Thread regarding Windstream Corp. layoffs

Looks like there is now an attorney position at WS...even our lawyers are jumping ship.

Read through the 10-K filing for the trajectory of where things are going. Financial reorganization doesn't fix the deep rooted problems. It's not the last CLEC or merger we went through, it's a combination of bad decisions that have snow balled into a pile of debt, antiquated network elements , and a real estate problem.

Honesty is the best policy. Windstream suucks. No other way to put it.

I left Windstream 2yrs ago, but worked closely in data centers with alot of enterprise customers as a net texh. Had a customer hit me up on linked in today asking for advice as they have been down hard for 2 days with no updates and has been on hold for up to 1.5hrs trying to get thru to someone. He called 3 time today as was on hold over 1hr each time. Guess things are pretty bad at WIn now a days. Checked in here and that confirms it. Your customers are reaching out for former employees for help because they no longer have any contacts at Windstream. I was honest, that network is in trouble and he should leave immediately.

@4bwa+14YzkOIo

"Great financial breakdown. And you had all that time to prepare it while you were being paid to work. Hugh layoffs coming."

Breaks and Lunch my friend! I am a better CFO than anyone else here. There is no 3rd party oversight from the bankruptcy courts. WIN and UNIT made it look good to keep the courts and investors happy.

@2sos+14YzkOIo

Your job isn't coming back. I agree there are or were alot of great people here. This company is shrinking not growing. Depending on who's numbers you use we are downsizing by another 20-30% this year and 50% in 2021. Move on already, the glory days of telecom are behind us.

To the guy that said As soon as my position opens again, I will be back.

Time to move on, it’s not opening backup.

“Cyclone Amphan: More than 1 million to be evacuated in India, Bangladesh“

• and, there goes Support!

Great financial breakdown. And you had all that time to prepare it while you were being paid to work. Hugh layoffs coming.

Running total for 2020 and first quarter:

January 2020
$199M in the bank
$403M in revenue
$41M NET LOSS
$61M in goodwill

$77M paid to bankruptcy attys YTD
5 months left of cash in the bank

February 2020
$162M in the bank
$398M in revenue
$31M NET LOSS
$61M in goodwill

$89M paid to bankruptcy attys YTD
4 months left of cash in the bank

March 2020
$455M in the bank
$400M in revenue
$27M NET LOSS
$61M in goodwill

$92M paid to bankruptcy attys YTD

14 months left of cash in the bank. By the end of May we'll have about $400M in the bank.
That will get us to next year. Between now and then we will have smaller layoffs & sales
of more key assets. If we continue to hemorrhage cash and not get into the black
WIN is done for in the long term.

Looking at the balance sheet we didn't save or create $454M it's just cash from
the loan. The $107M loss in Q1 represents in part a payout to the executives(KEIP) and top 150 Director and above(KERP) to keep things glued together. We all know the company is going to fail, they throw them a bone to keep them here for now.

1st Payment was this spring and the 2nd payment is due when we come out of Chapter
11 sometime this summer.
http://www.kccllc.net/windstream/document/1922312200114000000000004

We had to pull some cash out of the bank to pay out KEIP and KERP bonuses
in March. Total Payments To Insider went up significantly. We generally pay out
$300K a month to the LR5. Imagine trying to get by only making 35K a month!

Take a look at page 15, payments jumped up to $5,700,000 for March. Also looking back
at February they were paid out $1,800,000.

I don't understand why we continue to reward those that have failed the company.

Board of Directors if you read this fire the executives!
Stock holders / Investors if you read this fire the board!

I dont understand how Windstream can provide such horrible heath benefits. I couldnt afford my monthly meds while working for them. I had one script I have to take, been taking for 25yray and always cost $10-20 a month depending on my plan. Windstream came in and that monthly script was $450 a month. I went to my doctor and he said there is no generic and he never heard of it costing so much, he got me some samples to help but it wasnt enough. I ran up credit card debt paying the pharmacy, had to leave and didnt have a choice. That Good Rx card ended up being better then Windstream benefits and the acript was only $375 without using that horrible insurance. Then windstream fined me because my wife wasnt able to go get bloodwork......HR was no help, they actually yelled at me because I complained about the benefits and told me I should go look for another job. What HR dept says that to an employee?

I was at Windstream a long time and do not regret leaving at all. Grass was much greener on the other side for me. That place is bad for your health.

I worked at windstream for six years in a department and went to a different company. I just want to let you all know that the grass is not always greener on the other side. I miss my colleagues and my job so much. I check to see if my job is reposted and will reapply if we ever get out of bankruptcy again. It was the dumbest mistake I ever made in my life. I never shared it with my parents or my family members. Just be careful. If you like your position, or you have trepidation before applying to another company just remember the grass is not always greener.
As soon as my position opens again, I will be back.

I know plenty of educated people still at Windstream. I dealt with some complacency as well. I stayed at the CLEC I was at far too long. Windstream came in and told me I was at the top of their salary scale and would never see another raise as long as I stayed at Windstream. I couldnt stay there if I wasnt goong to get so much as a cost of living increases. Now I work elsewhere and my salary and benefits FAR exceed anything at Windstream or at the CLEC I loved working at. Bottom line, always look for a new job and never sit idle in a position. The execs at that CLEC took their buyout and my career never crossed their mind, and in hindsight it shouldnt.

OK, we started with a Billion dollar loan a year ago. We took out 900 million and we only have 100 million left to use. Where did all of the money go if we are coming out of chapter 11 with all of the sunshine and rainbows.

Who is the rocket scientist and financial wizard behind this one?

Why are you positing this and why are we all learning about this now?

Any educated person wouldnt still be working at Windstream.

WS had a 1 bil revolver at the beginning and draw from that...they have 500 mil left and have had that amount since day 1 or close to that day

@1thr+14YzkOIo

I have educated myself. Take a look at page 17 or any of the previous monthly statement.
We have had a $500M revolver since day 1 of bankruptcy. They chose to draw $400M of that now.

Example of the Feburary 2020 statement
https://www.kccllc.net/windstream/document/1922312200331000000000002

WS drew that 400 mil at the beginning of the bankruptcy and hasn't touched it since then. Try to educate yourself a little before opening your mouth

@Blankrupt
Thanks again for posting

Looking at page 16 we drew $400 million from our revolver with CITI.
NOWHERE was this mentioned during the Q1 call. This place is all smoke and
mirrors the deeper I look!. This means that we lost about $102M in Q1 and needed to plug the hole in this sinking battleship.

Sounds like another $20-30M in bonuses to the LR5 and a few months of operating cash. Nobody is buying the CLEC portion. Nobody was dumb enough to buy any one of the dozens of CLECs windstream bought, so who is willing to buy all lf them? Other carriers are signing windstream customers in droves, why pay for them if you have to take on a huge TDM network from the 90s? Its either stay a float and shut down the tdm network or liquidate.