Pros
I worked for Ultimate Software for many years. I do appreciate the fact that it was a "unicorn" of a company with a CEO and CPO that actually cared about employees. I see the comments from "Lowell/Kronos" and understand that they can never understand how Great a company can ACTUALLY be. They and the Venture capitalists that decided to destroy the two companies can NEVER understand that type of LOVE ...TRUST...COMPASSION...for PEOPLE and not MONEY. I understand their view is that MONEY = HAPPINESS, Their view is that if a job throws you some pennies you are supposed to take it and just live your life because work is just for money. It's different when you have a culture where you're not just in it for yourself. Where you and every individual in the company is "in it together" for every employee and every customer. Its an unbelievable feeling, something I am so blessed to have ever been able to experience, thanks to Ultimate Software. I cannot process why anyone would want to try to destroy something so amazing, Jokes on them, they cannot. All they did was move that magic out of UKG and made allowed it to other places through those of us who carry that culture on. I feel sorry for those people, that they can never understand what it was to have a People First Culture. Their generic version "Our Purpose is People" is like the difference between Dollar store off-brand soda that is somehow always flat even if you just opened it, and a fresh cold Coca-Cola from Mexico (because it should have REAL sugar dagnabit!) However, just like the flat soda, they will sell it even if it shouldn't be consumed to make a profit. They haven't dismanteled all of the benefits YET but it's definitely in the works. I wasn't laid off, I found my own freedom. However, I am confused by their obsession with making the layoffs a surprise attack. It's a pretty crappy place to work so it's not like anyone is going to risk their careers to do anything in retaliation. Those who got laid off received a blessing in disguise imho. I'm confident they will be happier someplace else doing something meaningful.
Cons
What is with the culture of placing people on performance improvements without helping them improve. I mean in some cases people are all of a sudden told they are going to be doing an additional job, in addition to the one they have done for years. No increase in pay, when they didn't even want to do that job. No training and just told, here, go do this other job in addition to your own. Then in my case, they claim that I needed "improvement" for the job that I wasn't trained for and didn't want to do in the first place (I wasn't hired or paid to do it, so it makes it unpleasant tbh) Why would you treat people like that, it's beyond my comprehension as I suppose it is beyond the comprehension of other that there are more important things in this world than money. Life is short but Legacies are forever. Be careful what you leave behind in your memory.