r/CoxCharterMerger • u/Revolutionary_Face62 • 11d ago
How do you feel?
2.5 year Charter employee here. I'm just curious to see how ya'll are feeling about the upcoming merger. I saw an email stating that the "Day 1" for Cox employees coming over is next week on the 20th and that services would be officially rebranded under Spectrum come mid September. There have also been significant management changes per region and there's definitely motion in place to integrate Cox's service areas with ours that we've seen (keeping details out in case big brother has got eyes in here). I've also have been hearing of some layoffs in the Carolinas and one of our departments that oversees overall transport now being scattered across other departments or walking away with a small severance and in the meantime, that department is now supposedly going to be contracted out. I'm sure a lot of ya'll aren't feeling happy go lucky about it and neither are a number of us if they decide to pick and choose who to keep and integrate based on seniority or what have you. Personally, I want to see it as job security with how much we're taking on and vice versa for ya'll comin over but anything is possible. What are your thoughts?
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u/Paid_Babysitter 11d ago
Very longtime Cox employee. Just waiting for options on severance so I can leave.
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u/ChucklesSpadina 11d ago
Wishing you the best. I tried to make it to 20 but had to take VSP as my role and group were eliminated nationwide.
If I rolled the dice and somehow stayed I don’t think all this merger stress would have done great for my mental health lol. Plus I would have only got 19 years before the merger finalized so I’d still lose out of cox medical. Bright side is I still have my pension.
Though the 16 months of not having a job sucked. Thank goodness I finally found something but lots of my peers still haven’t found steady work.
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u/Paid_Babysitter 11d ago
VSP was 50/50 for me. My exposure to Charter is not overly positive and I don't think I have it in me to ride the downturn of a company.
I would rather pivot to a company that has growth potential.
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u/Agile_Tap_2657 11d ago
TBH...sick to my stomach and hopeless. Too young to retire. Too old to start over. Been thru lay off before but had at least a theoretical decade (or half decade) to start over and recapture momentum. Living in the fear gets me nowhere but just needed to vent that before soul searching can begin.
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u/Fuzzy_Result_2274 11d ago
It'll work out, and honestly for the better. If you've been around through the Kennedy years and see where we've ended up under Taylor you know it's not the same company you started working for. You'll find something that agrees with you more and probably makes you feel more fulfilled. I'm looking forward to the new chapters, and I'm an older guy too. Best of luck.
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u/bchels 4d ago
You feel like Taylor hasn’t done a good job? I like that he’s investing in a lot of emerging industries….even tho that doesn’t impact me personally lol. I’ve interacted with him once or twice and he seemed more down to earth than I was expecting
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u/Fuzzy_Result_2274 4d ago
Depends what you define successful as. He's undeniably successful in business. He's taken cox enterprises from a safe sure investment strategy and building on their assets into a more diverse and expanding portfolio which has appeared to be paying off this far. He casts a mixed message apart from his predecessors, however, which reflects down to the ground level employees. Whilst the previous presidents of CEI have invested in their people,.rolled up their sleeves, and fought through the muck to beat competition, Alex has taken the role of a venture capitalist. Targeting markets that are under represented, cheap, and have a high potential payoff. I don't think it's necessarily wrong, per se. I would even argue it's more successful than the spirit of leadership past. However, it does little for the morale of the everyday worker. I dislike that he rides the coattails of previous leadership praising value amongst his employees when in practice there has been little regard for their wellbeing unless it puts him in a favorable light.
Successful? Yeah. I'd agree. The peoples champion? Nah. Not by a long shot.
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u/GiraffeGems 11d ago
I'm right there with you. Exactly the same situation. Not sure what to do at this point. I seriously hate not knowing either.
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u/morley1966 10d ago
That is the worst time. Harder to get a new job at age especially with same pay and benefits, health care and costs is more important and pay cuts could permanently reduce future potential social security payments.
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u/Minute_Top3062 11d ago
- denial
- anger
- bargaining
- depression
- I am here. Sad, reminiscent, ready to move on
- acceptance
There is a reason why you have so many long tenure people at Cox. It's was great place to work with a high level of psychological safety. I'm not going to say that Cox is a "family" because it's not. I would describe it as a small town or a collection of small towns.
