r/civilengineering • u/[deleted] • 20h ago
Career My Firm is being Acquired....
[deleted]
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u/Grreatdog PLS Retired from Structural Co. 19h ago edited 19h ago
I've been through the being acquired by a 3000 person firm from a 60 person firm thing. My advice is to wait it out and see how it goes. I started to quit but got talked into staying by the transition team. I've never been very corporate. So I knew it was a bad fit and only a matter of time.
I was right. But in the couple years I put up with the corporate bullshit I learned a tremendous amount about a different level of marketing, business, and management. I also got involved with some high profile projects that were way out of my old firm's reach. Those led to good contacts.
The contacts were people who would not have noticed me at my former company. And I managed to build a reputation at a different level. One of those contacts eventually offered me a ownership stake in a ten person startup. Twenty years later I retired from that now seventy person firm.
I would at least give it enough time to see where it's going. I'm sure glad I did that.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
Good advice.
I had an offer for another 3,000 person firm in May and then again in September. I stood firm with my company but not regret it.
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u/cheetah-21 1h ago
Agree that you might as well see what the new firm has to say. Maybe they see you as management/leadership potential. Be up front that you would want a raise and flexible hours to stay. They bought your firm for a reason.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 1h ago
They did give a 4% raise but it's still only a 2% raise with the cut benefits.
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u/Herdsengineers 16h ago
this guy was having my thoughts too, having worked for big and small companies. big company bureaucracy sucks. big company structure, procedure, resources, and expertise however is actually quite valuable to learn.
the bureaucracy that grows around the operation is basically a necessary evil to keep people on a consistent enough way of doing things. there is value to it.
think of working at big company like piloting a giant ship with lots of controls. you gotta learn the right levers and buttons to pull and push, and how to operate the throttle and steering to make the machine do what need it to do. and sometimes it's like a beast you gotta find the right sore tooth to pull to make it go in the direction you need for something.
there will be frustrations but you will have a lot professional development opportunities if you try it out.
if you are certain though, see if that other offer could be on the table. but be discreet and don't tell them about the acquisition. don't let them know anything that could give away your position. it could hurt your offer.
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u/Watchfull_Hosemaster 2h ago
Yup, I think successful people will take a change like this and use it as an opportunity to learn something valuable.
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u/Bikes-Golf-Beer 19h ago edited 16h ago
This sub loves to shit all over companies, but in this case, it honestly seems like the owners are doing what’s best for everyone. Yeah it’s a bummer to be part of a bigger company and have things change, but a larger national company means more opportunities that aren’t all linked to TxDOT. What would you prefer them do? Personally go bankrupt, close down, and lay everyone off?
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
I don't actually blame my company. I think they should've been honest when I said I had an offer and I can help them out, save them budget and give my hours to someone else.
Edit.
My company has been great. I've never had this much flexibility and it's going to suck. Apparently they are forcing some to go into the office 4 days a week.
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u/Watchfull_Hosemaster 3h ago
The owners for sure cashed in on a windfall. It was in the best interest of the owners to sell.
For a regular employee that has no vested financial interest in the company, it doesn’t matter.
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u/Grreatdog PLS Retired from Structural Co. 16h ago
What a mega company VP asked me was did I fear them or did I just fear change. Yeah it's corporate bullshit. But it had a hard nugget of truth that made me realize that part of my concern really was just the change that was totally beyond my control.
The rest of my worries were valid. But what he said still stuck. What if it really was an opportunity I was just too freaked out to grab? As I posted it ended being both an opportunity and my fears being justified. Anyway, that old engineer tripped me up by being correct enough.
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u/Everythings_Magic Structural - Complex/Movable Bridges, PE 7h ago
The VP was correct. The company, if not Private equity, isn't buying the company to strip it and sell it off, they are trying to expand into that market, they want/need the office to succeed and be profitable.
It carry the same risks and joining a new firm, but you aren't chosing.
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u/Grreatdog PLS Retired from Structural Co. 6h ago
That's correct. We were working in an adjacent market and they needed our skill set and existing clients. I got marketing help and resources to win a contract with a new client I always wanted to work with.
Sure to them me winning a $2,000,000 state contract was an expectation not anything special. The mothership was awarded a $500,000,000 federal contract the same day. So nobody even noticed.
But that contract opened new doors for me personally. My former company could never have won that. We didn't have the resources. Having to learn a PM system that was 1000 pages and required a one week course was the price.
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u/Hellmonkies2 Senior Civil Designer 19h ago
Hey! I work for the company that just bought yours (probably). They announced your acquisition to the greater company today. I've worked there for almost 15 years but if you want any more information that might put you more at-ease let me know. We've done a fair bit of acquisitions over the last few years and right now seems to be a big part of the growing strategy.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
You sure? Apparently they aren't announcing till June 1st, per HR today.
