this is pretty shitty of them...

"We offer a competitive 401k match just don't get laid off before the deadline to qualify!"

I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend but when given the opportunity to screw over employees, we know which way the wind usually blows.

seriously. lots of Dec 31 layoffs to not have to pay out. Also makes people get stuck in their job just to collect the match...

Wow, they somehow found a new low

Link won't open. I know the basics of this because a family member works for them, but what's the news media reporting? Can I get a TLDR? Curious to see if the news has the whole story.

They're moving their 401k matching to just once a year. Basically they'll pay out 2023 matching in March 2024. Still $1 per $1 up to 6 percent. But not every pay period or monthly like before.

7% match is nice just make sure you keep your job.

They also previously changed their tuition reimbursement from $18k to like $5k and didn’t make an exception for people already enrolled.

Also one day they announced everyone will have to work an extra half hour a day without a pay increase

Was also told because my position I had to take two weeks vacation at at time. New hires only had ten days vacation for the first few years.

They went 2-3 years without any cost of living increases

Promotions without pay increases. And sometimes would result in becoming exempt and losing money

I’m sure there is some other shitfuckery I’m not remembering. Regret not quitting on my first day when my blowhard director was too important greet the new hires.

So no one gets compound interest for a year

Hope you are somewhere else now

Long gone

And they get to not pay anyone who quits or gets laid off

I keep getting messages from their recruiters. How the heck do they think anyone is itching to work for them right now.

Except BNY Mellon.

Isn't it standard policy- maybe even FDIC rules- that most bank employees have to take two consecutive weeks?

Not sure, but I worked at two other banks without having that policy. Could be position by position. But if your forced to have that policy then you should give your employees more time.

How is their financial position? I assume they're still making $ every quarter but just not enough for the top brass?

Interesting. I think the two-week rule for people in certain sensitive positions with to make sure that you were gone long enough that you weren't doing anything shady because someone else would have to do your position for 2 weeks and could spot shady activity.

Garbage policy. I'm sure you have to still be working there during the distribution of the match, not just through December 31st too.

It basically turns 401k matching contributions into stock options or bonuses.

I have heard that they can make you take a 2 weeks off depending on your position. I have had a bunch of different positions at different banks and never had this enforced in any of my positions.

It depends on position or department in the bank. Those positions are for “high risk”. They make you take two weeks off once a year to help insure you aren’t doing anything illegal that can be caught when you aren’t there to do it.

It’s probably pretty rare but I have heard it mentioned before for the same reason you stated.

Banks sold it as a rule, but it was a recommended safeguard to require 5 consecutive days. Worked in the Hr department of one of the other large banks in Pittsburgh and we had to navigate this issue while I was there

The bank does. So they actually save money by utilizing this method

Which is totally cool, if you get paid for it.

Michael Baker International also did this to their tuition reimburesment. 12.5 k --> 5k then to 0. Despite being 70% of the way through my program. No recourse possible from my end.

I wasn’t in one of those departments at the bank, but I’m pretty sure it was your own PTO.

Talk about insult to injury, they're taking (up to) just 6% off someone you just laid off's salary if they lay them off.

Like not just lay you off, but setting back your retirement savings a year for a figure of 6% of their salary which is peanuts even relative to the salary itself that they will be saving.

They could write this into an episode of the Simpsons as something Mr. Burns would do.

It's common in the security industry. Mandatory job rotations and vacations to ensure exactly what the person you replied to was saying. Someone out for a long time = a change in work flow that can reveal fraud/theft/etc

It's for "sensitive" jobs. Not sure who calls what jobs sensitive or not.

Except that may be your only vacation, which sucks.

Unfortunately federal law allows this to be done. I don't think it specifics states when employer match funds need to be given.

yes thats exactly what it is, and I believe its required by the OCC. However to their point that rule effectively dictates the entire use of your PTO.

Low shit even for a bank.

It's basically whether or not you have access to input/approve financial transactions (wires mostly).

Also, if I recall correctly they did increase starting vacation to 3-4 weeks a few years ago so I don't think people in sensitive positions have to use full vacation all at once anymore.

Other fuckery mentioned mostly still checks out.

Yeah so additional fun facts: a number of years ago during the last economic downturn the bank decided to only provide raises the following JULY as a "special" cost cutting measure. So it's EOY, you do your review process with your manager. They tell you what your raise will be 7... Months.... From now.

They left this in effect for years. They finally stopped like 2 years ago and started giving us raises in March. Now this 401k fuckery.

It amazes me how much places like to screw with employees and then scream how people aren’t loyal to employers anymore.

