a very mixed bag - Marketing Manager Flywire Employee Review

Since the new CFO joined, financial performance has improved but employee morale has declined substantially. The tone has shifted from mission-driven to aggressively cost-driven. Trust has been replaced by anxiety. Many employees now feel expendable, and long-standing perks have been eliminated with the candid explanation that “investors said it costs too much.” Even equity compensation has been publicly framed as "waste" by the CFO. What he calls waste is part of our compensation. People Operations was moved offshore, and the impact on service quality has been noticeable. Routine HR matters now require excessive follow-up, clarification, and correction. For a function responsible for sensitive employee information and critical processes, the level of operational friction is greatly concerning. Can a team who cant do almost any tasks correctly be trusted with employees PII? What legal recourse would this company, or its employees, have if our PII was abused? Cost savings may have been achieved but at a meaningful expense to employee confidence and efficiency. The company publicly promotes its commitment to DEI, yet it recently scaled back its parental leave policy, calling the prior plan “too generous” and citing concerns about abuse. The revised policy narrows flexibility for caregivers and feels inconsistent with the inclusive values leadership promotes externally. It’s difficult to reconcile messaging about equity with decisions that appear entirely financially motivated. Employees were reminded by the CPO that we are “allowed” to work remotely. This was shortly after the company eliminated the work-from-home stipend due to investor feedback. For many employees, that translated into an effective pay cut of nearly $1,000 to start the year during a period of record financial performance. The signal was clear: cost optics now outweigh employee experience. Capital allocation appears heavily weighted toward stock buybacks. While legal and common, these decisions are made by executives whose compensation is directly tied to stock performance. That dynamic naturally raises questions about alignment between long-term cultural investment and short-term shareholder returns. Following an acquisition, those employees who came from the acquired company were informed they would receive reduced raises because they were only under Flywire ownership for "part of the year." The outcome created compensation disparities among employees performing comparable work. The financial savings were likely modest. The impact on morale and trust was not. There is also a growing narrative that automation and AI will offset investment in talent. Innovation is important. But when employees consistently hear that efficiency and automation are the primary path forward, it reinforces the perception that people are viewed as cost centers rather than strategic assets. Financial metrics may be trending upward. Culture and confidence are trending downward. Prospective employees should understand: this is not the same Flywire many long-tenured employees joined. The focus is now clear maximize return, minimize cost. Whether that tradeoff proves sustainable remains to be seen. Stock price is down ~40% this year though. And morale likely the same. Was it worth it?