Crown Castle backs away from plan to relocate employees
Crown Castle Inc. has backed off on its plan to relocate 1,000-plus members of its workforce, which would have affected a large number of employees at CCI’s Southpointe location, and perhaps resulted in the closure of CCI’s local operation.
In an internal email to staff, a copy of which was secured by the Observer-Reporter, interim CEO Anthony Melone said, “we’ve made the decision to cancel the planned relocation of more than 1,000 teammates announced on Oct. 18.”
Representatives of Crown Castle, a massive cell tower and optics company based in Houston, Texas, did not respond to requests for comment.
The company describes itself on its website as “the nation’s largest provider of shared communications infrastructure – cell towers, small cells, fiber solutions.” The company has about 4,000 employees and 100 offices in the United States.
Relocations were the second part of a restructuring model the company outlined during the summer to reduce costs. Relocations were targeted to occur in August 2024.
An estimated 900 to 1,100 are employed at the Southpointe offices at 2000 Corporate Drive, in the mixed-use park in Cecil Township. Crown Castle is believed to be the second-largest employer in Washington County.
A number of local staffers were wary of the prospect of having to move. Some have already taken jobs with different companies. The Pittsburgh Business Times reported in late October that Crown Castle was going to shutter its Southpointe operations next August.
Melone, who had been a Crown Castle board member, officially will become interim CEO on Jan. 16, the day his predecessor, Jay Brown, will retire.
That change at the top is one that Elliott Investment Management LP was seeking – and got. Elliott, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., is an activist fund that controls a $2 billion stake in CCI. Crown Castle is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange.
Two observers, who declined to be identified, were pleased by CCI’s decision to forgo the relocation plan. One said, simply: “Who wants to lose jobs?”
The other said, “This is good news. Crown Castle is a root core of Southpointe and you want it to stay in Pittsburgh. It is beneficial to Washington County and this will keep people here.”
The second source added a caveat, though: “The story may not be over.”