Pros
In my experience (more than a decade, first as a third-party service provider, then as an employee, finally ending as a senior-level manager), the company had a number of challenges, particularly related to execution. Towards the end of 2013, with a relatively new (and much more competent) senior management team, our focus on execution and planning really began to pay off, and the company's future looked brighter than I can ever remember it. The old, pre-buyout Cricket was a demanding and often frustrating work environment with very long hours and very difficult goals... but the work was usually rewarding, and, at least by the end of the original ownership of the company, the company had really improved internal communications, project management, discipline, focus and had made big strides toward improving compensation and recognition. Then came the buyout.
Cons
First, to clarify something, AT&T's purchase of Cricket wasn't a merger, it was a purchase. A merger implies that you're meshing two companies, whereas the Aio leadership failed to retain more than 10% of the original Cricket workforce, largely due to a few factors: relocation from San Diego or Denver (main offices) to Atlanta was always going to be a tough sell, but most of the employees who were even offered positions - which weren't many - were offered lower-paying positions, or a title demotion. Those aren't exactly appealing compromises. Further, at the management level (let's say Analyst to Director), there was a general sense that the original Cricket workforce wasn't valued, wasn't wanted, and wasn't welcome in the new team. Fair enough, but Cricket had a very experienced workforce of telecom veterans, and the Aio team really could've used that experience, as seen in their poor results almost from the word go. The new Cricket leadership team and company strategy seem very, very incomplete, and the new company is honestly the most disjointed, disorganized organization I've ever worked with. Very poor quality and frequency of communication, strange personality cult worship of upper management, poor technology decisions and project management, and a lack of accountability for virtually everyone, at every level. I guess the bright side to this, is that, for the few of us remaining until our time is out, we're largely free to work on other opportunities, since the Atlanta teams don't seem to want any of the old Cricket workforce involved in their new projects going forward. Fair enough, I guess; they bought us, they certainly can run the company in the direction they see fit, even if that direction is straight into the ground.