Concerning times - New CEO has good ideas, but big culture issues below him
Pros
Fantastic products to work on. Pride when you see them on the road. Very good pension deal. Genuine effort to improve pay even through COVID times. Team spirit has been strong for many years. People genuinely love the brands they work for, if not the people. Is currently receiving a battering though, see below. Good facilities and plenty of investment in them over the past 5 years (if your department is housed in them, otherwise, run down drab offices) Flexible working encouraged post-COVID. Don't have to be chained to your desk. A good batch of family-driven line managers who understand you have a life outside work. Benefits and offers scheme very useful on a day-to-day.
Cons
Current culture of senior management and directors left from previous CEO, it is starting to change, but very slowly. Line Managers often put in an awful position - don't blame them at all for the complaints of those they take care of. But too many times people have been told to "stick around" for opportunities that never actually materialise. Lack of backing from middle management to formally recognise good work at Junior level. Too many times those who started the fire get praised at the end of an issue, not those who put it out or those who prevent it from setting alight in the first place. Lots of engineers who've worked a Junior (Project) Engineer level for several years currently leaving the business having had enough of not being promoted to Lead Engineer, but working Lead Engineer responsibilities. Culture of "let's see how much we can get out of this person before they ask for a formal promotion". Happens at Lead Engineer to Line Manager level as well. Discussions round the patch leads to believe this is very prevalent in Powertrain. Company's response to a process not working is simply to whack another process on top, instead of training people to be less stuck in their lane, work collaboratively and be efficient. Some very poor communication skills prevalent from when the company expanded in huge numbers, lots of new people, that have never been addressed. Very much related to the process comment above. Microsoft Teams will drive you nuts.