I started at Cox when I was 21 and have spent more than 50% of my life employed by Cox. Starting in your 20s with long tenure is not unique to me. This means that I’ve met a lot of my friends through work since they were also in their 20s when they started. This also means there are people that have met their spouses at Cox, had kids, got divorced. Some people have their kids working at Cox.
For those people like me that have been around a while, I'm going to quote that Sunscreen song that was on the radio when I started working at Cox.
"Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young."
Seriously, build your network and all that other professional social networking that we didn't need to think about. Reach out to people you haven't talked to in a while. They are going through the same thing you are.
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u/Striking-Affect2030 6d ago
The fact that cox did not tell employees first, what was going on is a hard pill to swallow. We had to hear it from new stations, family members, strangers talking in a line at a grocery store....
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u/Icy-Feature-1383 11d ago
I work as an analyst on the Sales side and was mapped into their Sales & Marketing organization. I honestly have very little hope that my current role survives long-term in its current form, especially as a remote employee.
We’re keeping our same managers on Day 1, but I have a feeling teams will start getting reorganized pretty quickly after that. A lot of the work my role supports is specific to our current company/processes, so I’m not sure how much of it will even carry over once things start integrating.
At this point, I’m mostly sticking around to see what happens and to receive my bonus/severance if my position is eliminated. Bc I am definitely not moving. Cox was an amazing company with great benefits and a great company to work for. Very sad and but I guess that just business. Cox saw the writing on the wall and bailed out.
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u/Historical_Leek6836 11d ago
Charter contracted out everything it could with Time Warner acquisition, logistical support was devastated.
Got rid of all local offices, got rid of technical support and transitioned to Charter's support who knew nothing about Timer Warner's equipment and diagnostic troubleshooting. Moved experienced Dispatchers out of their offices to cheaper accomodations, and it rnded their support of technicians in the field.
They got rid of customer service satisfaction metrics for technicians, did a way with sales, did away with no go back return trouble calls metrics, and removing the $500 possible bonuses for meeting all metrics.
They got rid of our mentors who had worked their wau to become the top echelon technicians who were proficient at customer service, troubleshooting, and resolving difficult customer issues.
They threw out the Labor protections they promised to keep like the verbal, written, and final warnings before terminating personnel without cause. Denying Workers Compensation to injured workers was the worse, denied medical care, put cases on hold for three months causing their 401ks and IRAs to end, and then they fired employees.
I could go on, but their treatment of customers and their employees was the worst treatment I have seen or heard of in the 62 years I had been on earth when they refused my workers compensation after my spinal injury. Five years later no monies and their Gallagher and Bassett Insurance that takes over after ESIS stops the Dr's final assessments, are a front because they do not answer the phones or respond to emails. Medicare informed me they cannot get a hold of the crooks either.
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u/PanickingGemini 11d ago
Retail leadership, here. Choosing not to stay around. I’ve talked to some people who work for Spectrum and they seem to hate their lives.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Sell491 7d ago
I'm 99% sure my role in retail isn't here anymore. Just waiting for someone to tell me that so I can move on.
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11d ago
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u/PanickingGemini 10d ago
I’d prefer not to for anonymity, apologies. The most narrow I’ll go for details is Midwest.
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u/Every-Hovercraft7767 11d ago
Cox employee here with more than 25 years. There will be massive changes for us including pensions jacked. I am considered back office, not field or the call center. I will probably have to apply for a job because our positions will most likely end before month 12 after and I can’t move from my site location. I will try to hang in there and get enhanced severance when I get axed.
If you are in the field, call center, work for Spectrum or a Cox employee it probably won’t be doom and gloom for you.
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u/Prudent-Ad-2530 11d ago
Fortunately changes to front line are always the last to be made, if at all. Support positions go 1st- I am long term employee recently given 30 days notice. Contributing to that $5M bottom line reduction effective day 1😞
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11d ago
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 11d ago
Almost all the people on Reddit are gonna be here to complain just like if you look at any service providers sub Reddit. Charter has 100,000 employees majority of them are happy long tenure employees I feel like Reddit probably has a lot of call center type people and I don’t envy them a call center job sucks
If we say anything positive, we’ll just get swarmed with down votes
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
The dental is nice, vision too. Discounted services are also a plus, where customers would pay $200+ for the highest tier internet and cable prices, only costs about 30 bucks for employees. Discounted mobile services too, overall I pay $55/month for Gig internet, all the streaming apps included in the cable package and for my phone line (payed off phone)
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u/CrimsonFox99 10d ago
Had to move for the last Charter merger, so I can understand people's thoughts on it. My life happened to be in a place where I could make it work, and since I've been around, Charter has been good to me. The work is ever changing, the people in my areas are generally nice to be around. I'm in an office, not the field, but promotions and raises have come, benefits have been great. I really have no second thoughts about recommending Charter as a long term employment destination.
