Call it for what it is; Lumen does not want to have employees on payroll. HireVue was activated last year which is preventing past experienced employees re-entry to the company at a time where the company needs more staff. The union contract was approved on one condition; that anyone hired or REHIRED would not have retirement benefits. Those (non union) who still work for the company must also take the HireVue test to advance or move internally. However, Contractors do not have deal with these things, and are being hired to fill some of these positions. This is complete ignorance on the company's behalf because you have employees who left for some reason (package, health, other company) and decide to return. No training would be needed since they already know the network, terminology, systems and people/departments. They weren't previously fired. They left voluntarily, but now HireVue or the new contract really makes them unattainable. Lumen stock still below $6, dividend removed, CEO jumped ship, company trying to sell off more assets, let's not forget the sanctions/fines/violations (still) coming at the company in all the remaining states. What a great recipe for bankruptcy and failure.
29 replies (most recent on top)
I’ve been with the company almost 20 years (non represented) and I don’t have a pension plan just a 401k that is tanked.
I worked for Centurylink for 15 years. I came on board when the company was called Embarq as an I&R Tech. I had applied 9 time in 2006 for a Central Office position but everytime received and email that said the job was already filled or no longer available. Within 6 weeks of being an I&R Tech I was hired and transferred to the DS3/Fiber Group as a Network Tech. I worked in that position for almost five years and then became a Central Office Network Tech. I worked for the company for 15 years and was a loyal employee, never written up and always willing to work. In 2021, on a callout, I had a heart attack. I had open heart surgery and thank GOD for saving my life. I went thru my STD but still needed additional therapy. I then had to go on LTD. Approx 6 months later my EXACT SAME job became available at the CO I had worked at for 5 years. I was healthy again and applied for the position. I had to do the HireVue bullsh-t and never heard a word back from them. Since then I have applied a DOZEN times for positions that I am 100% qualified for. Nothing but CRICKETS!!! Just a few weeks back I attended a job fair at one of the Centurylink COs for an I&R position. They had NO CHOICE but to interview me but the story remains the SAME. Thank you for your interest in the Lumen position of Network Tech. We sincerely appreciate your interest in this position. Unfortunately, at this time, we’ve decided to pursue other candidates whose qualifications better align with the role. I am 71 and STILL have what it takes to work at this job. Be WARNED. This company does NOT CARE ABOUT YOU or YOUR FAMILY. They have NOTHING to offer customers any longer and are so far behind the curve that NO ONE wants their services. OH and let me not forget to mention, if you need parts to fix most of their OUTDATED, antique equipment....GOOD LUCK.
Lumen's big problems are two-fold. One, the company is ridiculously silo'd. And two, Corporate management is overly top heavy. Sales rarely, if ever, talks to Engineering to better understand what their pain points and priorities are. The tech's in Engineering rarely, if ever, get told about their customers issues until they are standing in front of the customer apologizing.
Many of our more rural customers begged and pleaded to get fiber extended to their areas. Sadly few ever got more than marginal DSL service.
Several of the folk that I used to work with have been promoted to Manager and Director. And many of these new leaders are leaders in name only. They still the same job but get fancy new job titles. One Director in the sales organization laid off entire teams to make points with her new Vice President. Her plan to serve the customers affected was to summarily dump them onto the few teams that remained.
Thankfully I saw the writing on the wall and got out before things started getting really sketchy!
Because Orem techs pay cap is $10 less then us. When they lay off it will always be copper tech unless they want to move job titles
Old techs will be gone before the prem techs or lose 10 an hour.
Why would they lose 10 dollars per hour?
Old techs will be gone before the prem techs or lose 10 an hour.
Funny, the peeps on here think there’s this great division of tech abilities. The old copper techs also do fiber. If copper goes away, they just do fiber. Duh! Difference is they just paid more than prem techs. It takes about 1/2 a brain cell more to do fiber than cable tv. If you think different than maybe you shouldn’t be in this industry
No one wants to believe reality.
Spent billions but gained billions back and even more. The government money is not just for rural broadband anymore. They knew exactly what they were doing by building that fiber and sold it. They were way ahead of the game. Most of the new builds will be paid for in the next 2 to 5 years. Lumen if smart will build it out and break it up and sell it off. Ziply is now hiring fiber installers for $10 less an hour at top pay.
