It’s been just over a month since we first reported that the venerable Paycom—the only S&P 500 tech company to call Oklahoma home—embarked on a brutal firing spree, eliminating several departments and divisions at its OKC campus and the hundreds of employees who worked in them.
Rather than calling these layoffs what they were—layoffs—Paycom instead fired employees, some of whom had received accolades for their productivity and dedication, under vague "performance-related" pretenses that – often without offering any form of severance – would make the henchman from Office Space proud.
Classy stuff, huh?
Despite Paycom being a large, high-profile company in the metro that employs thousands of Oklahomans, the local media has, for some reason, avoided covering the story.
Considering TV news hounds usually jump at the chance to let people know when a local energy company, electric vehicle manufacturer, online charter school, oilfield equipment maker, or even county sheriff lays off staff, that's a bit odd.
Since it seems like we’re the only ones covering this, I guess we do have a few updates to report:
• The company is still apparently purging employees, this time it's even hitting the executive ranks. According to one insider, several high-ranking employees were recently shown the door, and the company’s controller—Scott Breecheen—is scheduled to leave next month.
• Paycom’s stock is doing great! It has skyrocketed over 40% in the last month, boosting its market capitalization from $9.5 billion to just over $13 billion. Did I mention that they refused to pay severance to the loyal employees they dismissed under the guise of "performance issues"?
• The company now has a clear bag policy.
Yep, nothing says corporate transparency like forcing employees to bring clear bags to work!
Since our initial stories broke, we've had dozens of current and former Paycom employees—either victims of the firing spree or part of a fledgling internal resistance—reach out with more info about The Great Paycom Employee Purge of 2024.
Because many of these Moles can’t speak publicly about their termination or the current conditions inside the company’s green walls, I thought I’d share – as a valuable community service to our readers and subscribers – some snippets from these dispatches.
They provide an interesting inside look at the callous and not-so-professional way the paranoid CEO of a large local employer treats the Oklahomans who work hard for him.
Before we get to them, I do have some disclaimers:
• The dispatches have been edited and condensed for clarity and to make it difficult for the Paycom Thought Police to track down the senders.
• I haven’t been able to vet all the claims. If Paycom’s PR team wants to reach out and refute or correct the record, they know which bar to find me at.
With that being said, according to one Mole, the layoffs are still ongoing:
Layoffs have been continuing in every department due to “performance issues.” They’ll take you to a room with two HR morons that shake your hand, then tell you you’re being let go due to performance. No evidence or paperwork in sight. Then they finish it off with a “We will not discuss any further.”
Meetings have taken place, and it’s been stated that they are letting go of people who don’t align with Paycom Values. Expenses have been cut back in all departments, and a hiring freeze has taken place.
Despite the company’s high stock price, another longtime insider told us this is the worst things have been:
I’m really surprised no one has told you about one of the VPs of Ops being fired due to something he didn’t agree with Chad about...
Part of the mass firings included anyone who had been written up in the past 6 months. Managers were asked to approve the termination of each person. They also reduced our new hire welcome week to one day because they fired the guy who was over new hire orientation.
This is quite literally the worst things have ever been.
I had a back-and-forth with a former employee who was laid off in the purge.
They shared a lot of inside knowledge about the company and its internal operations, but I wanted to focus on how they were treated, especially the way Paycom is handling the terminations.
The reason given for my termination was "performance." But how does someone who consistently met high standards and received positive feedback from clients get dismissed for performance?
The workload itself is overwhelming. When someone leaves, their clients are reassigned to others who are already at capacity. If an employee is overwhelmed and underperform as a result, management doesn’t provide support but instead penalizes them with a Performance Improvement Plan.
Work-life balance is virtually nonexistent. Need to leave at a reasonable hour? It’s common for last-minute tasks to be assigned right before clocking out, with detailed updates required before the end of the day. And no, these items "can’t wait until morning."
While Chad Richison may be a high-profile leader at Paycom, there’s widespread toxic leadership throughout the company that contributes to this environment.
I think as we all know, exes – whether it's a former spouse, former employee or Elon Musk – aren't always the most unbiased sources of information, but I take that one for their word.
That's because A) just about every company in the world has toxic leadership and B) these other dispatches back it up.
For example, these departed employees were totally blindsided by their firing.
I was recently let go from Paycom under all the same circumstances you have described. This occurred despite the fact that I only had positive reviews, including a check-in with my boss that was all positive. Then, suddenly, a couple weeks later, I was told I lacked productivity and my work was error-prone, and was shown the door.
Here’s another:
Thought I’d share that many people are getting fired for the smallest things. I got terminated for a very minor error. Didn’t even have a chance to defend myself. They were quick to fire me, block my access, and escort me out of the building.
Ex-employees aren’t the only ones who reached out.
We also received dispatches from employees who still work at Paycom. Here’s what some of them had to say:
Hello,
I’m a current employee at one of Paycom's hub locations. Working here has been difficult. The building often has issues with backed-up plumbing, leaving us working in an environment with unpleasant odors. There’s also a rodent issue…
In my department, everyone feels the constant threat of being dismissed without cause, creating a high-stress environment. Benefits are also being cut—the PTO we signed up for has been reduced, our insurance has declined, and resources for mental health are limited. There are counselors at headquarters, but they mainly direct employees elsewhere for real support.
On top of it all, the leadership culture feels outdated. Promotions appear to favor a certain "type" and those willing to conform, while others are overlooked. The "Best Place to Work" reputation feels like a manufactured image that doesn’t match reality.
Here’s another:
The layoffs have left EVERYONE scrambling. We’re so understaffed that some people have to work double shifts!...
While it might not have been intentional, the layoffs seem poorly planned, especially in light of recent DEI developments. There didn’t seem to be any clear criteria for who was laid off, with many experienced, reliable team members let go seemingly at random. In the initial round, the majority of those laid off were from minority backgrounds. This may be a coincidence, but given the current demographics in Paycom’s leadership, the pattern is hard to ignore.
According to another employee, it seems like one of Paycom’s goals is to leave its current employees scared and confused, and wondering if they’re next:
Many other departments have seen firings as well. People who were admittedly not the best at their jobs and able to coast along for some time now, were all of a sudden let go with no warning. It feels like a crackdown or a taunt. Like, "see if you can survive all these changes and layoffs, we dare ya!"
As I mentioned earlier, these are just a sampling of the many emails and dispatches we received. Out of the dozens and dozens, only one was complimentary of the company:
Your articles about Paycom stink! It’s an awesome company. Thanks to it, I’ve gone from a bouncer at a Beach Boys concert to a billionaire business mogul who fires people under the guise of performance-related issues! Go Bronchos! - Chad
Okay, that’s one I actually made up. I didn't receive any that were nice or defended the company.
Anyway, whether you’re A) a happy Paycom employee who wants to tell us what a great place it is, B) a terrified employee who’s worried they're going to get an Outlook meeting request from HR soon, or C) one of the many purged ex-employees who want to vent, send us an email on the TLO Tip Line.
In the meantime…
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
