The executive team claims that the expressed desire to hire most roles in the DR this year, along with the tendency to let US-based people go and re-open those roles in the DR, is 'in the interest of DEI'. Moving a a signification portion of operations to the DR is a perfectly sound financial strategy, but trying to make the motivation seem cultural and not financial erodes peoples' trust in executives while betraying the executives' lack of trust in their employees.
Forward has an undeniable track record of promoting leaders who treat employees poorly into less people-oriented roles. While this not only clearly holds ICs (who are terminated for much less egregious behavior) to a higher standard than their leaders, and highlights that leadership qualities like treating people with respect are not required for executives at Forward, employees who were mistreated by these leaders are asked to celebrate their promotions.
These are two examples of what I think is the biggest con, and the reason there is no amount of money that would make me return to Forward in its current state. The executive team claims to value transparency, but the positive 'spin' they put on choices they believe will be unpopular highlights the simple fact that trust is non existent in this organization and 'transparency' is carefully crafted smoke and mirrors.