Verizon lost billions on their fiber build. They sold to make up the loss and get out of the hardline business. It’s not paid off by or for any company within a couple years. As for government subsidies….where, what? Rural broadband? I guess that’s paid for by the government but those few thousand customers don’t make up the 100s of millions spent on build out in dense population areas.
Verizon did just fine, they just chose to focus on wireless. Also the television part of it was a major problem. Frontier was going bankrupt long before that purchase. Most fiber builds are paid off within a couple years, especially now with so much government provided money.
Verizon lost their nerve on FTTP and couldn't stand up to the Wall Street naysayers, along with a change of executive leadership from the wireless side. If they had stuck to their g-ns, they'd be in a much better position.
Frontier, like Fairpoint, failed because they took on too much debt to buy the properties. Zipply and Brightspeed will be mostly fine until the economy really tanks and speculative money runs out or the backers decide to flip the companies.
Lumen's problem is they remain paralyzed by the numbers. Too much easy profit from existing revenue, too much money to go 100% fiber so always looking for an easy out. Should have pulled off the bandaid ten years ago instead of slowly bleeding out. No Experience Kate is continuing the same track record with her pause. The numbers will scare her and we'll waste another 2-3 years wishing and hoping for some alternative while trying to cherry pick customers. Meanwhile she'll load up the top with her similar no experience followers.
"Copper should have been gone nearly 20 years ago, that's when Verizon started doing FTTP. Would have been done and paid for by now."
Verizon lost their a-s on FTTP and sold entire regions as fast as they could. Frontier bought that "gold mine" and filed bankruptcy. Will see how long ziply stays in business. Doubt 20 years later its paid for.
CenturyTel cutoff Pension plans for new hires after 2008.
Froze Pension growth for nonrepresented and management after 2008.
A Pension? Lmao! Right!
Fake news all over the place. As a new employee I was offered a pension along. With a 401k. Im done with this site.
Managing the lucrative declining legacy services are key to success.
Get rid of it ASAP and move on with FTTP.
In my area, RDOF projects are starting in 2023 to bring FTTP to rural America.
Metro markets are different story.
Im sure most complaints are coming metro market technicians.
Ok every meeting talks about legacy services and how they are declining but lucrative. Managing the decline is a key to success. Not costing anything been paid for for years.
Anyone expects Lumen to support copper plant is dilusional.
Move on people!
Lumen is still generating billion dollars in revenue from copper.
But, the cost of maintaining the copper plant, army of copper technicians, and old outdated equipment is costing more than generating profit.
Take away all the copper related services and technicians means. Lumen can concentrate on future growth.
It's interesting that people keep bashing the Copper plant. The Copper plant still generates revenue. It would have to for Lumen to sell it. You cannot sell a Cadillac with no engine and tell the buyer it runs great! …Then, Lumen would have to undersell the copper to attract the buyer. It generates 1 billion a year, but I'll sell it to you for 400k. Either way you look at it, once all *assets are sold off, Lumen will not be a huge revenue generating company. Especially with competition placing fiber every day. *Assets would be our "footprint" in each state, our customers, Central offices, our telephone poles that other companies are paying Lumen (us) to rent space, towers, garages, all right of way licenses, state agreements..well basically everything physical and contractual. Even the kitchen sink. So that Lumen can become the mail order fiber company. AND then pay the buyer (who just took our plant) rental fees to be on their poles or rent cage space in their Central Office (which we once owned).
Copper should have been gone nearly 20 years ago, that's when Verizon started doing FTTP. Would have been done and paid for by now.
Lumen isn't filing for bankruptcy anytime soon. Lumen stock is low because they are forced to maintain copper services.
Once Lumen let's it all go. The stock prices will come up. Until then, it will remain low.
Lumen isn’t going BK? Umm, you keep telling yourself that please! What exactly do you see flourishing this company to success? I’m curious to hear your answer!
Anyone on here thinks Lumen will keep wasting dollars into copper plant just to support your future.
You need to wake up! Copper should have been long gone.
Lumen isn't going bankrupt this year and packages are long gone.
Well all they have to do is offer a package and many will take package and leave. So many people have become eligible since the last time an offer was made. Of they want to get rid of copper jockeys they easily could.
Lumen wants to get rid of anyone related to copper technology.
That's about 70% of Lumen employees.
It will happen. Copper is dead. No one wants it.
This company will be Bankrupt by cob Dec 31 2023. Mark you calendars! They have destroyed the culture, destroyed good hard working families! Touché Lemon!