In our Bay Area offices, there have been two rounds of cuts, the second round just happened, which directly affected me. My internal evaluations were significantly better than others that I've started with in the same position, but those people are still there. Although this is a small firm, you definitely feel the sense of politics in play. They don't care about how well you work, only how much upper management in the company like you. This is obviously something common in the consulting industry, but the fact that people get laid off without reason, even though they are hard working individuals disappoints me. Afterward, I hear that people weren't laid off due to performance, but because we just weren't needed anymore due to the types of services the firm was trying to sell.
I was extremely loyal to the firm, and did not attempt to get other jobs even though head hunters were contacting me every other week -- this got me nowhere, and now I am stuck without a job in economic turmoil. We had no idea we were getting laid off, it just happened out of nowhere.
If you're good with office politics, this may be a great place for you, but otherwise I'd stray away, as the firm will get rid of you once they've milked you for all you're worth.
Benefits are sub-par as well. The 401k "matching" was 25% -- of the first 6% you put in. We're accountants, its fairly clear the match is only 1.5%. The wording made it sound great on paper, but in theory its awful. With such a large parent company (Robert Half International), I would have expected better benefits, but now its obvious why the company has so much liquid cash and no debt, they're screwing their employees and their morale.