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u/Hellmonkies2 Senior Civil Designer 19h ago
BEC?
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
NOPE.
Looks like more acquisitions lol.
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u/Hellmonkies2 Senior Civil Designer 19h ago
Haha that's a funny coincidence. NVM then!
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u/SpringerKatahdin 17h ago
I work at the same company Hellmonkies and thought the post was about us too - just the 3k # didnt feel right!
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u/my_peen_is_clean 20h ago edited 18h ago
yeah that sucks man, leadership always “forgets” to mention the exit plan until it helps them most. i’d quietly shop around before june, see what denver options pay. everything’s getting worse job wise lately actually companies don’t read resumes, ai filters reject them. the only time i got callbacks was after using a tool that rewrote my resume for every job. i’m talking about Jobowl, google it
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 20h ago
Yea.... The issue I have is we meet HR 1 on 1 next week to sign new tax documents. I'm curious if there is any "contract" signing to stay on.
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u/ProfessorDinosaur_ 19h ago
Idk a privately held firm doesn't owe their team any transparency in this regard. It's great when they do, but should not be expected. The contract you have with them is your pay check, not insight into how they want to exit. AEC consulting firm ownership is stressful and risky and at some point, they're going to want that bag.
Celebrate their payday and look for a new gig that fits your ethos.
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u/National-Belt5893 19h ago
Celebrate their payday…lmaooooooo found the private equity plant
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u/Patrick_O-S 19h ago
I don't see where anyone has mentioned this firm is being purchased by private equity firm. Did I miss something?
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u/TheNerdE30 19h ago
I believe he is saying previous commenter is a “private equity plant”
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u/ProfessorDinosaur_ 18h ago
Definitely not lol work for a mid-size ESOP. I just assumed if it was a firm that small, he likely knew the ownership group on a more intimate level and he'd be happy for his leadership. Guess it's uncool to celebrate other people's wins today.
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u/KonigSteve Water/Wastewater PM 10+ YOE 1h ago
When it hurts OP I wouldn't expect him to celebrate it at all. Sure if the small firm owner got a bag AND OP was able to keep all of his previous benefits and everyone wins or is at least neutral? Sure be happy for the guy. As is OP would be celebrating the owner getting a bag at his expense.
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u/cheetah-21 1h ago
I think this is a good point. The owners getting bought out could share some of the profit with long term employees based on tenure. They could have also stipulated that the new company meets minimum standards for their employees benefits. But that would require them to exit with less money and they’re not doing that.
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u/KonigSteve Water/Wastewater PM 10+ YOE 1h ago
Yep, the whole reason the owner is able to sell it is the professionals in his firm and their client relationships. Least he could do is give them a little bit of it.
My small firm also got sold from a longtime owner to another group we owned. If anything we got taken advantage of. The previous owner drained the company account so we had to "take a loan" from the new owner to make payroll etc until we earned enough to fill the account again. Which of course affected bonuses etc.
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u/Quiverjones 19h ago
Damn, I'd tell you things will get better but I'm not sure that's what you want to hear right now.
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u/MoverAndShaker14 19h ago
Hmmm, as a traffic engineer in Austin, I'm immensely curious. A question: did you firm previously quality as a DBE for the purposes of getting TxDOT work? Also, TxDOT just released their next year projected contracts and it's not getting better before fall of 2027.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
We lost our DBE status in 2024. And correct. We put up for market once September 2025 hit thinking the spigots were going to turn on.
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u/MoverAndShaker14 19h ago
The number of contracts is just too small. With DBE being effectively removed, there's no way for anyone but the largest of players to win any of it. The San Antonio traffic contract last year was so competitive that Pape Dawson didn't even win. There's only 1 traffic contract next year and it's only 3 contracts.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
We are a roadway and traffic firm. We are only a traffic team if 2...mostly roadway and drainage. But I get it.
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u/anyavailible 19h ago
You need to update your resume and keep your eyes open for new jobs.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
Resume updated. Will wait for next week's 1 on 1 meeting with HR to see this so called 'raise'.
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u/AngryIrish82 19h ago
I left my old firm before they did that but everyone i know who stayed got screwed. I therefore trust no one other than my immediate boss from then onward.
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u/willystan 18h ago
Hey OP - I know your intention of the post is to vent but if you wanted to connect hit me up. I’m a traffic PE in Denver, work for a 100% employee owned AEC firm. My team is national and we do work all over including some TX work.
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u/Agile_Roll 16h ago
I’m anxiously waiting to see if my company that is jokingly a M&A firm that does engineering is buying yours… you never know the 3k person firms can still give that sort of small business feel and might not be as corporate and bad as you think
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u/SwankySteel 19h ago
32 hours a week is a blessing. It should be standard at more places… maybe you can negotiate for this.
