Leaked email outlines VMware employees’ potential fates as the Broadcom acquisition closes

• VMware employees received an email this week about their options when Broadcom’s acquisition closes.
• Employees will either get a Broadcom offer, transitional offer, or severance.
• Employees, including managers, are unlikely to have a choice in what option they end up with.

Employees at VMware received an email this week outlining their potential fates after Broadcom completes its $61 billion acquisition of the cloud computing and virtualization company.

According to an email sent to senior managers that Insider obtained, VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram and chief people officer Betsy Sutter met with senior directors this week to share updates on the upcoming acquisition, which is expected to close on October 30.

Sutter had warned employees to “expect a feeling of acceleration” as the close date approached, and that Broadcom is “driving the playbook,” according to the email.

According to the email, VMware employees will have three employment options: a Broadcom offer, a transitional role offer, or a severance package.

Employees, including managers, are unlikely to have a say in which option they receive, and managers are unlikely to be aware of their or their teams’ status ahead of time, according to the email.

According to the email, VMware intends to notify employees of their status by mid to late October, but this could be later or after the acquisition closes.

Requests for comment from VMware and Broadcom were not immediately returned.

Insider previously reported that Broadcom is planning significant cuts for VMware. Employees feared layoffs and a culture clash over remote work, and some speculated that some units, such as security, might be spun off or sold. Following the announcement of the deal, many employees and executives left VMware.

The following is what the email says about the options available to employees:

There will be three options available to current VMware employees:1) Get a Broadcom offer2) Accept a transitional role offer – this will vary depending on the role, but will include a set number of additional months to be retained before their severance package kicks in. These will be few and far between.3) Receive a severance package in accordance with VMware’s severance plan.Please keep in mind that most employees will not be able to choose which of these three options they will be presented with.Employees should be notified of their status by mid-late October, but this could be later or even after close. Furthermore, some countries outside of the United States have regulations that may affect the notification date. As a result, people in different countries may receive notifications at different times.Managers will be treated the same as other employees and are unlikely to be aware of the status of themselves or their team members ahead of time.