If senior management was serious about making Lumen Technologies a successful company it would go to each market and ask the front-line workers. Currently where I work, we are selling very little due to not having any compelling product to sell. We could beat our competition if we had something to offer but alas, our cupboards are bare. The combo techs where I work are 2nd to none when it comes to providing exceptional customer service. Unfortunately, senior management does not know how to take advantage of having such a dedicated workforce.
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I never knew we had an aviation department till now!
But.... come on.... we can't have our exalted SLT and board members daring to lead by taking commercial flights!
First class? OMG uh no...
Business Class? With all those dirty commoners and vacationing families with their screaming kiddos? Please.... Talk about vulnerability!
But I really do think that our problems go much deeper than having a couple of planes and the crew to maintain and fly them.
Agreed, sell the planes and get rid of the pilots and plane mechanics. No need for an avaiation department.
They could always sell their 2 Corporate Jets.
Hire local engineers instead of project managers all over the place. Let them manage the plant budget and determine where the builds should happen.
Both Level 3 and Centurylink played a shell game for years with M&A. Acquired companies, jumbled numbers, changed accounting treatments, etc.
The only “value” came from synergies. But you can’t cut your way to long term success.
The current position is no different than it’s been for years and years, there’s just no longer M&A to hide it.
Diversion to Extinction
Current SLT doing the best they can focusing on D&I, and book clubs, while the company divests itself into extinction. Keeping employee morale up to extract the most value, while Lumen searches for buyers of remaining business units. It has been too many years of stale leadership, marketing, products, sales, and lack of any bold plan or strategy. Lumen's enterprise sales historically come primarily from customers migrating from 1 platform to another through Lumen's own M&A activity. In most cases these events actually resulted in decreases in revenue. Since M&A has settled, they can no longer hide behind this reshuffling activity. The M&A activity has resulted in immense debt, disjointed systems, and reselling other company's products at low margin. Lumen lost it's way. And once it right sizes itself, what remains may not be enough to outpace current debt. I really think the only "fix" is prayers being answered they they find a buyer willing to take on their debt.
Find a way to make money?
Gut the over over over loaded management chain. Make the copper only areas prices cheap enough to get all the customers.
Expand fiber foot print.
convinced there is no way out ... based on what I see daily
meetings with tens or even hundreds per call
everyone trying to figure out whats going on, where to find it and how to get it
a real life abbott and costello - who's on first
the cost of trying to operate with limited remaining knowledge after so many costly mergers, reorganizations, layoffs, divestitures and vendors running rampant ... (have left the place devastated and dysfunctional)
Bankruptcy
Good luck, legacy is keeping the lights on. There's zero backbone in the SLT to push 100% fiber and associated build cost. It's still slow and "targeted" for the foreseeable future.
That's what Bankruptcy is for to fix their dept issues.
Let's face it.
The copper plant needs to go.
All TDM traffic needs to go.
This would require massive layoff about 40-50%.
The shareholders want clear winner. That would be Quantum, MOE, and Transport.
Fire Chris Noble and Ron Pfaff
get rid of the metrics.
I think the smart approach would be to face reality. The fiber assets are worth quite a bit. Selling off their plant and folding up would be in the best interest of both the shareholders and bondholders. The techs and engineers would likely follow the assets. IT is mostly in India. Customer Service is mostly outsourced. Marketing, Accounting and Legal would need to find new jobs. If they wait until the bondholders force them into bankruptcy, the end result will be the same but for a lot less money. The market can use their assets but it doesn't need Lumen.
I would look for any other job if I were you I saw the writing on the wall and I took a VSPP back in sept of 2021, I was a broadband technician for 21 years and the daily struggle to convince our customers we are better than Cox etc etc, it would be better for lumen to sell off the consumer part of the business and just concentrate on the enterprise market. I hope I’m wrong lots of good people over there but I think it just to late
I hate to say it but I think the company is too far gone to make a recovery. Bankruptcy is the only way to fix Lumen.