As a long-time employee watching our recent executive communications, I am genuinely terrified for the future of this company. We are being fed a steady diet of corporate buzzwords that sound impressive but mean absolutely nothing to the people doing the actual work.
When Chris constantly talks about building a "best in class" organization and launching "Crown 2.0," you have to ask yourself what those terms actually mean. The problem is that they are never defined. There are no specific metrics, no tangible benchmarks, and no honest roadmaps shared with us to back up the grand vision. It feels entirely disingenuous, like a pre-packaged Wall Street script designed to sound confident while obscuring the reality on the ground. When leaders hide behind vague catchphrases instead of offering concrete plans, it is usually a glaring warning sign that they are masking a much deeper lack of direction.
Nowhere is this disconnect more obvious, and more painful, than in the commentary surrounding the recent 20% Reduction in Force. Listening to Chris put a positive spin on such a massive cut shows a staggering lack of empathy for the people who built this place. Hundreds of families had their livelihoods upended, yet the move was packaged as a strategic triumph.
Then comes the inevitable, hollow compliment about the "resilience" of the remaining team. Let us be incredibly clear about what that resilience actually looks like. It is not a renewed commitment to a brilliant new vision. It is the sheer exhaustion of the surviving teammates who are now expected to maintain the company's success entirely on their own backs. We are absorbing the workloads of our departed colleagues, not out of loyalty to a new regime, but because the current job market stinks and people have mortgages to pay.
We are trapped on a sinking ship, holding the hull together with duct tape while our friends struggle to find a lifeline. The ultimate strategy seems painfully transparent to anyone paying attention. The goal is not to build a sustainable workplace. The goal is to slash costs, dress up the balance sheet with empty jargon, and sell the company to the highest bidder. Chris is gearing up for a meticulously orchestrated, cushy retirement, while the people doing the actual work are left suffering through a massive pay gap and unprecedented burnout.
I will, however, give Chris credit for exactly one thing. His absolute insistence that we integrate Copilot into our daily workflows has actually paid off. It was incredibly helpful in allowing me to research and compose this reality check.
18 replies (most recent on top)
@1d0 as someone who has been at crown and left it’s sooo much better outside of crown
Well here we are. I worked for Crown for many many years. I can't say I will miss it but I will miss the people, even some I don't especially like. I am going elsewhere and I feel really bad for those that are staying. I hope you either find another job or Crown figures out how to treat you well. I honestly hope for the prior. God speed my friends and take care of yourselves.
Oh, no…. The Pittsbugh Penguins lost. I hope you don’t need any support or collaboration from the folks in Canonsburg the rest of the week. Or that pork chop eating wannabe actor goon DB in PHX…. lol…
@jp It’s gonna be May
@jp don’t say it too loud. Colonel Klink will catch wind and have this taken down.
@hr As of Friday the folks in the perimeter will be within their own companies. I know that much for sure. Also my understanding about the exchange of funds may be wrong. I won't comment on that more until I know for sure, but we will definitely know when it is publicly announced next Friday. Sorry if I had misinformation earlier. Things change and are happening fast.
@hr so will they will be under crown or will this actually be the close and they are within their own companies
@dc We are going through a pseudo legal-closing next Thursday/Friday. There is no money changing hands and in this case it is to close the door on those in the perimeter and move forward with those staying with Crown. With that said, no money is exchanging hands as the deal isn't government approved.
@h6 *Can
I love the attempt at saying we are getting into data centers to hopes to get a stock boost. Also they justify it as there won’t be any nimby. You can’t even modify a tower without pushback then you want to add a data center. Good one.
@fe I think he spent too much time in Germany.
But I know nothing.
I would appreciate a CEO who actually does his job instead of taking attendance at the door every day.
@am it’s happening in a week according to my sources in D&D.
@OP I don't mean to bring politics into the discussion but what the heck. It sounds like the CEO took a page out of the orange man in the Oval Office's playbook when you say
The problem is that they are never defined. There are no specific metrics, no tangible benchmarks, and no honest roadmaps shared with us to back up the grand vision. It feels entirely disingenuous, like a pre-packaged Wall Street script designed to sound confident while obscuring the reality on the ground.
I love how Chris implied that employee engagement would be great after the fiber group is gone. He is delusional.
I love how they say the sale will close sometime in the first half of 2026 like it’s so far away. You have a month and a half
Not to mention that several people have left on their own recently. Let’s hear how they spin 90% retention of employees while the wrong people leave because a raging lunatic of a CFO thinks he’s also the CTO.
I’m definitely looking for another job like many people. Working in IT is now a horrible experience and with poor leadership at the company and department levels it’s just not worth it to work here.
Crown truly owns less than 50% of their towers. The remaining are long term leases with an option to buy at the end of lease. And those leases are coming due in a few years. The future of Crown is not good. You're right though. If you have a job keep it. The market is flooded.