Pros
Large stable company Pay is slightly better than other companies
Cons
I worked at Zeiss in Minneapolis, MN for many years, and while I hated the management and my direct manager, the lack of trust for management, and ever-constant disorganization throughout the company, I did like my direct coworkers and I loved my actual job. However, persistent bullying by the management forced me to leave the company. Zeiss in Minneapolis, MN is the worst company I have every worked for, or heard of. Zeiss in Minneapolis, MN is very political and riddled with management hubris and genuine lack of care for their employees. The overall management at Zeiss in Minneapolis, MN is very disorganized, with a genuine lack of leadership skills, especially by the upper management. Employees frequently talk of unionizing, which would be good if the upper management was entirely replaced. There is no respect for upper management, low respect for overall management, and no respect for HR. There are no true leaders in upper management at Zeiss. Zeiss in Minneapolis, MN management is stuck in the Dark Ages. There is no working from home! The company is wholly disorganized, totally mismanaged, and has fundamental problems with organization, employee-to-manager trust, and following through with customers and their orders. Major mistakes are made and while other companies would use mistakes as opportunities to learn, at Zeiss there are no lessons learned time and again. Human Resources is completely useless. While I was located as an engineer in MN I had to report to a passive-aggressive manager who showed signs of Napoleon Syndrome, and very unusual personal behaviors that many find offensive and creepy. When trying to report the unusual and unwarranted touching and hand-shaking from this individual, I was told by HR that "this is just how he is and everyone at some point complains and accepts it". Employee suggestions for improvement are ignored by management. I have personally offered suggestions to a manager who then turned around and claimed that the ideas were her brainchild. At least once a year each employee is expected to attend a 7am breakfast with the upper management so that they can waste time acting like they care about employees and their department, job, or increasing productivity, but in reality it's an opportunity for employees to lynch themself or their colleagues. Not a professional setting. No work/life balance. The management doesn't care if you have kids or a family or a life outside of work.