Pros
Good pay and benefits. They have some great wellness/ “fringe” benefits for salaried employees if you can figure out how to use them. Great annual bonuses most years. Hybrid schedules for most positions, but they are still very one-size-fits-all.
Cons
Don’t work in one of the manufacturing plants if you want to care about your job. Corporate is completely disconnected and seems to be focused on politics instead of supporting what makes the co op money - the product, AKA manufacturing plants. For example, you may be assigned a project with parameters and “progress goals” set out for a year. You’ll attend meetings about it and work for months. Then, when you ask a question about it, your manager will tell you, “Oh. We’re putting that project on hold.” This is code for, “Corporate decided to trash it and go in a completely different direction.” A lot of times this happens with no communication and you’ll waste your time and energy on projects that have been dead for months. If you need corporate support on something, good luck. They don’t know how anything works at the plants. Usually you have to reach out more than once, and when they do answer, it’s in a matter-of-fact tone with an answer that doesn’t even make sense in a plant environment. Also, if you think you can work hard and earn respect and autonomy, think again. You might get that eventually, but nobody wants to stay with the company for long (and those who do get pushed out or fired), so you’ll wind up with new, insecure managers who want to make a mark by micromanaging and laying down unnecessary requirements. The corporate office is stunning and modern. They have steady work weeks, NEVER work on weekends or holidays, and have Fridays completely off in the summer. They have a masseuse and a cafeteria and they can take their dogs to work. The manufacturing plants have terribly cracking and unstable lots, outdated buildings and machines, and safety hazards. Getting a budget to fix any of these issues takes literal years. One time the bathroom connected to everyone’s offices was putting out a rancid smell too strong to even enter the room (from some kind of leak) for months before we were even allowed to call a plumber... They’ll also expect you to work on off-times whenever needed, including holidays like Christmas, but not give you any flexibility in return. Overall, it’s probably better at corporate but it’s not a company where you’ll want to stay for more than a year if you’re not in a union and you’re at a manufacturing or receiving plant.
