Excellent benefits, average pay, minimal work, "good ol' boy" atmosphere.
Pros
I work at a local level, a sort of bast(ard) child between Hormel and one of it's wholly owed subsidiaries. I am paid by the subsidiary but have all the benefits of being a Hormel employee (insurance, pension, profit sharing, 401K.) That being said, I'm given a lot of freedom to pursue my own personal goals at work. If you want to learn a skill, industry, or improve yourself, you are given the resources and space to do so. Hormel is not a golden goose, but if you're reasonable about your expectations (you're not going to change the world, you're not going to revolutionize an industry, you're just going to show up, do your job), you stay positive, and you use your time wisely, you will do well with this company. Let's face it, every job is a contract; you agree to perform at a certain level for a price. Hormel is more than reasonable in this sense.
Cons
Hormel is based on the "Good ol' boy system." By that I mean if you stick with the company and are loyal and tow the line, you will succeed. It's not uncommon to see someone "high up" retiring with 30 years on the job nor is it uncommon to see someone with no real skills advancing to a position of power. The Peter Principle is in full swing here. That being said, if you're not a true blue believer, too bad. Find somewhere else and do it quick because if you turn in your two weeks, consider them walking papers. Hormel is a very progressive company that stresses socially progressive themes over profits. One could argue that socially progressive themes encourage profits, but that would be more propaganda. They have a committee for every minority group; black, Asian, Latino, woman, LGBT. This does nothing for their company except waste the time of supervisors and encourage the hiring of those who are completely inept but qualify based on political factors. I'm not talking politics in terms of Republican or Democrat, but politics in the same sense of their "Good Ol' Boy" system. There was an article in their newsletter written by an openly gay man that's main message was that he was proud that Hormel was proud of his sexual orientation. I don't care what you do in your free time. It's your business. Hormel is different. They will congratulate and more importantly hire/promote someone based on their ethnicity or sexuality or sexual preference so long as that person is not white, male or straight. That's not to say that a gay, black woman is more likely to receive a promotion (so far as I know) but it is to say that they make a point of advertising that they are more than accepting of such individuals (in their minds, I personally feel that bringing sexuality and race into the workplace as a factor is discriminatory regardless of who is hired as a result.) That being said, Hormel is a wildly successful company. This is despite their progressive agenda. My experience has taught me that success has it's roots at the lowest levels. The mechanics are who truly keep Hormel successful. It's not uncommon to see a 30 year old piece of industrial equipment at work and relied upon daily in a Hormel subsidiary. Maintenance is directly responsible for this, despite being charged for countless downtime, often because of poor planning or operation error. At the end of the day management (which is 100% true Hormel) makes all the decisions and production is at the helm. It's as if production owns the car, doesn't take the time to take it to the shop and then blames the mechanic for down time. All the machines are well beyond their expected life but management always blames maintenance for breakdowns. A perfect analogy is you drive a car with 300k miles on it and never have changed the oil or done a brake job but charge your mechanic every time it breaks. In the real world he'd kick your worthless butt to the curb and let you have what you deserve. At Hormel you'll get a badge of honor for being an idiot and neglecting your equipment to work an extra day. Production has all the say.