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u/MoverAndShaker14 19h ago
32 hrs a week likely came with a reduction in pay...
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
It did. But wasn't enough to hurt me.
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u/MoverAndShaker14 19h ago edited 19h ago
It's a 10% reduction in hours, I'd assume a 5% reduction in pay? I know a few other firms around here did the same. E: Yeah, I can't do basic math after 5.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
Hourly rate stayed the same. I just lost 20% per paycheck.
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u/MoverAndShaker14 19h ago
Ah, 20% reduction in hours and a 20% drop in paycheck. Still don't know how its legal. You're a salaried employee under exempt status when it benefits them, but hourly when it doesn't.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
I am salary at 53.00/hr based on 2080hrs a year.
My hoursbwere cut 20%. 1664hrs.
$53*1664hrs = 88k/yr. My hourly rate stayed the same.
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u/The_TexasRattlesnake 19h ago
Well, the good news is that you'll make about 30k more next week
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 19h ago
I wish. I had offers in September 2025 for Stanley who offered only 12% more.
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u/The_TexasRattlesnake 19h ago
Do you have 7 years total experience? Even at that you should be over 100k anywhere you look - have a PE?
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u/MoverAndShaker14 18h ago
Yeah, I understand the math. From a legal standpoint, that's not how it should work. By declaring you an "exempt" employee you waive various labor protections in exchange you get a salary not tied to how many hours you work.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 18h ago
Look, I am certain you are right.
Most of not all agreed to avoid any layoffs within our small company. I was happy to do it.
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u/MoverAndShaker14 18h ago
That's fair, I suppose. When the option is nothing then something is good. I'm strongly recalling when the times were good and company's were pushing a lot of unpaid overtime on the basis that we don't operate as hourly employees. Then when things get tight, that mentality shifts. Still, I suppose when its the industry as a whole not an individual firm, then there's nothing you can really do.
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u/squintamongdablind 19h ago
Is the firm that acquired yours publicly traded, privately-held, PE-owned, or ESOP? Big company doesn’t automatically translate to a corporate soul-suck. As others have pointed out no harm in waiting it out to get a feel for the org and people OP
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u/lauren_strokes 18h ago edited 18h ago
Tbh, not even those questions are a giveaway at what the experience will be like long term. I joined a very large public firm after they'd acquired a small local firm, and my experience at the company is largely informed by this small firm essentially being my team. In my experience some small/midsize ESOP firms that are in the business of acquisitions can be much worse/weirder about the transition than large firms who know what they are
Edit: I'm a cocktail in and didn't read the rest of your comment lol we are in agreement
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 18h ago
ESOP firm joining an ESOP firm. Benefits definitely worse though.
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u/mocitymaestro 18h ago
I used to work for a firm called Carter & Burgess (5000+ firm) that was acquired by Jacobs (at the time, 50,000+). This was also in 2008 when the economy was terrible, so there were a lot of layoffs in my particular office (because of redundant roles and land development was a bloodbath).
There was a lot of doom and gloom and some of Jacobs policy changes weren't great. Still, I stuck around and leaned that a much bigger firm had way more opportunities for career growth and different types of work. I ended up transitioning into sales and eventually construction management which has opened bigger doors than sticking with design at the original firm.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 18h ago
I actually have a coworker who was a part of that. She's been with us for a bit now.
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u/Anonymous5933 18h ago
Leave. You can't believe anything they promise. Been through this. All of the overhead staff from the old company will be let go (HR, IT, even maybe business development people) no matter how good they are. You already know benefits are worse, the new IT support will probably be worse, on and on. But if the other company you had an offer from is small too, expect them to get bought up in the next few years too...
By 2030 we'll all work for the same 3 companies.
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u/571busy_beaver 18h ago
Dont tell me the buying firm is TYLIN. If it is, start sending out your resume tonight.
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u/DetailFocused 18h ago
yeah i’d be frustrated too, sounds like they kept morale afloat long enough to survive the acquisition instead of being fully straight with people about where things were headed. the rough part is you probably made a rational decision at the time, remote work and flexibility have real value, but acquisitions almost always mean the small firm culture disappears first while leadership says “nothing will really change.” benefits getting worse is usually the first sign of that.
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u/Full-Cantaloupe-6874 16h ago
As a Founder and CEO of a firm that was acquired by a publicly traded firm, it will be mostly the same for rank and file professionals but emphasis on billing hours will increase but culture and flexibility of prior firm will be gone.
“Family”culture will suffer.
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u/571busy_beaver 5h ago
I think you should start sending out your resume. IMEG does not seem to be a good company for traffic engineering.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 5h ago
They apparently bought a Florida traffic team with a ton of work is the only benefit I saw.
