Vantaggi
I waited a few months to write this review since I wanted some time to pass before I was terminated. So let's start with the Pros: This place I truly believe is a fantastic place to work when it comes to dealing with the latest and greatest in technology. You name the latest new tech toy, and GF is probably making the brains behind those devices right there in Malta. 14 nm and now 7 nm, I truly believe Fab 8 (and hopefully whatever new Fab they build there will be) has a long life. There's certainly been a ton of money spent to make it happen. I personally love shift work (who wouldn't love having 3-4 days off a week to do as they please) especially night shift. Very little "politics", no useless meetings, bathrooms that are not full, easy parking, peace and quiet, etc., etc. But I also know it's not for everybody; it can be a little more difficult to "get noticed" on nights, but it could invariably depend on your career goals. As far as career goals, there are a ton of open positions at this company right now. Policy says you only have to be in your current position one year before moving on, so if there's something you see that you'd be interested in, go for it. Granted policy also says (as of mid-2017) that you have to wait a certain amount of time before moving, but it could be well worth it for you.
Svantaggi
And now the Cons: 1. Promotions are incredibly difficult to come by. I had several employees I wanted to promote based on work ethic, effort, knowledge, and experience. However, I was severely limited by budget, of course like many companies, but this place did seem to favor engineers over technicians for promotions. Unfortunately promotions are basically just done once a year in April. You might be able to promote somebody in the Oct.-Dec. time frame, but it's incredibly rare. I wouldn't bother asking your manager for one until Annual Review season (which would be now by the way). 2. Raises have been incredibly mediocre the last two years. The average was around 1% in April of 2017. That's not worth a whole lot, and that's certainly not going to help your attrition rate. 3. Speaking of attrition...before I left in September the attrition rate was reaching the same peak it had been before Tom Caufield took over mid-2014. Of course, 80% of the reasons for people leaving was "poor management". It's my own personal theory that while the front line managers (shift managers in particular) were getting the brunt of the blame, I would personally single out the senior leadership. Of course people are going to leave if they can't get promoted or get decent raises. Bonuses are nice (especially for Level 6 and above), but after federal and state taxes you're only taking home 56% of it. Also, let's think about it for a second: Caufield came in mid-2014. Let's say it takes him 6-12 months to get in the people he wants as part of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). So 2015 was when most of the changes really started to come into focus. Experienced Engineering professionals still probably didn't want to come work here based on the toxicity of the workplace pre-Caufield so GF hired a bunch of New College Grads (NCG's). If those NCG's received relocation bonuses then they were locked in for two years. Also, they're most likely millennials who, if you believe the latest articles, get bored easily in their jobs and will be looking for something new to do after 2 years anyway. So two years later in 2017, you see a high rate of turnover as these "kids" decide they want to do something else or live somewhere else (upstate NY not the best place to live year round). Not saying that this is the only reason the attrition rate is high, but it's surely a contributing factor. Yes, it's up to the front line managers to keep these kids happy, but if they're hamstrung by upper management, there's not much anybody can do. 4. Location - Personally I didn't mind living in the Saratoga area. I liked to travel so being 3 hours from NYC, 3 hours from Boston, 4 hours from Buffalo, 4 hours from Philadelphia, and 2.5 hours from Hartford was a bonus for me. However, I can see how others would not like living there especially in the Winter. I mean, seriously, if you were in your 20's and had a choice between working at Samsung in Austin, TX or GF in Malta, NY, where would you live? Yes, Austin is hot, but it also has a lively film, music, and tech scene. 5. If you want to get your boss fired, don't bother talking with their boss, call the Ethics Hotline anonymously and see the fireworks begin.