At the time of this writing, there are many cons, and virtually no pros. Up until the day the acquisition was finalized, morale around the office couldn’t get much lower. Then, the day before it was final, they let somewhere close to 100 people go. And from what I hear, that was just the first round of layoffs. I can only imagine what it’s like around there now.
Before I was laid off, it was apparent in many ways that XPO cared only about their profit margins. XPO was not shy about telling everyone (before the acquisition was final), that they were going to make the company more profitable, they were going to cut costs and streamline and they’re very fast paced and blah blah blah, buzzword buzzword buzzword. I believe it was during one of the town hall meetings that one of XPO’s C suite execs came out and shared some of their “vision” for Con-way. He proudly exclaimed to us that he hadn’t taken a day off in over 5 years. He said that with a sense accomplishment; he was literally bragging about it... That is not the sign of commitment and dedication to your company. That either means you don’t have a life outside of work, or you don’t know what you’re doing. I’m inclined to believe the latter.
Over the course of several weeks, and more corporate communiques, that belief was solidified. It was evident that they had bitten off more than they could chew with the Con-way acquisition. I would encourage anyone reading this to go look at their purchase history. They have virtually no organic growth. XPO has acquired more than 20 companies in the last 3-5 years. This sentiment I hasten to add, was echoed by many of the existing Con-way employees.
It is my belief that XPO was founded by one or more venture capitalist(s), who care only about money. I believe that they will stick around for couple years and baby their new pet project, and then sell it off again. This sentiment also, was on more than one person’s mind.