band together as shareholders and use our 401K shares to push the board to vote on reducing executive perks and compensation? Anyone know if we can do this? Sunday, January 17, 2010 The net-90 terms is going to kill us. There are suppliers who are now holding us hostage if we do not pay in 30. Their terms are "want your parts pay me in 30 or else". The supply base is onto our game. Most of the Honeywell companies were small to begin with and use suppliers local to their area who had the expertise to make the product required. We recently had to attend a webinar that all new orders had to be net 75 and if not took PHX approval. DO these guys have nothing to do down there??? I am all for doing what is necessary for the company but we are now negotiating from the end of a gun on all of our contracts. I equate PHX with the wizard of OZ. They are running a company based upon theories that are not practical in day-to-day business. When you expose them they run for cover. I have exposed a few and they know I document VERY WELL so they leave me alone most of the time. Out here in the real world (away from PHX) we get the job done. Saturday, January 16, 2010 Ditto the earlier comments about permanent commitment being around CAPITAL and NEW HIRES. I cannot even get a plumber or a welder to come out to our site because of our payment terms. It is pitiful that a major corporation has been reduced to gimmicks like "paying net 90" to make cash flow look good. How about making a quality product by people who are treated well? That may lead to cash flow from our customers? Withholding cash flow from small US-owned businesses will do the trick for only so long. It is a disgrace. Saturday, January 16, 2010 Apparently Servicon employees at Honeywell were notified today that they need not report to work the week after Easter. Happy Furlough! Friday, January 15, 2010 - Re: Jan. 11 Here in Toronto... I got laid off in Vancouver recently and totally agreed with you on the low morale, HOS/VSMs/metrics hiding inefficiencies. It makes me feel better that most of us can see the company is going down fast with all the “yes” management from top to bottom. Friday, January 15, 2010 Red Headed stepchild? Everyone is a stepchild next to the phoenix golden boys. I work in Aerospace Aftermarket and I can't understand why our leaders come from Phoenix engines, a complex that was evidently so well managed that it is shutting down and moving to Mexico. And it was not even a union plant, not that you would have guessed it was union free by visiting. Yet everyone outside of Phoenix is always judged by higher standards. What a great training academy for manufacturing managers who feel more comfortable with acronyms and power points than making their employer a profit! Now they are all directors and VP's, leading Aerospace into the twenty first century. Do as we say in Phoenix, not as we do in Phoenix... Put THAT in a spreadsheet matrix! Thursday, January 14, 2010 When the earthquake hit China, Dave Cote was quick to encourage employees to give to recovery and aid efforts. Of course it was was to show good faith to his growing interest (of siphoning America to the Chinese). Now that Haiti is in trouble, do you think he'll do the same? I would actually be surprised to see an all-employee email asking for Haiti relief. Wednesday, January 13, 2010 In the Town Hall meeting, Cote said the company's actions are actually benefitting America. Yea, just like in the 30's when they said cigarette smoking benefitted your health by encouraging deep breathing exercises. Tuesday, January 12, 2010 Here at Honeywell Aerospace, Tucson, we have always been considred a "red headed step child" to Phoenix. We have no resources or people left here. We are less then half the employees we had 15 years go. Most of the Engineering work is "overseeing" engineers overseas who are doing the work we use to do. Hardware, software, Test Equipment- everything.Manufacturing moves something to Mexico or overseas each month. There is no morale. Tucson has ben told by Aerospace VP's, "You're lucky you still have a job. And if you do not like it - then leave." A wonderful place to work! I do not see Honeywell getting any better. I have been at Honeywell 20+ years. Time to leave. Tuesday, January 12, 2010 I think the only way to draw attention to this is to find some organization (not affiliated with a labor union) that communicates with Congress to promote investment in America's manufacturing infrastructure and seeks to stop this type of activity. Honeywell should be LEADING something like this, and with the amount of Government contracts and business we have, we are eating at the trough of military sales and service, and selling out our employees that work on the commercial side where we can to move skill sets and capabilities out of our country, perhaps forever. Someone needs to mobilize an effort beyond the plight of just one factory because a pattern that spans multiple congressional districts has been emerging for several years now and we cannot make it stop by talking to Phoenix or Morristown or complaining on this blog.. Any ideas? Monday, January 11, 2010 It's interesting to hear the same stories from our cousins down south. Here in Toronto the morale couldn't be lower. One minute we are told to use airlines to travel and help our own business, and the next minute we are given a 1 week furlough. Sorry Dave. I can't travel if I lose 10% of my wages. But then again, you don't really care, do you? So our plant isn't the only one that needs new equipment or repairs. You can only lean out a process so far with antiquated technology. But it's amazing how the middle managers can hide the inadequacies under the carpet to make any HOS driven changes look good. The sad truth is that efficiencies aren't going up, but the VSM's will do anything to fudge the metrics. But then again Dave, you don't really care, do you? I thought we were the only ones complaining about the management Gods of Phoenix, but after reviewing the previous blogs I guess it's true. We are all fed (mis)directions by the same blind, dumb, tentacled octopus that is the Aerospace leadership. How they know our needs from thousands of miles away I'll never know. Oh but they must be smart with all their MBA's. Surely Diamond Dave would never leave a division is such incompetent hands. But then again Dave, you don't really care, do you? I'm sure that this coming year you will get your well deserved bonus, more stock options and a standing ovation from the stockholders. I almost forgot...I'm sure that many families in China and India will also thank you. Ain't capitalism great! BTW. I'll make sure to post some MIS on our bulletin boards up here in the great white north. Remember. There is strength in numbers. Wall Street...are you listening? Monday, January 11, 2010 One of the other issues is even if you find someone with the power to make change happen in Honeywell they are paralyzed with fear because they know that if they make a mistake (or it looks like they made a mistake even if it was not their fault) then they will be fired. They don't even have to make a mistake, they just have to do something that upsets someone higher up. Monday, January 11, 2010 -Re: Jan 11 "management make changes": That's great in concept, but in Honeywell centralized management system, I don't know who these people "with power to make changes" are. They certainly aren't in the HPS level, or even ACS. Do you really think Fradin can make any changes? He can't spend a penny beyond AOP. Only Cote has that Authority. Monday, January 11, 2010 Simply don't understand why managment, and those with power to make changes, can not see what is happening before their eyes? HPS is losing business and clients rapidly due to competition providing better service |
Keep Motivation Up in a Down Economy.