EarthLink – “The Home Stretch?”

Pros

Very good benefits (vacation, 401k match, insurance) as a holdover from the boom days. The salary was fair, sometimes more so, depending on the department. Work environment was very relaxed. There were some very bright people that worked there. Bonuses could be very generous.

Cons

The company will soon pass the two year mark of when it first entered downsizing mode, and it was pretty much guaranteed that more layoffs would occur pretty much every quarter. It got to a point where you felt more sorry for the people left behind than those that were leaving. Now instead of trying to build something, the company is all about squeezing out every possible cost, which requires an entirely different mindset for the people still there.

Advice to Senior Management

You made the tough decision to force the company into the final stage of the business life cycle. No problem with that; it was a logical move. But there's no indication that there's a clue as to what to do next. If you truly want to be around in another 5 years, allow the employees to actually use some of that hoard of cash. If not, just admit it and start paying it out to the shareholders. Don't just sit on it.

Also, if Garry Betty and the previous management team could be highly visible to almost every employee in a company of 4,000, there's no excuse to be MIA in a company of 500. A single quarterly podcast doesn't count as open communication.