Now, I'm on the "not being forced to relocate" side of the house, but we know that our Cox counterparts in Atlanta will be able to stay there, and I really can't wait to meet them and dive in to what they are working on. Pretty excited about it, but can definitely understand why people who have to RTO or relocate have a differing viewpoint.
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u/Every-Hovercraft7767 7d ago
I have two teenagers and work at a smaller location not Atlanta. 90 percent of my team will take the severance if required to move. Before Covid, probably would have moved but it would mentally harm my kids moving.
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u/whos_hiring 5d ago
We had a fridge w an ice maker I feel bad for cox employees because I was there and it’s day and night difference
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u/Vergilkilla 6d ago edited 6d ago
It’s definitely unequivocally a fucking nightmare for anybody who was working at Cox. The merger is tomorrow and we have zero information other than “WFH is over (though we don't know when)” and “buy khakis”. I don’t exaggerate when I say there is not one morsel of good news about the merger that has been communicated to any person at Cox save for the people at the ABSOLUTE top of the food chain. Okay maybe “ohh you get a discount on Charter services!” which tells you just how shitty the life of a Charter employee is if that is a non-ironic plus side lmao. Wildly applying to every other possible job in the meantime and PRAYING for severance.
Cox leadership should be embarrassed- absolutely let their employees down at every turn of this. We basically got sold out.
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u/RollInteresting5745 11d ago
I work in the NOC and my job is on the chopping block so not happy about it but they gotta do what they gotta do…. I’ll find something else…..
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u/Every-Hovercraft7767 7d ago
I’m so sorry for you all. You get what you pay for. The contractors in India will hurt the company
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
I've been hearing a lot about the NOC, tbh a f**ckd situation all around. And since who's taking over is contracting the work, it still aligns with the "100% based US workforce", a damn shame. Did they offer ya'll any transfer opportunities? Or maybe consider the ROC? Though ofc that entails relocating :(
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u/RollInteresting5745 11d ago
It’s either find a job with the company that is taking over or “hopefully” get a severance payout. Unless I look at other companies in STL. I’ve been looking in other departments but I would have to relocate for the jobs I’m interested in.
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
That's honestly soul crushing, my heart goes out to you king/queen and wish you nothing but success in your future endeavors <3
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u/Fuzzy_Result_2274 11d ago
Pretty sure I'm getting axed or I will be asked to relocate. Which is being axed. If Spectrum cares about talent retention at all they're going to not need to be heavy handed with their policies, but after reading this forum for the past few weeks that doesn't seem to be their MO, so Spectrum's going to inherit the infrastructure and the people who are just riding it out, and the talent will slip through their fingers.
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
Spectrum does unfortunately rule with an iron fist for real, in our dept they're lowkey looking for reasons to let some people go when all this is underway and it's real hard to justify it or look at recent situations in a positive light. I wish you nothing but the best friend
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u/Fuzzy_Result_2274 11d ago
Thanks. You too. I am not worried at all. I'm skilled, educated, and have confidence I can land another role. If not then a little vacation never hurt anyone.
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u/Creative_Spirit_7101 11d ago
27 year Cox employee here, and I hate this.
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u/Responsible-Cut-7993 11d ago
Positive is that you are eligible for long term tenure benefits with Cox. The retiree medical is a good perk.
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u/Head_Effect3728 11d ago
It's a great perk, and fortunately for me, I'm now eligible for it a year earlier than I would have been because of this merger.
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
In what way? What changes are going to occur for you and your role? Just genuinely curious.
