Oh boy..........where to begin.............
I worked for a company that was owned by Seagate and eventually it was decided that Seagate would bring us in all the way, rather than remaining a separate brand. This led to some excitement, but mostly uncertainty.
-The benefits, particularly the health insurance, were a joke compared to what we had and it forced every employee, regardless of health plan, to effectively take a decent sized pay cut (again, in effective pay) to remain an employee. This was brought up to Seagate higher ups and they basically said 'Live with it or take a hike'.
There were frequent meetings throughout the year that were called different things 'All Hands' or 'Town Hall'. These meetings were a nuisance due to their frequency, as well as their pep rally feel. 'Rah rah rah! We are doing so great! Our projections are through the roof!' And then year end rolls around and we are all expecting raises and the tune suddenly changed 'Well..........we are doing good, we just aren't doing 'give raises out'-good. In fact, layoffs!'
-Speaking of layoffs, they happened on an almost annual basis. Fortunately, I had connections to know when they were coming but my colleagues did not. The execution of the layoffs was done poorly. Many talented people grew tired of it and left. Morale was as bad as anywhere I have ever worked, and that includes a small business that was constantly on the verge of going out of business.
-The high ups who were always talking in these meetings didn't seem very sharp to me. Priorities and objectives constantly changed.
-Before we were merged into Seagate, we were able to work at home on occasion. This was very helpful on days when I had a cold or otherwise needed to be at home. Seagate got rid of this (for its low level employees).