I couldn’t get the idiots from there to understand it would cost me close to 10k/yr when I was already working from home.

it still makes me laugh that they offered new college grads 35k

I recently quit, what a weird fucking place. Cheap as hell company, just one of the most miserly companies I've ever worked for. I've worked for some cheap ass companies, but none that reliably make 4b per year. It's not just with pay, it's workspace and technology too.

The Pittsburgh offices are kind of a dump, at least I thought so. Their tech floor was nice but everything else seemed very 90s-esque. Dark, dusty, fake plants everywhere, stacks of boxes, and dilapidated bathrooms. Then you hop on video chat with someone in New York and it's shiny and modern. Even India had a better space.

Technology is a complete joke - shitty data strategy, outsourced IT, and absolutely abysmal intranet and a patchwork of hr systems.

The layoffs are the real kicker. You never feel safe. Working for a cheap company can work for people if you felt safe, like you could just work there for a long time doing 9-5 and not get axed as long as you did your job. They lay people off and prance around on CNBC like it's Goldman but they spend like what I would imagine from a mom and pop tax prep company in Monroeville.

I would advise not working there.

Billions returned to shareholders in buybacks quarterly

It does. It feels like they skip the part where treating workers well means they're less likely to pull sneaky shit.

In multiple sensitive positions I've been in at multiple institutions, the rule has always been 5 business days.

A full 2 weeks is excessive. Don't get me wrong - 2 weeks off is nice, but when that's pretty much someone's entire stock of time off that's too much.

I'm not sure higher pay means you do less sneaky shit, honestly.

I know it's not directly comparable, but there's a study that looked at people stealing office supplies from work, and it's the higher paid people who did that.

I also think it's an access thing -- if you have easy access, you'll be more tempted to do it, no matter what you're paid.

And in terms of altruism, data shows that people who make less money, on average, contribute a higher % of their income to charity than higher wage earners.

They've been cutting benefits for years. Want to be a top firm, but keep salaries and benefits right in line with everybody else. At least the 401K match is deposited quarterly.

I remember when Charlie wanted to completely eliminate WFH. This was pre pandemic but employees who were full time at home were being told they would have to go in office.

And then Charlie left and took a job where he worked from NY even though the company was in LA.

Now BNY wants to do a hybrid schedule, but move everyone to the Ross street building w/shared desks. If you don’t have a desk on a day you come in, they want you to sit on couches.

I was laid off in 2019. I had a very toxic experience and had to take medical leave because my mental health got really screwed up. It was awful.

Didn’t they just give their employees stock randomly?

So, I'm coming from it from the perspective of the lower end of the ranks here. Staff that might not have enough vacation time accrued for this mandatory policy, for example. If they're made whole, I believe there would be a lower risk. That also includes more than pay for sure. That's providing them respect and solid feedback. Making them feel seen, if you get what I'm saying.

It kind of reminds me of loss prevention practices for retail, honestly. Usually, the most effective thing you can do to prevent theft is just saying hello to people. So in this case, it's more being a good manager and touching base with your staff frequently enough that they feel seen, but not too much that they feel smothered.

I think you're right about access, just having access to that information is a risk factor. Everyone's motivation is different. But pay is a crucial factor in reducing risk. It might not help against someone that's already greedy, but it could prevent someone that's just desperate from making a mistake.

I was laid off in 2019. I knew it was coming and I was just glad it was over. What was nuts was the lead up. It was the Monday after Black Friday. I was supposed to be off Black Friday but had to be logged on most of the day because of someone else not being on deadline. Since I was salary exempt, I just lost the day. Monday comes around, and my boss thanks me for logging on (even though it wasn’t an option). Ask about the upcoming layoffs, she tells me not to worry. Go about my day.

I come back from lunch around 2 PM, when my boss pulls me into a conference room. With her boss and some lady I don’t recognize and a lot of paperwork. I got laid off after working more than half the work day! When I go outside to wait for my ride bc I had to be out of the building immediately, I realize it’s raining and I don’t have an umbrella. Fitting end.

good recall. https://employeebenefits.co.uk/bank-new-york-mellon-stock-plan-51000-employees/

What this means I don't know... (i.e., what the up and downsides are)

For instance, the stock is restricted, so getting equity from it is harder than unrestricted shares. Are they doing this to be nice and "motivate their employees since they now have an ownership stake" or are they doing this b/c it's cheaper than paying them more, and they want to pat themselves on the back that they're being nice to their employees while not giving raises or cutting salaries or jobs?

I worked at BNY for five years. I understand nothing about them.