This was interesting to me so I did a bit of web searching and found more harsh criticism of company management at Glassdoor.com. The reviewers basically said it all. New management came in, made all kinds of policy changes, put in hiring and salary freezes and other cost-cutting measures, and pushed everyone hard. Their goal was to grow company profits by 20% per year even if it meant cutting health benefits and 401K matching contributions, for example. It was no longer a fun place to work. Performance metrics implemented by the new management had the effect of pitting one department against the other, with engineers getting most of the blame. The older management was sympathetic and tried to help us cope with the new management style but in the end, they couldn't do much.
This has been quite an eye-opener. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt that things were going downhill. I really should put this behind me though. Even though the job didn't end on a good note, the fact remains that those years I spent at the company were my prime wealth-building years and a large part of the reason why I can now live comfortably without worrying about landing the next job right away. For that, I can thank them.