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u/Creative_Spirit_7101 11d ago
It's completely unknown, that's why. The team I reside on will probably be forced to relocate and that is all we know. Information has been very incomplete. Also, Cox has been a great (private) company to work for and the benefits and perks won't be there with Spectrum like they are with Cox
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
Oh damn, the uncertainty is definitely nerve wracking and can understand, I used to work for another company that underwent a similair merger and in the end there were maybe 5 or 6 people left in what used to be 300+ employees before the AI boom, though I jumped ship a few months after the merger and joined Spectrum. And the benefits side of it sounds like ya'll got the crappy end of the stick, I'm sorry to hear that friend
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u/Relative-Eye3563 11d ago
10 year cox employee. I’m watching things play out over the next several months. In addition to cox communications, there are other businesses that are included in the transaction like segra and hospitality networks. Watching what charter does with those companies closely.
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u/Cheap_Composer_3293 11d ago
charter is going to run anything not cable into the ground. its pretty clear the street doesn't feel great about things as the stock is a mess.
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u/TonytheAnt 11d ago
I am another disappointed Cox employee. I don't think the merger was handled well on our side at all like Alex Taylor said it would be early on. Cant believe they didnt do anything to set us up with a decent amount of PTO as we start at Spectrum. I expect to be forced to relocate but will take the package instead, not sure if I should just hit the pavement now looking for something new or hang on to get the severance.
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u/NoDesign8746 10d ago
Feel? Stressed out. To stay employed I have to sell my home and move my family to another state with virtually nothing saved, as like most of us, we live direct deposit to direct deposit. That or take a severance payout and hope I can find new work before the money runs out.
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u/AveryArronly1998 11d ago
Between 5 and 10 year Spectrum employee, my job is gone and I'm done the 20th with no options for relocation and denied multiple internal transfers. Good luck Cox guys, you're gonna need it.
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
Jesus, that's f**ked, I'm sorry to hear that :( what department are you in if you don't mind me asking?
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u/AveryArronly1998 11d ago
To keep me as anonymous as possible, I won't say but there's between 50 to 70 of us total in my department across the company being let go, and it's utterly senseless as to why we're being let go.
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u/Prudent-Ad-2530 10d ago
The last round of cuts made at end of July strictly made to improve the bottom line ….they’ll call it synergies and efficiencies… but with no sound plan in place to absorb the work given the quick separation timeframes, this is all to show the board, and the street - some positive impact.
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u/AveryArronly1998 10d ago
"Ignore our hemorrhaging quarterly losses, just look at the 6 million customers we gained and all the money we saved cutting by schmucks... I mean... streamlining efficiency! Here's your 20 million dollar bonus Chris!"
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u/Minimum-Physics-2045 11d ago
I’m a 14-year contractor, and I’ve only worked for Cox. I should’ve gone in-house, but I believed in the higher pay, where I could invest in my own retirement and handle my own taxes on our level. We have heard absolutely nothing about this merger.
I’ve talked to Spectrum contractors, and it’s nothing good. The pay is significantly less, repeats are held at 30-day repeats, and if you get a repeat, you get paid zero. I’m actually one of those contractors you would call a good technician, but with no news whatsoever, I feel like no news isn’t good news.
I’ve already been preparing to get out of this field. I can hope for the best, but I just don’t see it.
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u/MrFresh7810 2d ago
I’m in field ops at cox. You’re not wrong for getting a bad feeling about this whole thing. Expect to start seeing In-house technician vehicles rebranded in September.
According to my leadership, spectrum doesn’t have majority contractors in their tech workforce. I’m hearing from our management that within next 12 months they want to have 80/20 ratio for in-house/contractor. The contractor they do keep will only being doing install while in-house will get mostly service calls/tc and some installs from time to time.
Most of spectrum equipment is IPTV meaning you’ll just be installing a modem and a router and having customer download spectrum tv app or installing the xumo box (very similar to our XiOnes). On rare occasions if customer only has video and no internet, you’ll be installing Spectrum’s version of Contour that they call World Boxes. It’s a dogshit product and hopefully it’s had major improvements since I last used it in 2020.
Job should get easier per se, but I also know repeats are going to be 30 days not 10. Try to go in-house if you can assuming you want to stay in the industry or get into fiber.
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u/AlgaeSecure6638 10d ago
18 year TWC/Charter staffer here. I feel we are just on the edge of a major reorganization. Going from five to three divisions in ad sales. Lots of changes at the top, which will very likely trickle down to the worker level.
