Company looked at the future and said "no thanks" - Anonymous employee Sunstate Equipment Employee Review

2.0
Mar 4, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary was very good for market, with decent work-life balance. Branch employees are great coworkers.

Cons

Hard times are back for the construction industry and the Sunstate tech experiment is over. After a couple years of moderate investment in trying to bring their internal and customer tools out of the Stone Age and compete with their major competitors' offerings, Sunstate decided to cut their losses and go back to business as usual rather than make the organizational changes necessary to let their teams do real work. Leaders and executives planning for months to produce vague, unmeasurable goals for the quarter that just flew by should have been the first sign that the end was near, but they limped on for a while before calling it a wrap with multiple rounds of layoffs. This affects roles across the company who rely on increasingly aging and broken tech to do their jobs, and customers who remain fully dependent on their reps to get any reporting or issues fixed. The only technology investments Sunstate is making now is increasingly intense performance monitoring of drivers and technicians in response to their industry-leading turnover numbers. The "we're a family" line was always nonsense but it truly ended after the Wattses exited.

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Sunstate Equipment Response
2mo
Thank you for your feedback and for recognizing the strength of our team, compensation, and work environment. We acknowledge the challenges facing the construction industry and the impact that recent changes have had across the business. Decisions around structure and investment are made with a focus on long-term sustainability and performance, and we understand they can create uncertainty. Technology remains a critical part of our strategy. While our approach continues to evolve, we are committed to investing in tools and systems that improve both the customer experience and how our teams operate day to day. We also recognize the importance of clear, actionable goals and strong communication from leadership. That is an area we continue to focus on as we strengthen alignment and execution across the organization. We appreciate candid feedback and remain committed to building a stronger path forward.

Explore other reviews about Sunstate Equipment

5.0
May 16, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Company positioning itself for the future.

Cons

Tough road ahead but opportunities are endless.

1.0
Apr 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Used to be a great place! The original Watts era employees care deeply about the company still.

Cons

The new CEO has made three meaningful changes at Sunstate: a layoff in June '25, a layoff in April '26, removed a bunch of senior leaders. Nothing else that he has done has had any positive effect. He has one move, reduce headcount. This is not the mark of a good business leader, and is not someone qualified to be CEO of a billion dollar company. I think he himself is beginning to understand this, because nothing else that he has done has helped the company. Any talk of improved metrics (dwell days, repair time, etc) has had no effect on the metrics that actually matter. If and when company performance improves, it will be because market conditions have improved, not because our dear leader has done anything to help. This isn't people first.

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