R&D, Finland - Anonymous employee ABB Employee Review

4.0
Aug 5, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

In ABB Finland, there are about few thousand workers in Helsinki, so you have: -own restaurant with 40 % discount meal price -laboratories, manufacturing facilities etc... -bonus can be +10% to annual salary -nice parks and environment close to offices -work/life balance is up to you, if you will run, they expect you to do so all the time -good electrical competence in overall -safety and way of working come first, good business ethics -can see careers lasts 40-50 years and people may not be kicked out before they retire, this is rare in Finland, where people are kicked out of work when they turn 50+ years -own gym, some hobby-clubs -office close to railroad -you can select and develop many engineering skills, I can see easily career with lot of progress up to 7-8 years -should be possible to have an expat position somewhere -Switzerland and Sweden based company may see workers more like an investment in general compared to Asian companies -5 weeks paid vacations -paid parental leave (KELA) -company car and phone (paid bill) -every third engineer at company is hired via consulting engineer company, so typically this guys are first to kicked out and they cannot have same level of information shared

Cons

-ABB:s own healthcare is a joke and help you only with flu, if you have something more severe, they through you out to seek doctor from municipal or private sector with own cost! This is really below Finland average healthcare benefit found from local companies -lot of bureaucracy, you need to wait one year to every process you will be dropt in -IT department is in India, so nothing will be solved in months, only tens of stupid email sended and never solved, just case automatically closed without solutions -interns and trainees will be kept only few months, until they have finished MSc, then they are automatically kicked out without further or permanent contract with ABB -Switzerland bosses change the organization every 6 months -every year 100-500 people are kicked out because of reorganization -salary is under average engineering level in Finland -HR not helping to develop career or active relocation offered -promotion to manager position will increase salary 5-10%, and you will stay in meetings 37 hours of 37.5 hours of your week -if kicked out, guard may come to you and take your laptop and escort you to the street -10-11 levels of management layers will keep every good idea to come through in 1-3 years -people bonus is affected on how many security deviation you will do per a year, so everybody is looking at you and how you work -no training, unless its about general products, sale/management or office programs/obligatory courses (electrical safety...) -no help to study and make your competence that way better -sometimes regular workers are resigned and at the same time consultants are hired instead or even to same position -some departments have even more consultants than own ABB permanent workers, this sustainable in the long term -even there are hundreds of engineers around, they are kept in silos and no any communication is between unless you have made the connection by urself, this means that the same wheel is designed in three places at the same time and nobody knows this -lot of jobs are swept to developing countries where costs are seen cheaper, however this kind of road is a bit late to develop and not seen so good anymore in other companies -international company, but 90% are men, finnish people and speak finnish, only esmiko-expats would like to enter in Finland and work here so not many have seen this place

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Pros

Amazing work environment, extremely friendly and helpful peers and managers.

Cons

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Pros

- Exposure to large-scale manufacturing systems and cross-functional projects - Can build strong manufacturing and quality engineering experience quickly - Competitive pay and solid benefits for the area

Cons

Work-life balance can be inconsistent depending on department and production demands * Advancement opportunities may feel limited without moving into management or relocating * Communication and management consistency can vary between shifts/departments * Production pressure and changing priorities can create stress in quality-related roles * Some roles may require overtime or schedule flexibility that can be difficult for employees with family responsibilities * Recognition for process improvements and extra responsibilities may not always match workload expectations * Culture can feel more production-focused than employee-focused at times

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