⋅ They built a new building and promised everyone they would get their own cubicle. A year later, they are forcing people into sharing a cubicle built for one person. It is horrendous.
⋅ Bonuses get smaller every year, despite the company boasting record profits. Everyone gets the same bonus, no matter what position or level you are at, except that there is a higher tier that exists for managers and executives which pays a percentage of your base pay, I believe up to 15%, but I may be over or under on that percentage. Bonuses paid in a year are for the prior year:
2020 - $2,400
2021 - $2,225
2022 - $1,800
2023 - $1,270
This trend will continue downward.
⋅ Merit increases average 2.5% per year. You have to be a rockstar to get 3% or more.
⋅ Getting promoted is extremely difficult. You have to be so impactful that a VP will know your name and the importance of your work, or you will not get promoted because a VP has to sign off on the promotion. VPs are typically at least 3 or 4 levels up from you in your organization. Good luck getting them to notice your work. You have to get your team lead to highly recommend you throughout the year to your manager, then your manager needs to do the same to your director, then your director needs to do the same to your VP. Also, when in a grade, you are competing for visibility with EVERYONE on site at that pay grade, even on other programs, and in other departments. A Principal Mechanical Engineer is competing for recognition against EVERY OTHER Principal level engineer on site, not just Mechanical. If you hire in as an Associate Engineer (new grad), in a year or two you will automatically level up to an Engineer level. In another year or two, you will automatically level up to a Principal Engineer. You will never level up again unless you get VPs to notice you standing out amongst all of the other Principal Engineers on site. I have known of several Engineers who finished their careers and retired as Principal Engineers, never moving any higher in responsibilities or salary.
⋅ Getting promoted by changing position is extremely difficult. Besides the hiring manager and HR needing to agree, a VP needs to agree, otherwise they make a long list of reasons why you need to move laterally with no pay increase, even though it is a new job.
⋅ Recruitment is terrible because they cannot recognize talent when they receive resumes. During the offer process, they will chuckle at you when you tell them other similar companies in the area are paying much more than NG.
⋅ People who move upwards or into management or team lead positions tend to be the people who are jerks, not necessarily technically competent or people who are able to work well with others. The bigger the jerk you are, the better chances you will have as being considered "low-level leadership" material.
⋅ They do not care about experience, talent, or staying power. They keep bringing in new grads or people young in their careers who leave after 6 months for a little bit more money. They hire people that have obviously bounced around from place to place to chase money and cannot believe their eyes when they leave NG after a short time.
⋅ They lay off talent & experience to keep cheaper, inexperienced people.
⋅ They also keep hiring young people who have zero work ethic who they either keep around forever, or keep until that person bounces to another company for $10k/year more. If I hear another single, 22 year-old complain about their lack of a work-life balance because they needed to put in 45 hours that week and therefore they could not get in more happy hour time, I think I will explode (figuratively speaking, of course).
⋅ They make a lot of decisions based on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI), so if you are white, male, straight, etc., even if you are terrific at your job, they will pass you by for a someone who checks the boxes for a diversity hire, even if they are not very good at their job. When I asked HR how much DEI played into the recent 33% reduction in force at the Chandler site in August 2024, she told me that DEI was "very much a part of their decision making because they needed to make it "fair"". The word "fair" in the modern context refers to "Equity", not "Equality", so that means the "oppressive", "inherently racist & sexist" people are minimized to make more opportunities for the "oppressed". Extra points for people who are convinced they are multi-oppressed, such as a black man dressed in woman-face who identifies as a lesbian. You get to check three boxes there!! I was half tempted to change my "gender identity" and race in Workday after the layoff announcement was made; just so I could increase my chances of remaining in my job. Yes, you only have to check a box online to change sex at NG. No sterilization or bodily mutilation necessary!
I am curious to see if Glassdoor will post my honest and accurate review of NG. I felt this way long before the layoff came. But all-in-all, as far as Defense contractors go in Arizona, I would still consider returning to Chandler or Gilbert for the right opportunity. Even with these issues, working at NG is much, much better than working at Honeywell or Raytheon, to list two examples!!