I spent 10 years at a company within Fortune Brands, and for most of that time, I genuinely loved my job. I had an incredible manager, coworkers I considered friends, and work that was both meaningful and rewarding. If it weren’t for the corporate overlords at Fortune Brands, I might still be there.
Let’s be honest—my company never paid me what I was worth, annual raises were more like annual reminders of how little they valued retention, and communication from upper management was basically a game of telephone where no one ever picked up the phone. But hey, I stuck around because of the people and the culture we built. Spoiler alert: corporate destroyed that too.
In January, Fortune Brands and their fearless leader (read: tone-deaf CEO), Nick Fink, dropped the bombshell—every US office is closing. Everyone had two choices: relocate to Deerfield, IL, or quit. Uproot your life or get out. Guess which one I chose?
After pouring a decade of my life into this company, I didn’t even get an exit interview. No “thank you,” no “we’ll miss you,” just corporate silence. The executives didn’t lift a finger to advocate for employees, and the Fortune Brands C-suite? Cold. Calculated. Cruel. They see people as chess pieces, not human beings.
If you’re eyeing one of the shiny new job postings in Deerfield—think twice. Those roles used to belong to loyal, hard-working employees who were forced out. You’re not being offered an opportunity; you’re stepping into a vacancy created by corporate apathy.
In short: amazing people, soul-crushing leadership. Proceed with caution—and maybe a backup plan.
