Pros
The work itself is a lot of fun. Fellow employees are great. The technology is very interesting and engaging to work on. The scale and scope of the technology and manufacturing process is decidedly cool. The problems the company faces are measured in angstroms and dPPM, and it has the capability of measuring both extremely well. The work/life balance is a mixed experience. Overall the company is run by people who value working 60+ hours a week and being on call 24/7, but there's space for existing here at a more appropriate rate for your health and wellbeing. People generally understand that we all have family responsibilities, and that a healthy body is critical for a productive mind.
Cons
Executives are enforcing yes man tendencies, and getting routinely blindsided. The company broke export laws, and was fined 300M. The executives cut 300M in employee salary to cover the costs, which has netted a 30% employee reduction in the last 6 months. The company leadership isn't taking ownership of their responsibility for that decision. Employee wages are getting cut to fund stock dividend payments. The company budget for employee wages is now approximately 1/3rd the company budget for stock dividends. Promotions are drastically suppressed, and when they do happen are either made because the person in question is politically well established, or it's made out of desperation to retain employees. There is a chronic lack of vision about retaining and growing talent and leadership in an increasingly close to retirement age population. Critical departments are chronically understaffed, and when they do manage to pick up a competent or exceptional new hire, they quickly leave due to lack of career progression. Timelines for programs are so compressed that innovation is suppressed. Lack of personnel in critical departments is suppressing innovation. Lack of investment into innovation gets turned into poor management decisions when it comes time that we need massive changes. Risk tolerance is a bizarre mixture of extreme aversion to change, and totally impervious to potential downsides.
