Comments on: CenturyTel's Embarq Buy May Set Off Consolidation

By: NoName

NoName — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:02:01 +0000

We’ll find out soon ourselves. I’m with Qwest, which is not such a great company either. Most of us would take back US WEST in a heartbeat, along with all of its faults. Qwest has proven to be a greedy company, freezing our pay raises for going on the third year now. The question in everybody’s mind is, is CenturyLink even greedier than Qwest? And that’s a good question.
There are rumors flying about what happened to Embarq. Stories of those who are left, having their pay cut to remain and being turned into contractors so that they have no benefits. But there is nothing I can find to qualify those rumors online. People here don’t seem to be saying either. However, I do tend to think that importing foreign greencard workers to bust the CWA union is more fiction than fact. Qwest has a very powerful union and I don’t think CenturyLink will do very well if they call a big strike next year. It’ll be interesting, to say the least. And just to be sure, I’m fixing up my resume and beginning to look around.

By: MMCAT

MMCAT — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:42:02 +0000

so do you all get a pension and severance upon dismissal?

By: Jeririah

Jeririah — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:13:41 +0000

CenturyTel will shred the Embarq employees apart. They are specialized in taking over other companies and laying off the majority of new employees and shifting the work to their over worked employees. We had a good company named Pacific Telecom before these southern Bayou baffoons came in and bought the company. They closed the main offices, laying off employees, and made everyone they could go to salary. They will make grand promises up front about how great they work and help out with contract employees but you will soon be working 12-14 hours days on salary before getting laid off. Greedy ex-GTE management. Not to be trusted.

By: CenturyTel to Buy Qwest To Become a Big Bell

CenturyTel to Buy Qwest To Become a Big Bell — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:28:24 +0000

[...] billion in debt. The deal comes two years after CenturyTel’s predecessor company purchased Embarq Telecommunications for $11.6 billion to become CenturyTel, and vaults it into the realm of the Big Bells Verizon and [...]

By: WindStream Buying Time With Acquisitions – GigaOM

WindStream Buying Time With Acquisitions – GigaOM — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:43:01 +0000

[...] Windstream has agreed to buy Iowa Telecom for $530 million in cash and stock. Windstream recently crossed the 1 million broadband subscribers-mark. Windstream wants to be an industry consolidator. Windstream Corp., a Little Rock, Ark.-based local phone company focused on rural and smaller markets, said it’s agreed to buy a smaller rival, Iowa Telecom, for $530 million — $261 million in cash and $269 million in stock. In addition, it will take on about $598 million in debt. This is Windstream’s fourth acquisition in the past few months: It also bought D&E Communications ($169 million), Lexcom ($141 million) and NuVox ($463 million). Windstream is trying to become the consolidator of the smaller, rural telecoms, especially after two of its biggest rivals — CenturyTel and Embarq — merged their operations a year ago. [...]

By: CenturyLink drug test all your employees now

CenturyLink drug test all your employees now — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:09:46 +0000

I worked for Sprint/Embarq, too. They laid me (and several others) off and replaced us with contractors from Asia (Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia). These people came into the USA thru Canada and have taken the jobs of hard working American workers. These contractors (from Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia) are the sleaziest creed of people in the world. You cannot trust these people and you cannot trust Emabrq/CenturyLink. Embarq has the worst managers I have ever seen. They treat their employees like dirt. Embarq will not provide any training and their senior technicians will make sure your career at Embarq is a short lived career of employment. Emabrq should drug test all their current employees immediately.

Embarq stands for:
E-srey M-ade B-illions A-nd R-an Q-uickly

By: J D

J D — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:49:52 +0000

Embarq employees have been getting let go since the 1st quarter of 2009.
I guess layoffs are in small groups to avoid having to give the notice required by the Federal government.

By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:12:18 +0000

There are employees on both sides that are toast…and this is only the start… Access Lines are still being lost,,which means employees have to go to support that lost revenue…

By: Embarq and CenturyTel Merge, Become CenturyLink

Embarq and CenturyTel Merge, Become CenturyLink — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:53:13 +0000

[...] merger, the agency imposed several conditions on the combined company, presumably to ensure that consolidation doesn’t hurt [...]

By: bumholio

bumholio — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:35:00 +0000

What’s the layoff projections right now? Are Embarq folks toast? Are the CenturyTel guys going to be moving into our offices and setting their pencil holders and family pictures on our desks before we have even cleared out?

Please, tell me. Spare us any more suspense.

By: rachel bumgardner

rachel bumgardner — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:39:29 +0000

I’m not with century tel, i’m with Embarq. But I”m currently on the list to go to Chairman’s Club this coming year and have been top gun for 3 times straight (only working for the company long enough to be involved with three top guns). I’m also in the Oh and Pa specialty q. I just wanted to place my input on what all and howl Embarq has been treating its reps badly. When they came out with the Universal and Acquisition queues our performance pay got cut in half. It’s sad that I’m the top one percent of the company in call centers, however, I don’t necessarily meet my quota every month. My average sales were ALWAYS above 170 percent and now they’re down to 110-130. Nothing has really changed with the amount I sale, they just decided to triple our quota and take all sales calls away from us! Does this sound like the kind of hard work respect a company should give its employees? I don’t know if any of you are aware of it, but the new name for the merged company is going to be CenturyLink. lol, somebody had more pull than the other:P

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:30:58 +0000

Just want to let you know Centurytel does work to take care of their employees. Please understand every business right now is strong arming new corporations in take overs and I hope to know you has family with this merger. Our health benefits are really good I know for myself and my child I pay under $100.00 a month for health, dental, & Vision. They actually give us 2 plans to choose from. I know layoffs are scary and I am going to let Embarq employees know that even we are scared since CenturyTel has been laying their own employees off as well when mergers occur.

By: Qwest Backs Off Sale of Its Long-Distance Network

Qwest Backs Off Sale of Its Long-Distance Network — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:42:43 +0000

[...] phone company it could become a buyer or a seller in the consolidation happening among rural and mid-tier phone companies. In other words, a sale of the long-distance network could have resulted in more deals from [...]

By: Ted

Ted — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:00:15 +0000

I also would like to know what is the Century Tel severance package like?
And does CTL haev any buyouts if a person service is greater that 35 years ?

By: Verizon Dumps Rural Access Lines for $8.6B

Verizon Dumps Rural Access Lines for $8.6B — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:41:38 +0000

[...] on some carriers’ bottom lines. This is leading to consolidation among rural carriers as they seek scale in order to compete, such as Windstream’s announcement earlier this week that it will buy D&E for $159 [...]

By: AmyT

AmyT — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:34:34 +0000

So, to you Century Tel employees – what is your severance package like?