Was a great company, going downhill fast at this location.
Pros
Great people to work with, literally the only reason I have stayed as long as I have with the company. The benefits are OK but the coworkers really make it great. Benefits, while not as good as they have been/should be, are okay, and there are some other perks including education assistance. Probably a great job for someone right out of school so they can get the experience under their belt for a year or two. ISO 1000 qualifications, and AATB certifications and classes are available as well. Good company to get used to the corporate environment
Cons
Lets start from the top: Management in the last year or so has been abysmal, and needs to be remedied with new upper managers for the site. We have been through at least 7 supervisors in the 5 years I have worked here(incuding a layoff of 2 supervisors recently. Most problems go unresolved because of budget issues(probably also why we have cut back on staff). Managements solution for hiring is to take anyone off the street they can get for cheap as they hemorrhage seasoned employees. Most new temps are required to work longer hours for less money, and there is no longer a promise of full employment like their used to be(I'm assuming another cost cutting measure). Some temps were hired, used for the 1 year contract, and then let go despite being great workers. Engineering for our products/paperwork is terrible, our best engineer just left the company to find other employment, and the rest have never known how to do quality work, leaving most of it on his shoulders. Most are very stubborn to change, and not entirely knowledgeable in what they do. It took us 3 years to get new equipment, and when it was replaced, the new equipment was so badly engineered we had to go back to the old stuff. Benefits used to be great, but since I have worked there the premiums have gone up, and the service has gone significantly down. 401K is the same, we used to have Vanguard(great) and recently got switched to Aon Hewitt(terrible). Also used to have a great help desk service for benefits that would do everything they could to help you, that's gone as well. Stock purchase plan is still okay. Management will tell you in every meeting that the work you are doing is saving lives(we are) and that the company is pioneering new and innovative blah blah blah.....the products we make are at minimum 6 years old, and most are losing market share because there are newer and better technologies. Oh and I forgot to mention that they recently told us that our opportunities for advancement have effectively been shut down, we will not be getting any promotions or level increases for the forseeable future, even if you have the proper requirements. They have become more and more stringent on what you need to progress over the last 5 year, but this is the first year they flat out told us we will not be advancing despite having the proper qualifications.