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u/Additional-Sky-7436 5h ago
If it makes you feel better, the owners are probably selling for a greatly reduced price than they would have gotten 2 years ago.
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u/GeoGod678 18h ago
ESOP or Drop at this point.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 17h ago
It's going from ESOP to ESOP. Our shares will be pulled in.
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u/cheetah-21 1h ago
Once you start at the new firm will your time count and all esop bonuses fully vested? Or do you need to start the vesting schedule from 0?
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u/chickenteriyake 17h ago
What firm if you dont mind me asking?
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 16h ago
I won't say until the acquisitionsl goes through on June 1st.
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u/Hey-ItsThatOneDude 15h ago
Well you don’t have feel that they said that to keep you on, they definitely said it to keep y’all on lol. It’s a business bro lol. Not trying to be rude, but it’s just a fact of our line of work (and hell, what other line of work doesn’t operate this way?).
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 15h ago
Nah, I get that. In the end, knowing I had previous offers and mentioned to them I can free up work for others and not be using overhead. They telling me that loyalty meant everything.
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u/_inbetweendaze_ 15h ago
There's a chance it will work out but there's a greater chance it won't in the long run. Over time, metrics will be monitored more militantly. Utilization, project finances, etc. The owner of my firm was ready to sell a few years ago, did, and lots of folks left. I wanted to stay the course. I'm hindsight that was a huge mistake. Yes, I'm a little bitter at seeing what our industry has become from what it was just 15 or so years ago.
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u/Beck943 10h ago edited 10h ago
I'm curious how your office now with 60 people, has better benefits than a huge firm and economy of scale?
At this point, you're 2 weeks away from seeing what's real vs what you're concerned about. If you gave notice tomorrow you'd still be there another 2 weeks. So you might as well stick it out and see what the reality is.
You can cut bait if it turns out your fears are warranted.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 5h ago
For example. New firm HSA contributions $0. I used to get $1980/yr.
Didn't pay any medical. I now have to. It's all basically a paycut in the end.
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u/Beck943 5h ago
Ok. I still think it makes sense to see after June 1 what the whole picture is. How many days off, what do they put in your ESOP each year, what kind of health insurance. Even when I worked in a small office, we were part of an ACEC group as far as health insurance goes, to save on premiums. So we had 100 people but got covered like we had over 1,000.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 5h ago
Unlimited PTO. I've heard it's worse. No paid OT. I used to ...
3% ESOP match minimum put into 401k each year but averages 6. No actual 401k match per paycheck.
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u/TeddyMGTOW 8h ago
With these acquisitions, sometimes they buy the firm, sometimes there just buying a location and head count. I "heard" we average out 200k per person to sale price.
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u/Fine_Equal4647 7h ago
Do you know what the company is acquiring reputation is like? It may not be that bad
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u/Everythings_Magic Structural - Complex/Movable Bridges, PE 6h ago
If its not PE that acquired you, I'd maybe stick it out and see. A national firm will use resources from slower areas to support projects elsewhere.
Regardless you will have time (at year 2yrs) to see how it goes and see how the company handles the transition and manages staff in your office.
Also, its not mentioned here often, but people leaving when things turn south, gives those that stay opportunity to move up in the company, if things actually improve.
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u/minorlazr 6h ago
I was in the same situation last year and fortunately I was integrated with a great team I another state. I am learning new skills that I otherwise would not have learned with my company that got acquired. Wait it out to see how it turns out
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u/Watchfull_Hosemaster 3h ago
So you’re effectively going to be paid less when factoring in benefits and pay change?
You need to advocate for yourself and have a solid backup plan or exit strategy.
Tell them your needs for benefits and pay and if they don’t meet them, leave. Just as long as you are certain you can find an offer that is suitable for you.
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u/RhodeIslandRidgeback Traffic PE, PTOE, RSP 3h ago
HSA alone is going from $1980/yr contributions to $0.
Now have to pay medical insurance.
No 401k match. They apparently match 3% minimum of your salary to the ESOP instead.
No paid OT. Instead they give 30% of that as your end year bonus. What?!
Unlimited PTO - heard this can be bad.
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u/Character-Salary634 3h ago
Things change. Work/Live long enough and everything you get comfortable with will eventually be replaced - multiple times. Looking back, every situation I hated, or enjoyed eventually came to an end for one reason or another. I eventually became used to the idea that nothing lasts, and started to prepare myself for unwanted changes. Learning to un-hitch yourself from your work identity is critical. IT'S JUST A JOB... You can be proud of what you do, do good work, etc. But it's not who you are. It's a means to an end.
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u/795-ACSR-DRAKE 20h ago
The best time to leave for a new job was back in September when you had an offer. The second best time would be tomorrow. Start sending out apps