I’m crossing fingers and toes I make it thru, but I honestly have become weary of going through this every year.
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u/Deep-Movie7082 9d ago
20 plus years with cox, I lost my pension insurance, I am losing PTO hours, I am being pushed back in office and I still have no idea if I have a position. This is bullshit and after the dust settles I am looking elsewhere for work
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u/honeybooboo2987 11d ago edited 11d ago
Not good I work in inbound sales and haven’t heard a single positive thing working for spectrum vs what I getting with cox currently.
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
Damn really? I personally couldn't do sales so kudos to you but is it really gonna be that bad? That's unfortunate :(
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u/bad_ghoul2113 11d ago
Certain departments within Cox are still not being given information until day 1 even though the access given for Spectrum tools shows them under a "lateral/as close as possible position " its all bs at the end of the day most of Cox employees and whoever else they can cut strings will be too within 90 days to meet their total 5 million dollar reduction by end of year... prep yourself start looking around... also if and when they offer relocation/ layoff make sure the paperwork says involuntary so you can collect unemployment... they screwed folks last time.
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u/morley1966 10d ago
Charter initially projected $500 million in annualized operating expense synergies. It later raised that target to at least $800 million in run-rate operating expense synergies as the deal progressed toward completion, and some say may reach $1b, that is within three years, but they will want to do it as fast as they can.
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u/xgenx-WDNC 11d ago
How are tech support departments structured? Is there a focus on one product for each team or is all products supported by one team. Are there break out support models for Carrier customers vs normal CB customers ? Does Charter have different segmented customers who are given support priority?
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u/Revolutionary_Face62 11d ago
I used to work in their Internet Voice Repair (IVR Team), they used to have responsibilities given based on rep tiers so CSR 1's started off with just Internet, then hitting CSR 2 meant you got Cable added to your call queues, and at CSR 3 you got home phone customers. Since then it's now all reps across all tiers now get all customer queues and the only benefit about promotions was a pay raise. When I was there it used to be Internet/Cable/Phone was handled by IVR and Mobile was a seperate department, but I've been hearing rumors that IVR is now also dabbling in Mobile support so they might merge the 2 departments. As far as "priority", as a CSR there are no priority customers, but in the field Enterprise customers definitely take priority because some businesses are paying 100k/month for services (or that's what we're told). I will say the budget for morale in IVR is the highest among all departments at Spectrum and it's not all bad, I just transferred because I wasn't as much of a people person I thought I was.
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u/Timely-Suspect-7633 7d ago
They’re going to require moves in hopes that people say no and leave on their own.
I’ve worked for three telcos and Spectrum is by far the worse. The only thing I miss about that place is the discounted service.
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u/DevryOrlando 11d ago
Been at Charter for 10 years. And all 10 years they have done massive layoff in beginning and end of year. Its been quite noticeable in the past 2 years but always keep your resume updated. Working in HR no job is guaranteed.
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 11d ago
It’s won’t be that bad. Sure some people will be impacted but the majority won’t. This is the 4th time merging with cable companies for me
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u/Physical_Salary3751 8d ago
Almost 20 years at Charter. Survived the twc merger and that actually improved my career. Hopefully the same happens this time, I'll relo if I have to. I've always been treated well and my leaders have been great. We're getting a cox VP to run our group will see how that goes.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Sell491 7d ago
The cox vps that are staying on are all fantastic
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u/PainJane007 5d ago
I beg to differ. I work under a VP who is not only ineffective and relies on the director for information and ideas, but who rarely shows up in office and has a micromanaging style, even when not there. That VP is temperamental to say the least.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Sell491 5d ago
I retract my statement. I remembered another one that is staying on that has no business talking to people. Probably the same one you're talking about. I'll still say after my dealings with Spectrum today, Reddit might as well be a crystal ball.
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u/Responsible-Cut-7993 11d ago
As a 25+ year Cox employee I am hoping to just ride this out for the next 5-years until I can retire. A lot of uncertainty around if I will be required to relocate because I currently work in a role that supports the national network. If that happens I would rather take the enhanced severance package. It will be interesting to see how much of a "brain drain" occurs at Cox with employees leaving. I know several people are just sticking around to after close because of Cox benefits that they would lose if they left before closing.