Project manager with 5+ years of experience gets demoted after company makes $500 million off of his work: 'I am absolutely dejected, to say the least'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jan 1, 2026 2:00 PM EST

This project manager did everything on paper to ensure that at the end of the year, he would get his long-overdue promotion. Well, it didn't happen.

This author shared his disappointment and frustration online after five years working as a project manager for a successful and well-known telecommunications company. Before his performance evaluation at the end of December, he was confident that he would finally earn a raise. After all, he did everything he could do. 

He performed his daily tasks and responsibilities. He went above and beyond by training new hires and coordinating various teams to ensure maximum transparency and efficiency from project to project. He even implemented new procedures that benefited everyone across the company. No, he didn't have to do all of this work. It wasn't expected of him according to his contract. However, it was encouraged to find these extra avenues within this company where you could prove your value. At this point, he had certainly done that and then some.

However, when it finally came time to meet with his manager about that promotion, he was denied. In fact, it gets even worse. He was demoted to a "Customer Care" role. Five years of being a company man and overextending himself, only to be told he was less valuable than his current salary.

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  • Not only is the hierarchical structure of this telecommunications company questionable at best and morally bankrupt at worst, but also upper management had better be careful when word about this project manager's trajectory gets out. 

    Sure, it's just one person, and he may very well leave the company to work somewhere else (if he doesn't, he certainly should). But his treatment is bigger than one person's unfortunate anecdote. When stories spread about a lack of mobility, and in this case, the exact opposite of mobility, people are going to be less and less inclined to work there. 

    It's hard to argue with this author's contributions to this company on paper, which makes it all the more difficult to justify his stagnation and demotion.

  • I am absolutely dejected, to say the least. I have been a project manager for a very famous telecommunications company for the past 5 years. The project | was working on was the installation of new cell towers.
    via bored_ape07
  • During those 5 years, me and my team (I was leading the project) delivered roughly over 2.000 cell towers all over US.
    via bored_ape07
  • Not only we managed to hit all targets in the past 5 years, but we've even exceed them, in fact, we were ahead of the curve for 2026.
    via bored_ape07
  • In the past 5 years, besides doing my job as a PM, I've also trained new hires, implemented various procedures and aligned teams in such way that I've basically build the whole team from the ground up. Took me 5 years to achieve
    via bored_ape07
  • that, which, in those 5 years, the only drawback of not having these procedures etc was that I've had to work harder to make things happen. Now, the ship barely needs a captain.
    via bored_ape07
  • Needless to say, I've exceeded all expectations, made the work easier than it is and maybe, it's my fault - as I've naively thought that if I work hard, i'll get rewarded. Maybe with a promotion, maybe with a yearly bonus.
    via bored_ape07
  • None of that happened. Instead, start 1/1/26, I will continue my role within the company as a "Customer Care, Tickets expert". What the ACTUAL F.
    via bored_ape07
  • For the past 5 years I have been working my ass of for this project, I've studied PM, got CAPM, in the process of getting PMP, got Scrum Master and I thought that this is my career, this is what I should focus on. But
    via bored_ape07
  • one day, somebody up the corporate ladder, woke up and said "Hey, you know that PM guy? How about we put him in a role that he has zero experience".
    via bored_ape07
  • Not only it's not something that I know how to do, it's a position I WOULD NEVER HAVE APPLIED FOR.
    via bored_ape07
  • Starting this week I am supposed to start training for the new position. Honestly, I just want to quit.
    via bored_ape07
  • Here's the tricky point though. If I quit, I am not entintled to any compesation. If they fire me though.. I am supposed to get a full year's salary, as I am with the said company for over 10 years.
    via bored_ape07
  • Watch me be bad at my job, fi g corporate No wonder people don't want to invest their time and effort to do more than what they are getting paid for.
    via bored_ape07
  • A male employee puts his hands to his face in frustration in front of his laptop.
    via Sebastian Herrmann

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Haunting_Bathroom 505 Look up constructive dismissal. They've completely changed your role without any input/agreement from you. I would go that route if I were you and look for another job.
    via bored_ape07
  • Accomplished-Pen-69 Has someone's child started working in your area?
    via bored_ape07
  • LiquidSoCrates I'd go to my manager or director or whoever and ask them wtf.
    via bored_ape07
  • Champion Foreign4533 Looks like it's time for the compan https://preview.redd.it/avferadnvy& width=448&format=pjpg&auto=we
    via bored_ape07
  • Mistaamewmew Someone sees you as competition and wants you gone. Write to your bosses bosses. Tell them what happened and that you question it is in the companies best interest.
    via bored_ape07
  • LtJimmyRay I'd start talking to the competitors. Whatever you did for your current company, you could definitely do for the others. Then, start poaching those you trained.
    via bored_ape07
  • carlospum My main goal in my job is create and maintain a workflow where if I'm not there bad things happen. I don't teach all to new hires, I create procedures where I have to be always involved. Corporate 101
    via bored_ape07
  • Shadowpriest Play along. Go to the training and ask every question under the sun scrutinizing every bit of operation and process. Max out the time during training and if someone comes to you about all the work you did before tell them straight up you're no longer part of that and per your new job it doesn't have anything to do with you anymore. Work only within your job duties and no olive branches to anyone. Swap shifts to help accommodate so-and-so? Nope. Not available. Work some overtime to h
    via bored_ape07
  • UrineArtist I know it's easy to say this but difficult to actually achieve in reality but you should seriously update your CV right now with your accomplishments and new expertise and start looking for a job with pay that properly reflects your abilities. If you stay where you are you'll stagnate and your new role will be at risk any time the threat of lay-offs comes round, sure you'll get a payout but if its 2 years down the line you could have earned more than the payout elsewhere while also i
    via bored_ape07
  • GreasyRim It doesn't seem like it now, but they did you a favor. I voluntarily went back to customer care from project management/beta engineering because I work for one of the largest software companies in the world and the writing on the wall about Al is pretty clear. Customers don't want to deal with Al. Customer facing engineers/sales jobs will be safer during this next wave of automation. Al is currently and will continue to shrink development teams. A ton of project management can be autom
    via bored_ape07

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employment issues corporate demoted overworked-employees Horrible Bosses company toxic-work-environment
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