I've worked for VMW for 18 years. I started in an office we leased from Tibco. It was a pretty good place to work--though I've never been foolish enough to believe an employer is interested in anything other than how much money my work helps them bring in. When they built the Promontory buildings and moved us over, I was pleased to be in a new office, but again I knew they built their fancy new HQ to impress investors/partners.
VMW has had pretty good perks in the PA office since it was built. And the pay is around the industry average, at least for the type of work I'm doing. The other benefits were OK... though I've always realized that the money they "give us" to donate is just another tax write off.
Mostly I've stayed because what I'm working on is interesting and the people I work directly with know what they're doing. I've generally ignored management and company politics, kept my head down and worked on stuff that's new and worth learning. Fellow employees that I interact with are good people with good skills...not universally, but as a rule. There was a certain camaraderie among the teams I worked with.
At some level most of what kept me at VMW will be gone at the end of this process--whether the deal closes or not. Competent people are leaving in droves and even if it closes those who stayed for the RSUs probably won't hang around when they experience BC's broken "culture." Tech projects are being cancelled or delayed. And BC's benefits aren't anything special...
VMW wasn't "broken" before this, but it's badly damaged now. I don't see it pulling out of that any time soon.
This deserved its own thread, it was originally posted by @aab+1pzSDmP4.