Pros
Decent salary and benefits compared with other companies. A good place to gain some experience within the chemical industry. They are or used to be market leaders in many segments of the markets they serve.
Cons
The R&D group has too much veto power over business plans and always seems to have an opinion in business plans even if they have not expertise in the area nor offers alternative options. The culture is such that if the R&D group wants to have veto power but does not want to work in marketing and when given an opportunity and does not want to have this responsibility. There is little formal planning in developing plans and budgetary numbers are just made up based upon the professional opinion of the managers. Senior management just reports on the business and then cuts expenses and employees when revenues fall short of the budget. If you have previous chemical industry experience, I would not come to work for Arkema but explore other companies in the industry.
