Thread regarding Bank of America layoffs

Oh boy... when I adjust for inflation my income is less each year. Insurance at $100k is insane. The only fair way to address the $25 minimum is to raise everyone who’s at $65k or less. The fair figure may be even higher.

Less that 5% over 5 years. Left in July for a $20k base pay increase. Better benefits, increased 401k contribution and a defined benefit pension plan. In less than a year I’ve gotten a 6% raise in addition to the initial increase and a $5k signing bonus. There are better companies that will pay you a premium for your bug bank experience. Let it go and move on, the grass can be greener.

Also, by going public with the $25, companies providing temp and contractors will demand higher rates.

This is the stupidest thing since $20 an hour. If you’re going to raise their hourly wage by $5 for no reason other than to say you did, you better give those above that rate the same $5 who have actually worked their as$es off to make more. To give it to those that haven’t earned it is removing all motivation for those that have earned it.

You have a masters degree and make $28 an hour? You’re in the wrong job. I make $82 an hour in GT&O without a masters.

@2ytx there is a cap in the US on H1B visas of about 65000 plus another 20000 for those with a master degree and up. I don't think the program is viewed positively so it's better and cheaper for companies to set up subsidiaries outside US.

Offshore tech employees might be cheaper but they also are less quality otherwise they would have already gotten a work visa to come here to work for an actual tech company

@2qfu+1aULzLrf I keep replying to your posts, however, I think they quarantine them or they are not visible until they are reviewed. I noticed that if posts are too long they do that. You are right, they decrease the employer deduction on health insurance making your take home pay less, despite any pay increases you might get. The health insurance companies usually increase their rates 4-8% annually and it makes it more complex to track the whole thing. Also, take into consideration changes in tax code. Those too can throw your take home pay off.
Try to network and set your sights on a new job in the company, that's the best way to make use of your education, the solid background and also to give yourself a good raise. The company ticked off a lot of people with this move and I think it will be expensive to pull off.

@2qfu+1aULzLrf I understand what you are saying, and you are correct about the wage being a factor in determining the insurance premiums by the bank. However, the health insurance company does not take the wage into consideration when setting up the new rates and I think that was my initial argument. The bank ultimately determines the insurance premiums, they can have a multi-tier employer contribution (the portion they pay) and once you move into a higher wage bracket, they can increase your health premiums by lowering their contribution, consequently reducing your take home pay. The health insurance company increases their premiums annually anywhere between 5%-8% and they can really cut into your take home pay, despite any raises you might get, especially when BofA decides to lower their employer contribution. They give you with one hand and take it back with the other.

Also, changes in tax code can affect your take home pay.

The company going public about the min. wage is a PR stunt that could possibly go very wrong. The timing is odd, given the global financial volatility/instability, and unless the bank can support it with great earnings, they would have to cut expenses, thus hurting the very employees supposedly they help. Besides the frustration and animosity it creates, the fact is that it will cost a lot of money to implement and that money would have to come from somewhere, most likely reduction in headcount.

Hang in there, I don't think loyalty and hard work has the same value, it has been seriously discounted.

@1mpf+1aULzLrf I’m talking about the insurance premiums. They boast that if you make under $50k per year, they’re not increasing your premiums. That is $25/hr. When I increased to $25.01 per hour, I was netting less than what I made at a lower hourly wage because of the increase to my out of pocket health insurance premium. And it has continued to increase despite minimal wage increases. The amount you pay for your premiums does depend on your salary.

The other issue I think you’re missing is how much of the bank makes between $25-30 per hour. This is an employee satisfaction issue. I started with the bank making $16 an hour and worked my way up to $28. I have an entire masters degree that they don’t care about, my pdp is always exceeds expectations, I work my bu-t off for employee engagement and satisfaction, or did precovid, and now I’m practically making minimum wage by the banks standards. Everything I worked for, the company has disregarded. I barely make more than a new hire at his/her first job. This goes for my entire org, all in the same position most with over 10-20 years at the bank making around the same pay as me.

@1cpn+1aULzLrf
I see what they did. The rates have gone up but they didn't pass the increase on people making below the 25/hr threshold. Your monthly insurance could cost anywhere between $600-800 per month, for one person. (it could be more, it depends on the type of insurance). The company chooses a certain percentage to pay (employer contribution) and you are responsible for the rest. They increased their portion in order to keep the rate you are paying constant. The article below has some companies paying anywhere between 70-90% as employer contribution.

https://www.griffinbenefits.com/blog/what-is-the-average-employer-contribution-to-health-insurance-premiums

You might be correct about paying more for health insurance, if they decide to decrease their portion of contribution or they could just increase the threshold to 26/Hr.

@tle
The avg pay for a programmer analyst in India is $18k, with a min of 12K and a max of about 41K.
You can check the link below for other salaries like Software Engineer, avg salary $20K with a max of $41K.

https://www.payscale.com/research/IN/Job=Programmer_Analyst/Salary/e775339c/Bank-of-America-Corp.-BOFA

The salaries are in Indian Rupees and you have to convert them to USD. Compared to US salaries they are a fraction, so you can imagine that a back office job, if offshored, would pay way below our min. wage.

US companies have to pay local taxes, corporate tax and the equivalent of social security tax:

https://tradingeconomics.com/india/social-security-rate

@1mpf+1aULzLrf I won 't question what you know about insurance (I've been here 25+ years and have always found it baffling)...but I will say that just yesterday we had an email via Employee Communications that said "For the 10th year in a row, we will not increase medical healthcare premiums for U.S. Employees earning less than $50,000 in 2022. So saying "Salary has no bearing on the monthly rate you are paying." isn't ringing true.

@1mpf, correct about salaries. The bank's new minimum wage of $25 will have employee salaries making below that threshold increased but I doubt there are many in that situation. The bank and the industry is pretty competitive in terms of wages.

The insurance premiums (I think you referred to health insurance ) are not determined by the annual salary. The company has group insurance and the group rates are determined by utility, the mix of the group by age and gender, number of dependents, people getting in/out of the group. Salary has no bearing on the monthly rate you are paying. In order to keep rates down they might change other benefits, increasing the deductibles, copayments, changing provider, removing certain coverages...etc, in network vs out of network charges. Just call HR to have some light shed on this issue before you get worked up over it.
The minimum wage you are talking about is probably the entry level salary (not the federal minimum wage) and that is determined or influenced by the industry, increases made to wages due to cost of living adjustments, location...etc. In order to attract and retain talent (yes, retain) they have to revise these entry level salaries upward. Automation, consolidation and offshoring should be your main concern, although these new kids may have a more diverse skill set.

I wonder if the offshore workers in India are going to get $25.00 an hour also. Not going to happen so the bank makes a big show when we take employee satisfaction survey and then lays us off and sends the back office jobs overseas. Nothing new there. It's the banks version of Flippy the hamburger robot coming to the fast food restaurant of your choice.

Wait till you see what happens after 100k. I am all for higher wages and am happy for them.

I will send you a e-card for your loyalty

In full agreement with you....the rapid rise in minimum wage is marginalizing the people just above that level...I'm not seeing increases that significant in other areas...not even close. Feels like BAC is very poisonous right now...I think they have to be nervous about mandating people back into the office, working god awful hours, with a workforce that appears to be checked out