Still SBC, just using AT&T name to gain credibility.
7 replies (most recent on top)
Let’s remember the sequence of events, and who bought who. Ameritech acquired SBC. Now there were 2 HQ, so thin it out but keep the SBC hatchet men. Then SBC bought AT&T, once again thin it out but keep the hatchet men. Keep the att name because of its notoriety and age of existence. Fast forward, keep buying companies but keep the hatchet men. Pretty soon no one will be left but the hatchet men. “Texas chainsaw m—acre vs house of 1000 corpses”.
Ameritech was a fun company (although you worked hard). Had free food from time-to-time, picnics (if some business was discussed) and awards. Also paid for tuition for outside training. SBC deleted most of that. T deleted what remained. So much for fun.
We never had that at Bellsouth, but I was an outside tech so we didn’t have Christmas parties, lunches, etc. However, we did have safety managers hounding us all the time in the early 2000’s looking to give us B-Forms as well as routing handing out suspensions for trivial issues pretty often. When they merged with SBC, the micromanagement got worse, but it was still Bellsouth managers that were doing it (supposedly under the orders of SBC).
I also worked for Bellsouth they had a system of business controls & measurement. It wasn’t anywhere close to the toxic, micromanaged, divisive workplace we work at now. They cared about their employees, exception Ackerman who sold Bellsouth out, it felt like family. It all changed when the Flintstones bought the Jetsons.
We used to have cookouts in the summer, separate Thanksgiving and Christmas lunches paid by the company. Cookouts to raise money for an employees family if in a hardship situation, on company time. I could go on but that is a small slice of a different company and time.
Meh, I worked at BellSouth before the merger and they were doing a lot of micromanagement before they became AT&T. Now they just do it more.
@uws, a corporation going on an aggressive acquisition spree and buying up a bunch of other companies does not in any way mean it isn't a toxic, overly micromanaged place to work.
Great, well managed companies grow organically (ie: Apple). They compete with a superior product or service and attract the best talent to work for them. SBC, on the other hand, has grown through gobbling up a bunch of other companies and forcing them into the micromanaged toxic SBC culture.
Very true. It is unfortunate that it was the worst of the baby bells that bought up all the others and spread its toxic work culture to them as well as to DTV, Time Warner Media and all the other companies swallowed up by this monstrosity.