OIT Announces Layoffs, Firings To Save Costs

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) plans to reduce its staff by about 15 percent through a mix of voluntary and involuntary layoffs, according to an internal memo issued earlier this month.

At a meeting this Monday, all OIT employees will be given personalized information so that they can evaluate what is in their best interests, according to the memo, written by Assistant Provost for Information Technology Anne Margulies.

Staff members will then have 45 days to make a decision on whether or not to leave.

The office will begin firing people if there are not enough voluntary layoffs to fit OIT's new structure, according to Margulies' four-page memo.

In an interview yesterday, Margulies said she has no way of controlling which or how many employees will opt to leave but hopes involuntary layoffs will not be needed.

Those who opt to leave their jobs voluntarily will be given an enhanced severance package based on each employee's experience at OIT. Employees involuntarily laid off will not receive the same benefits, according to the memo.

Margulies said no specific number of staff reductions has been determined. The extent of the cuts will be evaluated from the standpoint of cutting costs rather than on the number of people.

According to an OIT employee who requested anonymity, these cuts come on the heels of a massive restructuring of OIT that seems to amount to an attempt by the administration to marginalize the organization.

The employee said many OIT employees believe that the University views the organization as costing too much and not accomplishing what the University wants it to.

As with any part of the central administration, OIT is under constant pressure to contain and reduce costs, Margulies said.

In addition, due to the rapidly changing nature of the information technology industry, OIT must be more adaptive than most parts of the University, she said.

Since OIT was removed from the jurisdiction of the vice president for finance and placed under the control of a new assistant provost in January, a number of high ranking staff have left the organization and not been replaced, the OIT employee said.

Several departments also appear to be on their way out, the source said.

"The people in the development group have basically been told, 'There's no place for you here," the employee said.

Margulies, however, said the cuts are not targeted to any specific areas and the overall level and kinds of services offered by the OIT will remain the same.

In the voluntary layoff program, Harvard reserves the right to decide when staff members leave so that it can have some control over which positions are empty at what time, Margulies said.

"We retain the ability to determine when people leave because we can't decide where they leave," Margulies said. "This way we can give a consistent level of services and won't disrupt any of our services."

The announcement of the cuts is troubling for OIT employees, the source said. Because the office is seeking volunteers first, employees will not know for quite some time if they will be able to keep their jobs or not.

Margulies said she is trying to do as much as possible to lessen employees' anxiety about the restructuring but said some worrying is inevitable.

"We're trying to communicate as much as we can so employees can make the most informed choice," she said

In the voluntary layoff program, Harvard reserves the right to decide when staff members leave so that it can have some control over which positions are empty at what time, Margulies said.

"We retain the ability to determine when people leave because we can't decide where they leave," Margulies said. "This way we can give a consistent level of services and won't disrupt any of our services."

The announcement of the cuts is troubling for OIT employees, the source said. Because the office is seeking volunteers first, employees will not know for quite some time if they will be able to keep their jobs or not.

Margulies said she is trying to do as much as possible to lessen employees' anxiety about the restructuring but said some worrying is inevitable.

"We're trying to communicate as much as we can so employees can make the most informed choice," she said