Slow But Ongoing Mass Layoffs at EPO, Estimates That Nearly Half of the FOs Will be Made Redundant Soon
When you cease to care about validity and quality of patents you're granting why bother with humans at all?
THE EPO's FOs (Formality/ies Officers) have long been at risk. António Campinos does not care about formalities. He just needs to pretend that he does.
Circulated among EPO staff today is the following alarming message (albeit not surprising to some) from the Central Staff Committee, i.e. elected staff representation:
Restructuring of formalities officers teams in 2025
Dear Colleagues, dear All sites,
A restructuring of the formalities officers (FO) teams announced in April this year is scheduled to take effect in January 2025. Under the new structure, the current 37 FO teams will be consolidated into 23 teams. As a result, at least 14 team managers (TMs) may be rendered redundant.
However, the actual number of affected TMs could be even higher, as some teams currently have up to 4 TMs. This data could not be confirmed as the FOs teams overview page is currently reviewed and inaccessible.
The TMs and team members report having only limited knowledge of the impending changes. FO team managers have been informed that additional details on the restructuring will be shared throughout September 2024, with the final structure to be officially announced before November 2024.
However, there is significant concern about the limited information provided thus far and the short time available to prepare and adapt.The instability and uncertainty caused by repetitive restructuring and changes in managerial styles present psychosocial risks, including emotional exhaustion, disrupted team dynamics, reduced cohesion, decreased job satisfaction, and communication challenges. Despite the CSC’s publication in May 2024, the social dialogue concerning job groups 5 and 6 has not yet resumed.
The CSC is concerned about the stress and potential psychosocial risks this situation poses for staff and TMs, particularly given the limited timeframe for preparation and adaptation.
Read more in our open letter to Mr Rowan (VP1).
Sincerely yours,
The Central Staff Committee - CSC
The open latter is dated 5 days ago, i.e. last Thursday, and here it is as plain text, GemText, and HTML (depending on how you're reading this):
European Patent Office
80298 Munich
GermanyCentral Staff Committee
Comité central du personnel
Zentraler PersonalausschussTel. +49 -89- 2399 - 2120
+49 -170- 2251 - 7271centralSTCOM@epo.org
Reference: sc24055cl
Date: 05.09.2024
European Patent Office | 80298 MUNICH | GERMANY
Mr Steven Rowan
Vice President of the EPO
The Hague Main – Room M26A20Open letter
Upcoming formalities officers team restructuring in January 2025
Dear VP1, dear Steve,
According to staff, the restructuring of the formalities officer (FO) teams announced in April this year is scheduled to take effect in January 2025. Under the new structure, the current 37 FO teams will be consolidated into 23 teams. As a result, at least 14 team managers (TMs) may be rendered redundant.
However, the actual number of affected TMs could be even higher, as some teams currently have up to 4 TMs. This data could not be confirmed as the FOs teams overview page is currently reviewed and inaccessible.
The TMs and team members report having only limited knowledge of the impending changes. FO team managers have been informed that additional details on the restructuring will be shared throughout September 2024, with the final structure to be officially announced before November 2024.
However, there is significant concern about the limited information provided thus far and the short time available to prepare and adapt.
The instability and uncertainty caused by repetitive restructuring and changes in managerial styles present psychosocial risks, including emotional exhaustion, disrupted team dynamics, reduced cohesion, decreased job satisfaction, and communication challenges. Despite the CSC’s publication in May 2024, the social dialogue concerning job groups 5 and 6 has not yet resumed.
The CSC is concerned about the stress and potential psychosocial risks this situation poses for staff and TMs, particularly given the limited timeframe for preparation and adaptation.
In light of these developments, we urgently seek clarification on the following points:
• What support will be offered to team members to maintain team process continuity and alleviate the negative impact?
• What solutions will be available for team members encountering difficulties adapting to this new change?
• How will situations be managed when colleagues who were transferred out of certain teams need to return to their original team or team manager?
• How will the TMs be selected, and which criteria apply?
• What support will be provided to TMs who lose their managerial tasks and teams?
• Which alternative roles/tasks will be offered to displaced TMs and will they be able to choose their new roles?
• Will FO teams be assigned TMs from different PoEs?
Given the short timeframe, we are looking forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely yours,
Derek Kelly
Chairman of the Central Staff Committee
According to a recent publication, the number of patent applications processed at the EPO (and/or patents granted) nearly doubled in the same period staff headcount decreased by about 10%. That says a lot about what the EPO really aims for and how. █